problem with my car door lock

[Spectre42]

Recently something happened to my brother's car door lock... apparantly a spring or something from behind the plate covering the cylinder came loose and as a result, that plate is now very loose making it difficult to unlock the door. Being a lp101 member, i figured it was worth a shot to see if any of you guys knew how difficult it would be to remove the cylinder from the door so that i can put the spring back in where it should be. Should he just take it to a professional? I've tried using my picks from outside the lock, but just cant seem to get it back in. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

by the way, it's a 1995 saturn sl2

[HeadHunterCEO]

You gotts tske the door lock out and remove the cap to get the shutter right.

take it to a locksmith

5 minute fix

[Chucklz]

I would definately say this is a locksmith issue. Id rather pay the money for a good repair than for an emergency lockout. Just my two.

[lockcsi]

Being an autolocksmith in the shop for many years i can offer some insight on this problem. First off a locksmith will charge around 35-75$ just to take off the door panal depending on where you are located. Then he will charge you parts to fix the lock.

From your description it sounds like the spring clip (looks like a C) came off the back off the lock. Is the lock moving around a lot now? To fix this you must take off the door panal. Look around the part that you hold onto while shutting the door and all arond the bottom of the panal for screws. Some may be covered by litle plastic caps. If you have manual windows you will need to take a clip off between the thing you use to roll down the window and the door panal. (looks like a horeshoe) There will be clips all around the door that screw into the back of the panal and clip onto the metal door frame. They are plastic and you will probably break some. You can go without 1 or 3 or maybe even 3 but break more than 3 and you'll probably want to go to an auto store and get more. You'll have to lift the panal up to get it off the door frame. Then you will see plastic cut the plastic to be able to get your hand in the door panal. The clip will either be halfway off the lock or down in the door cavity. Use a long screwdriver (flat) to push it back on.

It sounds complicated but it really isn't its just a lot of steps. Should take you 1 -2 hours your first time depending on door complexity. You will need screwdrivers and most likley a socket set. Maybe star keys as well. A large bbq fork with the two prongs would help getting the plastic clips seperated from the door. You won't get looked out because of this problem because you can always go to the other door. It will make it easier for someone to break into your car without smashing the window.

Let me know if you need more info and tell me what make model it is.

Sorry for the long post but now you can determine if its more worth your time to take it to a smith or fix it yourself.

-lc

[lockcsi]

Sorry i misread the post. The spring came out from behind the plate. Thats called a dust cover and dust cover spring. My first post should serve as instructions to remove the lock... do everything up to where i said cut the plastic... cut the plastic and you will need to pull a C shapped clip off the lock. Then remove the rod connected to a peice of plastic on the back of the lock and make sure not to let it fall down into the door. Once you have the lock out if it is the original lock that came with the car there is no way to get the cap off the lock without damaging it. So you will need another cap. You also may need another spring or dust cover. They are a pain to get back on.

Let me know what the year and model are. Some cars are a different procedure. A few just have a clip from the side and you don't have to take the panal off, some have the lock built into the panal and come out different.

I think your best bet is take the lock out and brind it to a locksmith to fix the cap and dust cover and then put it back in, but again let me know the year and model. If you don't get this fixed the biggest problem is see you having (as long as the spring isn't jammed in the lock) is in the winter in a colder climate. Water will enter the lock and freeze it quicker than if you had a dust cover, same applies for dirt.

-lc

[Mad Mick]

Cutting the plastic membrane is a no-no unless you intend to tape it up afterwards. The purpose of this membrane is to keep any water, which passes the sill weatherstrips, inside the door and out through the drains. Any cuts or nicks in the membrane are likely to result in water ingress to the interior of the vehicle, via the back of the door trim panel. The first sign of water ingress is wet carpets, but by then the damage has been done.

Where possible, peel the membrane away from it's adhesive securing it to the inner door frame. If the membrane tears, repair it before refitting the trim panel. Some vehicles, such as BMW & Ford, use a thin foam membrane secured with a butyl bead. This bead can be cut with a sharp knife, the work inside the door cavity carried out, then the bead resealed to itself.

[Mad Mick]

P.S. if you are not sure what you are doing, at least take a photo or two of the lock and linkages before you remove it and take it to a locksmith.

[toomush2drink]

I think that should be a sticky mick on the digital photos before dismantling. Its something that has got me out of a lot of trouble in the past just by taking some pics to refer to. Even viewing them on the camera helps if your on a job.i did this recently with a multipoint lock from a upvc door i took a look at in case i forgot where everything went back. The thing is i thought the customer would think i was incompetent but it worked the other way and they thought it was a professional approach they hadnt seen before !!

[Spectre42]

Thanks a ton to everyone who put in their input.
With parts from everyones posts I was able to remove the dust cover and fit the spring back in place... Works like a charm!

Once again, thank you!