Door lock question

[Pablo M]

1972 2002tii, newish to me. 
 

Driver door lock doesn’t work well. I can turn key about 45° before too much resistance to lock it, and I stop there for fear breaking key. This locks door, but pressing button on outside unlocks the door one click, so it opens a bit, but is still locked and not openable. 
I sprayed TriFlow in lock to try to clean/lubricate it (per locksmith recommendation, who said not to use graphite, my go to). Didn’t seem to help. 
I had already removed the door latch mechanism and cleaned it with brake cleaner, then sprayed white lithium grease on all pivot points. This helped solve the door latch operation, a separate problem,  but the locking mechanism problem remains. 
 

I can lock and unlock the door but definitely isn’t working right, or as it should. 
 

What are my next steps?

[bergie33]

Could be a couple of issues.  

1) the pot metal tumbler inside the door handle is cracked or broken and the pieces are binding inside.

2) the 50 year old grease is still in there and is binding things inside.  Spraying triflow will help lube, but you really need to get the old grease out of there before putting something else on there to lube it up.

 

Either way, you need to pull the door handle off, remove the small flat blade screw on the back and pull the tumbler out.  Be careful not to lose the key pins and/or springs when you pull it out.  If the tumbler is still in one piece, then you are in business.  Spray everything thoroughly with brake cleaner, wipe it down inside and out until all old grease is gone.  Put it all back together with some new lube.  If the tumbler is cracked or broken, time to source a good used one.

[Pablo M]

Thank you! Great info. 
Mia this a common occurrence? Only ask because the car came with 3 or so extra door handles, all missing their locks lol.  

[bergie33]

Yes, that pot metal that the tumbler is made from is brittle. 

[Mike Self]

4 hours ago, bergie33 said:

remove the small flat blade screw on the back and pull the tumbler out.  Be careful not to lose the key pins and/or springs when you pull it out. 

Take a picture of how those pieces go back together--there are several incorrect ways, but only one correct way.  And lubricate the lock with a lubricant specifically made for tumbler locks--it's powdered graphite suspended in a solvent.  The solvent evaporated leaving the graphite, which won't attract dirt and harden like grease or oil.  Sometimes just spraying lock lubricant into the keyhole loosens things up remarkably (just did that with sticky locks on my '73)

 

mike

[Stevenc22]

This sounds like the door is not adjusted correctly. If the lock is super tight, it could be because the door had to be slammed to close and there is lots of pressure on the door lock mechanism. This will also cause the door to only open to partially.

[Pablo M]

On 12/22/2022 at 8:05 AM, Stevenc22 said:

This sounds like the door is not adjusted correctly. If the lock is super tight, it could be because the door had to be slammed to close and there is lots of pressure on the door lock mechanism. This will also cause the door to only open 

would I be able to turn the lock fully if the door is closed if that were the case? 

[dblinsqaun]

I had same problem with key not fully turning in lock.  This fix worked for me.  In fact, I did it to both sides.  Re-keying was not needed.

 

Zee Bee Em Vee Seite

WWW.ZEEBUCK.COM

Hit "tech" tab on left, then "Unsticking and re-keying your door locks"