HELP!! Wacky door Locks

[jaime240z]

I need some help please.

I'm having problems with the drivers side door lock. the passenger side works cherry but the drivers side seems to be loose or worn out?

 

Every time i close the door the lock pull falls by itself and locks the door. I thought the problem may be a faulty door lock so I switched it with the pass. side door lock. No luck- the pass. side still works cherry and the drivers side still feels loose and won't stay in the "unlock" position.

 

Does anyone know what is causing this? Has anyone else had this problem? It isn't the door lock itself because I isolated that and the problem still occurs. I hope I don't have to buy a whole new door mechanism. MSA seems to have them but I'd rather spend the $ on something else.

 

Any feed back is greatly appreciated. I really need to get this fixed ASAP since I almost got locked IN and OUT of my car this past weekend.

Thanks in advance. -JAIME

[RPMS]

Hello, Jaime!

 

Yeah, there seem like about a dozen little rods and pivots in there when you're trying to diagnose a problem with the locking/latching system! As you say, I don't think the problem you're experiencing is with the locks themselves. Where I'd check are the little plastic thingamabobs that lock the rods together. If they all look to be in good shape, I'd check the plastic barrel adjuster on the driver's side. It sounds like it might be adjusted so that it juuuuust barely unlocks, and doesn't click the cam over all the way. That way, when the door slams, it knocks the locking cam back to the "locked" position.

 

Just a thought...

[jaime240z]

Thanks for the reply, Scott. I checked the plastic "boots" that tie the rods together at each pivot point. They seem to be in OK shape. Same as passenger side anyways. So I'm guessing that's not the problem.

Also checked the nylon adjusting nut. (I think that's what you were referring to) They both seem to be working correctly also, but I readjusted them anyways according to the Haynes manual which says 0.039-0.079". Both doors seem to open smoother now but I still have the original problem.

My guess is one or more of the rods are bent on the door lock mechanism, but I'm not sure.

Anyone else experience this problem???

[Guest Anonymous]

Adjust that plastic nut up where it will not lock at all to rule out a nut adjusting problem and then you can fine tune the adjustment nut "to just barely lock the door". The nuts do not have to be even close to work and a close tolerance will get you locked out constantly.Adjust by trial and error And see if the locking problem persists.Do not go trying to straighteng out rods or you may never get the problem untangled. Your Haynes manual in this case may have applied 25 years ago on close adjusting specs..... and a lot has happenened since in wear and tear behind the door skins. I had one adjusting nut that would adjust itself to keep me locked out every other week until I put loc tite on it and all the trouble I have had as you described was on the driver's side and the plastic barrel nuts spun freely. They are supposed to be stiff turning and while you are in there lube everything profusely with WD 40 or suitable lube.

[Mike kZ]

Since we are talking locks, my problem is locking the doors. You can't push the plunger down then close the door like a normal car, and I can't lock the doors with the key. What I'm doing right now is open the hatch, and push down on the plungers with a stick, then lock the hatch. I can unlock the doors with the key. any ideas?

[Guest Anonymous]

G damn! That is the exact same problem i've got on my door. Except when i walk away from the vehicle, I pretend i have power locks! Cheap insurance is to leave the hatch un locked or keep a spare key on the car.

[RPMS]

Originally posted by Mike kZ:

Since we are talking locks, my problem is locking the doors. You can't push the plunger down then close the door like a normal car...

To quote Microsoft, "That's not a bug, it's a FEATURE." Z locks of that era don't lock w/o using the key unless the door is closed. 60's Fords were the same way. True, it's inconvenient, but it's also really tough to inadvertently lock yourself out of the car.

 

I managed to do it one Christmas by walking up to the locked car, unlocking and raising the hatch, locking it and removing the key, then dumping a bunch of packages (and my keys) inside and slamming the hatch. The instant it was closed, I realized what I'd done. D'oh!

 

As far as why your key won't lock the car from outside, it sounds like your adjuster is out of whack. Take the door panel off and examine the locking works. Can you make the door lock work if you nudge the locking rod while you twist the key? If you can unlock the door from the outside and lock the door from the inside, then everything sounds like it's working right, it's only out of adjustment.

 

Good luck!

[Guest Anonymous]

Have any of you looked at aftermarket keyless entry packages? They can actually be quite cheap and would solve all your problems plus give you remote locking, etc

 

and we all know how much you need central locking on a really small two seater

 

another bonus is to get a nice alarm system installed at the same time to keep your baby nice and safe

 

it has a bit of gimick value but is probably lighter and much much easier / safer then stock setup!

 

I dunno bout you guys - but on my old zed it felt like if you pulled the handle hard enough when it was locked that it would just break apart!

 

just some food for thought - but you can get keyless entry 'kits' for a two door here in aus for like $50 (give or take $20 based on quality of unit and maybe a further $50 if you cant install it yourself)

[Miles]

Jaime

 

I am having the exact same problem with my 72 Z driver's side door. I traced the problem to a spring shaped like a safety pin located in the lock plunger mechanism. The choices I have looked at are removing the door mechanism and finding a spring that will work like the original spring or buy a whole new door mechanism. The spring provides tension to keep the plunger in the up or down position. With the spring missing there is nothing to keep the plunger up and when you slam the door the plunger will (usually) drop into the locked position. Take the door panel off the side that still works and examine the plunger mechanism with a flashlight. Move the plunger up and down and you will see the spring moving.

 

If anybody knows of a replacement spring let us know. It has to be cheeper than a new door mechanism.

 

Miles

[BillZ260]

BUMP

 

I was messing with my driverside door last night cause it won't lock, closed or open. Pulled the latch mech and played with it, cleaned it abit and it started working easily and smoothly. Put er back in and now it is binding again! Can't lock with the door lock or the key.

 

ALSO the 'RAMP' that is located on the door below the lock mech is broken, couldn't find my victoria brit catalog last night. Does anyone have a good set of these, mine only have one mounting hole each, and they push off when you close the door.

 

Any advice or suggestions are appretitaed, thanks..

 

(This is the stuff I get to play with while broke/looking for an engine)

[Guest rick458]

If I go with remote control locks can the original key cylinder be left in place? I gots no welder, also barring that where does one buy a new lockset.

the car came with an ignition key only:icon52:

[quicker240]

Yes ,you leave the original cylinder in there and attach the power lock actuator to the push/pull rod inside the door.Its very easy to install power door locks on a Z,and its nice as hell to walk up to your car,push the remote button and just get in.practically every alarm on the market has power door lock feature available.If anyone needs details or pictures,let me know and I'll yank the panels and get you a couple of shots.

[Guest rick458]

dont go to any trouble

but I would like to see the arrangement

[jaime240z]

WOW a blast from the past. Funny thing is I was just getting ready to add to this thread as I finally figured out what was wrong with my boor locks.

 

First off, the original problem of the driver's side look. It would lock itself when the door was all the way closed. Problem: There is a long "C" shaped spring in the look assembly (can be seen with door panel off, window rolled up, inside door where the inner lock/latch assembly is) This spring was missing/broken on the driver's side, probably due to extra use it gets compared to the pass side. I tried taking a picture of this but it was almost impossible to get a good shot since it's in such a tight place. If you are having this same symptom and take a look at both sides as described you should be able to see the difference.

 

Now for the solution, instead of replacing the entire door lock assembly and blowing $100+. I decided, like others, to just install power door locks. Easier and cheaper in the long run. I got a kit that plugs right into my alarm system, but there are other kits out there available from Summit racing and VB, to name a few.

Here's a pic of the door lock actuators I used. They're made by DEI and work with most Clifford, Viper, alarms etc....

Now for the install:

It's quite simple once the door panels are off. The hardest part was finding a spot to mount the actuators so they wouldn't interfere with the window going up and down. I found a perfect spot, running horizontal just barely above the rod for the inside door handle. I marked the 3 monting holes, drilled the holes, and mounted the actuators. Here's a pic of the actuator mountd in place. Notice the 3 shiney mountig screws:

 

 

Next you will need to connect the 2 lock rods with each other so that the new door lock actuator will actually be able to lock and unlock the doors. A lock rod adapter was included with the kits that I have.The tricky part to this is that I had to "trim" some of the metal near the lock rod in order to be able to access and tighten the rod adapter as seen in the next pic. You could probably skip this step if you are able to source a longer rod for the actuator or if you position the actuator closer to the oem rod. Also, the new actuator rod will need to be slightly bent in order to run parrallel with the oem lock rod.

 

At this point I closed the doors and made sure everything worked. I just pulled a car battery over and touched each wire to +/- and then reversed the wires to make sure the both locked and unlocked. POWER DOOR LOCKS !!!!! This is going to be great. Now just wire everything up nice and neat to either your alarm or lock sitches or whatever means of controlling these will be. Just remeber to check your work and their function each step of the way so that you won't have to take stuff apart twice (ie. door panels).

 

jaime