Locks!

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Janie
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Post by Janie »

Ok, this may be a simple one to you experts, but it has me stumped! As the lock on the rear door of my 67 traveller (Daisy) was a bit temperamental, I did the decent thing and bought a new one. Upon reassurance from the lovely bloke in Birmingham that it was just a case of taking off the screws, removing the lock and sticking in the new one, out I pottered with my trusty screwdriver, followed instructions and.............yep the flippin' thing refused to budge! It appears to be stuck by some hidden and malevolent force! The situation remained the same after rather a lot of penetrating oil, and a rather girly tantrum. So is it more than just the 3 screws? It isn't in the book, and how can fixing brakes be so easy, and this such a nightmare?
Willie
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Post by Willie »

Lo, may I suggest that you buy ASAP the MMOC
"Technical Tips Manual" (£12-95) or the CD
(£9-00) or BOTH (£18-00) which will give you
a great deal of information on Your new baby.
Willie
newagetraveller
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Post by newagetraveller »

The problem is that the shaft of the handle that goes into the back door has gone rusty and siezed up. If you really cannot free it with penetrating oil then I think you have three choices.

1. Just how bad is the old lock? If you oil it well will it work OK and can you avoid changing it?

2. Drill out the shaft of the old handle. Work from inside the car using an electric drill and a selection of drill bits. Start with a small drill and use the hole that you took the small screw out of as a guide. Repeat using successively larger drills until the drill is nearly as big as the square-shaped hole. The old handle shaft should then fall out.
Note that the old handle is now useless. It is possible to fit a new lock to a handle in which case I would try 3.

3. Take the door off and lie it down on the floor or on a workbench with its outer face downwards. Support it with two large pieces of wood or two bricks, one on either side of the door handle. Use a hammer and a suitable punch to carefully knock the old shaft out.

Whichever method you use remember to grease the new shaft before you put it in the door to help prevent this happening again.

Good luck! (You will need it)
2.
Kevin
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Post by Kevin »

Hi Janie, before resorting to the drastic measures (dont rest the door on bricks it is bound to cause some damage)what type of penetrating oil did you use as some are better/thinner than others I prefer Plus Gas in a spray can, and as your rusted spindle is sitting parallel you need it to creep along and a spray will work better, also you should leave it overnight to work, and it may take a two or three goes for it to get through, do not forget to turn the handle in the open and closed position so that you squirt all sides of the spindle and if you need to tap it lightly support the outside of the door and tap with a nylon/rubber
/wooden mallett while wiggling the handle it should come out without resorting to too much force
Cheers

Kevin
Lovejoy 1968 Smoke Grey Traveller (gone to a new home after13 years)

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mike1864
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Re: Locks!

Post by mike1864 »

Mine was so rusted in, that the internal screw (and presumably washer) being completely missing ever since I owned the car had no effect, ie the handle never fell out!
PlusGas and hammering in situ did not work. As Kevin pointed out, the horizontal orientation doesn't lend itself to oil penetration. So I took the door off and laid it on its back. I then formed a little doughnut-shaped dam around the offending joint, using silicone sealant. I de-greased the area first, and ensured the sealant covered the gap between the rotating lock and the lock backplate. If you now pour PlusGas into this crater, it creates a tiny lake, about 8mm wide and 2mm deep. So - with gravity now on our side - as well as capillary action, the rusty square interface gets a good long soaking. The "lake" can even be topped up every few hours.
Does it work? I only did it a few hours ago. I'll report back later!
simmitc
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Re: Locks!

Post by simmitc »

If taking the door off, then definitely support only on wood, do not use bricks. Two solutions: Drilling, but keep the drill parallel as you do not want to damage the square socket; or the dam and Plus Gas lake. If you have a small blowlamp then some heat on the inner end of the shaft will expand and (when cooling) contract the shaft and socket that may help break the rust seal; but be careful to not burn the wood or paint! You may still need to tap the shaft gently, and possibly need a small chisel to clean up the socket after you have got the old shaft out.
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