starbiscuit
Well-known member
The lock in the sliding door handle (of my recently acquired project) wouldn't turn with the key, so I couldn't lock it. (It was so bad I thought it was the wrong key)
So I removed the inner door handle to release the outer door handle and compared the lock number with the one on the tailgate lock that works. They were the same number, so I assumed it was the barrel that was seized.
And with new locking handles going for around £60, I thought it was worth trying to save.
I scraped the muck off the handle shaft to reveal the tiny grub screw that retains the lock barrel. Then I ruined two screwdrivers trying to shift it - twisted the blades - and ended up damaging the grub-screw head.
So I drilled it out with very small drills in a dremel, stepping up in size to about 2mm, until the the whole of the grub screw was gone. Very careful not to go too deep and damage the barrel.
Even with the grub screw gone, I couldn't pull out the lock. Stuck solid. Nor after 24 hours in WD40 (maybe not best choice?).
So with the key in the lock and the key tab held in a vice, I brute-forced it by pushing and pulling the handle until it eventually it gave way, fortunately without breaking anything.
The lock was so crudded-up inside that when I withdrew the barrel and the key from it, the key wafers didn't spring up and the locking bar didn't move freely either.
I soaked the lock barrel in white spirit, working each of the wafers up and down until all the crud floated off and it all moved freely, then removed the locking bar from the handle and cleaned everything again. Apparently it's recommended not to oil or grease the barrel because that just attracts dirt.
On reassembly, everything worked fine except, of course, there's nothing to retain the barrel.
In this pic you can see the slot into which the grub screw fits to hold the barrel. It is about 1.5mm wide by 1.5mm deep.
I used a hex-head M3 screw from a PC DVD, so I could hold it in a drill chuck to turn it while using a dremel to grind the end down to fit the slot. A lathe would have been good
The handle was already drilled 2mm when I removed the grub screw, so tapping M3 was straight forward.
Here is the hex screw fully home, engaged in the slot, key in, lock locked, barrel secured.
Then, with the handle in a vice and holding the screw with a screwdriver, I cut half way through, flush with the handle shaft, with a dremel cut-off disc. Go all the way through and the screw will be hard to get out...
Then removed the screw, finished cutting off the head and made a new screwdriver slot, also with the dremel cut-off disc.
Here's the finished grub screw (sorry about the picture focus)
And back in the handle shaft, with a tiny drop of threadlock.
Hopefully this is of use to someone else.
As far as I know, all the van door lock barrels are secured like this and, whether re-keying or just servicing the barrels, there's a fair chance the grub screw will be a problem.
But it need not mean scrapping the lock.
Cheers,
Rob.
So I removed the inner door handle to release the outer door handle and compared the lock number with the one on the tailgate lock that works. They were the same number, so I assumed it was the barrel that was seized.
And with new locking handles going for around £60, I thought it was worth trying to save.
I scraped the muck off the handle shaft to reveal the tiny grub screw that retains the lock barrel. Then I ruined two screwdrivers trying to shift it - twisted the blades - and ended up damaging the grub-screw head.
So I drilled it out with very small drills in a dremel, stepping up in size to about 2mm, until the the whole of the grub screw was gone. Very careful not to go too deep and damage the barrel.
Even with the grub screw gone, I couldn't pull out the lock. Stuck solid. Nor after 24 hours in WD40 (maybe not best choice?).
So with the key in the lock and the key tab held in a vice, I brute-forced it by pushing and pulling the handle until it eventually it gave way, fortunately without breaking anything.
The lock was so crudded-up inside that when I withdrew the barrel and the key from it, the key wafers didn't spring up and the locking bar didn't move freely either.
I soaked the lock barrel in white spirit, working each of the wafers up and down until all the crud floated off and it all moved freely, then removed the locking bar from the handle and cleaned everything again. Apparently it's recommended not to oil or grease the barrel because that just attracts dirt.
On reassembly, everything worked fine except, of course, there's nothing to retain the barrel.
In this pic you can see the slot into which the grub screw fits to hold the barrel. It is about 1.5mm wide by 1.5mm deep.
I used a hex-head M3 screw from a PC DVD, so I could hold it in a drill chuck to turn it while using a dremel to grind the end down to fit the slot. A lathe would have been good
The handle was already drilled 2mm when I removed the grub screw, so tapping M3 was straight forward.
Here is the hex screw fully home, engaged in the slot, key in, lock locked, barrel secured.
Then, with the handle in a vice and holding the screw with a screwdriver, I cut half way through, flush with the handle shaft, with a dremel cut-off disc. Go all the way through and the screw will be hard to get out...
Then removed the screw, finished cutting off the head and made a new screwdriver slot, also with the dremel cut-off disc.
Here's the finished grub screw (sorry about the picture focus)
And back in the handle shaft, with a tiny drop of threadlock.
Hopefully this is of use to someone else.
As far as I know, all the van door lock barrels are secured like this and, whether re-keying or just servicing the barrels, there's a fair chance the grub screw will be a problem.
But it need not mean scrapping the lock.
Cheers,
Rob.
