Door locks ... rehabbing and replacing lock cylinders

[momentum]

Hi all, So my door locks have slowly been failing. As of now, only my slider and rear hatch will unlock with the key. I remember in the past spraying WD40 or Tri-flow in one of the locks and it worked occasionally for a brief period. Then the other day, I locked my keys in the Van and used a slim jim to unlock passenger door, now it does not work. Perhaps I broke a wire? Anyone "fixed" or replaced their door locks? Thanks for your time. :wall:

[joegri]

hey mo the door locks are very simple to work on and gain access to. id start with pluckin the door panels off and have a look see whats going on in there then, try some lube and accuating them with yer fingers. i,ll bet they,ll free up and you,ll be on yer way again.if for some reson you need some lock poarts i may... may have something.but get in there and scout around.i bet you,d be surprised! good luck

[llamavan]

The lock cylinder (which you're spraying Tri-Flow into) and the actual lock mechanism are two different animals. You will indeed have to remove door panels to access, inspect, and possibly lube all the parts of the lock mechanisms. I say "possibly" because the usual state of affairs is that the lock button continues to work but the key won't do nuttin', as it has less leverage than the button. So some "self-disassembly" may have taken place.

BE CAREFUL when you remove the door panels or it will forever more look like some clumsy idiot ripped off your (now flopping) door panels. Not only can (and will) the aging metal retaining clips break easily, but the clip slots in the fiberboard of the panels will get ripped so that no clip will ever hold the panel in anymore! There are cheesy fixes for that, but none work (or look) as good as OEM. The right tool for the job is a big part of preserving your panels and clips. I ordered THESE (http://www.amazon.com/No-Scratch-Tools-Removing-Fastener-Molding/dp/B000LNBLTK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1313929108&sr=8-1) some years ago and have been really glad that I did.

You will also have to remove the plastic vapor barriers, and after lo these many years, they aren't likely to come off (let alone go back on) in one piece (creating other problems for your van). So before you start, have some heavy plastic sheeting (and scissors) and Permatex on hand to make and mount new vapor barriers.

Now, while you are inside the door, lubing the moving parts will be good insurance that you don't have to get back in there for some other reason later on. Tim can probably give you the best advice on what to use for best long-term results (and I'm waiting eagerly to learn what he has to say).

Gwen

[wcalayag]

Hi all, So my door locks have slowly been failing. As of now, only my slider and rear hatch will unlock with the key. I remember in the past spraying WD40 or Tri-flow in one of the locks and it worked occasionally for a brief period. Then the other day, I locked my keys in the Van and used a slim jim to unlock passenger door, now it does not work. Perhaps I broke a wire? Anyone "fixed" or replaced their door locks? Thanks for your time. :wall:


I spray GRAPHITE on all my locks when it feels tight turning the key and still works after 24 years.
If you broke a wire and stucked in the lock, try to pull it out with a small long nose pliers or you'll have
to replace it.

Good luck,
Wesley

[Ian R.]

Greetings,

I recently purchased a 1988 TV 5 speed 4x4. In doing so I over looked trying to unlocks the doors...:doh: The key works in the ignition though. What is my best option? Can i have a locksmith make a key for the doors on my particular vehicle? Thanks.

[JFratzke]

All of my vans had this when I first bought them.....WD-40 the crap out of them and they will free up.

[Ian R.]

All of my vans had this when I first bought them.....WD-40 the crap out of them and they will free up.


Hey Thanks! I took the drivers side door lock out and sprayed it with lubricant. Fiddled with the key for awhile without any success. I will give soaking it over night with Wd40 a try.

[originalkwyjibo]

Not to step on any toes but, any locksmith will tell you WD-40 is the worst thing to use on locks. What usually happens is the grease dries out and hardens. WD-40 is an excellent solvent and will wash it out thereby freeing it up but leaves very little lubricant behind causing excessive wear over time. You need something that will soften the grease with out washing it out. When I ran into a similar issue my local locksmith recommended Triflow which I was already familiar with as an industrial lubricant and another product I can't recall right now. I would suggest checking with a locksmith on what they recommend first. It's also possible the ignition cylinder was changed due to a lost key or other issue and you will need to replace or remedy them or both. Definitely try to lube first though.

[JFratzke]

That's absolutely correct. I used a graphite based lube made for locks after WD-40-I should have mentioned that!

[Ian R.]

Not to step on any toes but, any locksmith will tell you WD-40 is the worst thing to use on locks. What usually happens is the grease dries out and hardens. WD-40 is an excellent solvent and will wash it out thereby freeing it up but leaves very little lubricant behind causing excessive wear over time. You need something that will soften the grease with out washing it out. When I ran into a similar issue my local locksmith recommended Triflow which I was already familiar with as an industrial lubricant and another product I can't recall right now. I would suggest checking with a locksmith on what they recommend first. It's also possible the ignition cylinder was changed due to a lost key or other issue and you will need to replace or remedy them or both. Definitely try to lube first though.



Thanks for the reply. Funny you mention triflow, that was what I used. I took the drivers side lock out and sprayed it down. Then put the key in and tried to unlock it. Tried for ten minutes with out any progress. So I'm thinking the ignition was replaced. I am going to try the wd40 next weekend as a last resort before consulting a locksmith.

[Sam Humans]

It's common for the locks to get gummed up on 30 year old vans. Best solution is to take off the door panels and use your lube of choice (tri flow, zoom spout turbine oil, etc) on the mechanisms from the inside out. If you just drip through the key-hole, you're neglecting the locking mechanism and the door latch, which could well be the cause of your problems. Also, many vans had different lock and ignition keys (technically a master key and an ignition key) so this could be the issue as well. Lock sets are cheap and easy to install, however, so if that's the case it should be a quick fix.

Also, as an aside, while you've got the door-panel off, it's always a good ideal to grease the window regulator rails as they are also commonly sticky, which can lead to needing a new regulator... which can be very difficult to find these days.

best of luck!

[spacecruisers]

Moving to the Salt Lake valley and haven't had working door locks since I bought the van (I live in a small town where im not worried about my van or belongings being stolen :LOL2:) but now I'm confronted with fixing this ASAP. I'd like to be able to lock my van!

My key can't lock or unlock any of the doors on the van. IIRC, when I bought the van I had locked and unlocked the front doors without problem (i seem to remember doing it when i stopped to get food on the drive home), but when I tried this afternoon they won't turn without risk of breaking off the key in the cylinder.

The sliding door lock is stuck open, i assume the mechanism is broken since the lock post is protruding at a weird angle and won't push down to lock. It was that way when i bought it. The lift gate lock may or may not work, but I can't tell for sure as the key won't turn in that lock either.

Tried spraying some silicone lubricant in all of them without luck. Still can't turn the key.

Any advice would be helpful. Should I re-key? Replace all the cores? Would I have to do the ignition as well to avoid having separate key pairs? I guess I could pull the door panels off but I dont think I'd quite know what I was looking for if I went to the effort...

[pinkgrips236]

I purchased some replacement lock cores from RockAuto or eBay or something along those lines.

They were super easy to put in once you took the door panel out. As a bonus, the key that unlocked the door also worked in the ignition!

[bikerjosh]

I had several stiff/sticky locks and questionable key that make ignition tough to turn. Took my van to a locksmith, had him make a correct key for the ignition, and gave him the door lock cores I pulled which they pulled apart to match the ignition key. Paid $160 total
Other option would be to find a van at the salvage yard and pull all the locks and start over.

[PNW vanwagon]

the van i recently purchased was from just north of salt lake - all but the driver's side locks were frozen. i gave the passenger door / slider door / rear hatch locks lubricant everyday and opened up the door panels and lubricated all the pivot points of the locking mechanisms with lubricant and white grease. they all function well now! i figured i wasn't losing anything by giving it a try.

[spacecruisers]

the van i recently purchased was from just north of salt lake - all but the driver's side locks were frozen. i gave the passenger door / slider door / rear hatch locks lubricant everyday and opened up the door panels and lubricated all the pivot points of the locking mechanisms with lubricant and white grease. they all function well now! i figured i wasn't losing anything by giving it a try.

i sprayed a little bit of lubricant in there, but without results. ill have to try it daily as you did. what kind of lubricant did you use?

[PNW vanwagon]

i sprayed a little bit of lubricant in there, but without results. ill have to try it daily as you did. what kind of lubricant did you use?

i used triflow superior lubricant and white lithium grease. the biggest help came from opening the door panels and aggressively lubing and greasing any pivot point or mechanism that seemed to have friction and then working the mechanisms back and forth by hand before everything freed up.

[spacecruisers]

I'm currently attempting to removed the door panels so I can lube and replace the locks as necessary, but how do u remove the window crank handle? Other than that I think it's ready to come off, not quite sure how to remove this... :cnfsd:

[bikerjosh]

there is a clip behind the crank and in front of the door card. Get a flash light and a plastic panel/clip tool or flat screw driver and gently push door panel in to deflect it a bit and you should see the two ends to drive out. The last time I found a junked Toyota van at pick and pull, I spent a couple hours piling various stuff apart to figure out how to safely remove parts from my van. Time well spent as 30+ year old plast is getting plenty brittle at this point.
Josh

[PNW vanwagon]

here's a youtube showing a similar toyota door panel removal. same door crank.

just like biker josh said: use a small flathead + a headlamp to see behind the crank to push off the C clamp. other guys use a rag worked behind the crank handle but i didn't try that method


https://youtu.be/q4Uug4MHiPc

[spacecruisers]

Ah excellent you guys, i wasn't quite sure how that was working! I had a little craftsman pick set i picked up on clearance a while back that made pulling that retaining clip out very easy! Anyway, got one of the new lock cores in. 3 more to go. I think the others were just shot (either that or they were keyed differently...)

I bought some new lock cores from rock auto that came in 2 sets of 2, but the two sets are keyed differently. Can i take one set to a locksmith and have them match it to the other set so i don't have different keys for different door locks on my van :)>:?

[bikerjosh]

Yes, pretty easy for them. Drop off the two locks and the key you want to work with them. Should only take 10-20 minutes

[spacecruisers]

Yes, pretty easy for them. Drop off the two locks and the key you want to work with them. Should only take 10-20 minutes

interesting - so they match it to a key? if thats the case, maybe ill bring in all 4 cores and have them match it to my ignition key.

[bikerjosh]

My understanding is they just swap the shims around to match key profile. On my van I didn't have a good ignition key, so much had the lock smith build a key to work in ignition, then gave him he two door locks to match.

[spacecruisers]

Anyone know if you can buy lock cores for the van besides toyota? The OEM cores run around 40-50 a piece or around 400 for the whole set. Ouch! I bought two pairs of lock cores on clearance at RockAuto for about 9 bucks a set, but they were only for the front doors. The sliding door is very similar so one of those MIGHT work. We'll see. The rear hatch and fuel door are definitely quite different though and the ones I'm in need of. Anyone know of options out there? Or have a parts van or extra parts laying around they'd sell to me?

Anyway, been working on these locks over the weekend. The front driver and passenger doors were quite easy - pop the panel off, swap out the lock core. I'm actually waiting to put the new lock core in because I plan on taking all the cores to a locksmith and having them keyed to my ignition key.

In the mean time I took off the sliding door panel (had to destroy it to get it off - might make another post on that) and rear lift gate panels to fix the lock mechanisms themselves since they were totally frozen.

Here's what the lift gate mechanism looked like (the sliding door one wasn't much better):
5191

Cleaned them up with a toothbrush and blue Dawn soap under the sink and they're working a lot better now. Will probably spray some liquid wrench white lithium on it before i re-install. Doing that next. Thought I'd hop on and update with progress. Heres the photos of them cleaned:
5192
5193

[JDM VANMAN]

mr

awesome clean up, I had pulled some a while back thinking (when I was stripping a van 2 years ago) about doing the same thing but never got around to it, I don't even think I'll remember how to reinstall them?? When you reinstall yours and have the time... maybe you can developer a how to reinstall thread?

thank you:thmbup:

JDM

[spacecruisers]

ah bummer i already put them back together. i should have thought to take some pics :wall: - it was pretty straightforward though. the moving parts face away from you and you just reconnect the rods. depending on if i have enough time i may take them apart again and snap a few pics. i've had so little time lately to work on the van and my backlog keeps growing so I've been rushing a lot (need a HG job soon, thats the big one) anyway i haven't actually put the lock cores back in yet - need to take them in and get them matched to my ignition key. also, still need to find replacement cores for the sliding door, tailgate, and fuel door (i think the fuel door may be reusable - the others are completely shot however)

[spacecruisers]

Got my lock cores back from the locksmith today. $25 each (5 cores total) to have them all pulled apart, cleaned, rebuilt, and matched to my ignition key. planning on reinstalling them this weekend. Hopefully they'll last for another 30 years :thmbup:

[TVCamper]

Hi everyone! I will need to replace the lock core in my '88 Van because the key is so worn down that it takes a good 5 minutes of fiddling to get it to turn each time I want to start :no:. The key works OK in the doors, but I figure I should go ahead and replace them all at once. I have an '84 van that I am planning to scrap them from, but I can't figure out how to get the rods out of the plastic clip that holds it in (I think they are the same as the reddish-brown/ brick colored pieces in the bottom picture that mistershmi posted above).

Any tricks to handling this? I didn't want to push it too hard in case these break easily. Or do I just pull the whole apparatus and switch them? I guess that could work too..

[spacecruisers]

Hi everyone! I will need to replace the lock core in my '88 Van because the key is so worn down that it takes a good 5 minutes of fiddling to get it to turn each time I want to start :no:. The key works OK in the doors, but I figure I should go ahead and replace them all at once. I have an '84 van that I am planning to scrap them from, but I can't figure out how to get the rods out of the plastic clip that holds it in (I think they are the same as the reddish-brown/ brick colored pieces in the bottom picture that mistershmi posted above).

Any tricks to handling this? I didn't want to push it too hard in case these break easily. Or do I just pull the whole apparatus and switch them? I guess that could work too..

so the clip has a small collar that clips around the rod, you just have to get some needle nose pliers and push it off then rotate the clip, then you should be able to slide the rod out of the hole. thats what i did and i didnt have problems breaking anything. the clips should be easily replaceable if you do break any, since i believe any toyota in that year range did the same thing.

[boogieman]

my locksmith was able to take my super worn out key and cut me a new key with his computer/code set up...the.computer actually cut the key and it was remarkable all the cuts the new key compared to the smoothed out old one...no more jiggle!! i had another van done and he discovered that the wrong key blank was used and a good 2 or 3 cuts on the end were just missing because the key was too short. everything works great now and was only $16...he was able to do this with just the worn out key and the year and model of the van.