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Easy Fix? Jeep Full Steel Door Locking Cylinder

2K views 5 replies 5 participants last post by  Luckymac 
#1 ·
Hey everyone! SO my passenger side door is being a bit crazy. Had this issue sense I bought it and decided along with a couple other things I want to try and fix it this weekend.

Anyways ya the passenger side locking cylinder isn't unlocking/locking the door right.

Details: The door unlock and locks properly by the door handle. But won't unlock or lock from the outside cylinder. and when I try and use the cylinder the handle no longer works until i mess with both the handle and cylinder enough to get the handle to work again.

I'm guessing the cables aren't connected right somewhere but I know little on how the doors work. Will this be a easy fix? if so or not how do I go about starting?
 
#3 ·
+1! But you may not need new lock cylinders.There are no cables in the door, just rods and clips.

The plastic clips eventually deteriorate and stretch, break or just slide off.

First remove the interior door panels, if any. While you have access to the mechanism, replace all the clips at once, door handles and locks. Otherwise, it's only a matter of time until you get inside the door . . . again!

Try to find a place to get just the ones you need. Otherwise, the 'HELP' rack at the local Oreilly's or Auto Zone will require buying 7 or 8 assorted clips in each pack, when you can only use 1 or 2!

Or better yet, if you can find metal clips, they will last forever. Good luck!
 
#4 ·
When I bought my YJ recently none of the locks were working - the previous owners lived in a 'nice' area and apparently never bothered to lock it up! Now I don't live in a high-crime area but I wasn't going to tempt fate by leaving it parked up with doors and tailgate unlocked so my first job was to fix them.

The tailgate was first and all that took was removing the cover and liberally spraying the lock cylinder and latch assembly with a light oil to free up the various levers. Five minutes wiggling bits about and all was free and working properly with the key.

The driver's door was similar although I have to say it doesn't work as smoothly as the tailgate lock, I guess because it will have been used far more often in its twenty-plus years.

The passenger door was more work as the short rod that linked the cylinder lever to the main latch was missing! After freeing everything up as with the others, I just bent up a piece of 3mm or 1/8" stainless rod to the same shape as the driver's side and fitted that. The plastic retainers were broken/missing so to keep the rod in there I looped a hefty ziptie loosely around the rod and through a hole in the latch body: this simply stops the rod from moving out far enough to disengage itself.

Unfortunately over here there just aren't Autozones and the like to pop into for stuff like this. We do have autofactors but Wranglers are relatively rare here so they can't help a great deal - internet, eBay and forums like this are what we rely on.
 
#5 ·
Thanks for all the responses. I didn't get to the door lock as I had a list of stuff todo and fathers day celebrations. I'm thinking it might be a loose line or a bad cylinder. When i move the key the lock moves but it doesn't move enough for the door to unlock
 
#6 ·
I have 1992 doors on my '87 and the lock cylinders are different between the years.
On the backside of the 1992 lock cylinders there is a flimsy metal strip that connects to a metal rod. I had to manufacture the metal rod from a length of heavy coathanger. That works well, but the flimsy metal strip keeps bending. I have lubed all the joints and cleaned and lubed the latch itself.

Once you remove the trim panel and the lock cover plate, you'll see what I'm talking about. Study how the lock works and try bending the flimsy metal strip with a pair of needle nose pliers.
The early locks worked well, Jeep should have left well enough alone.

Good luck, L.M.
 
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