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How to remove YJ/CJ Full Door Key Cylinders (To get them rekeyed)

13059 Views 19 Replies 9 Participants Last post by  vertical horizons, 
willd
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I posted this over in my Build Thread but figured it'd be more useful here. Here is a complete guide on how to remove the lock cylinder from YJ/CJ full steel doors:

So I finally got a set of hard doors and they fit and look great. They need a little work but overall they’re in pretty good shape!

Here they are on the Jeep:


The set did not come with a key so the first order of business is taking out the tumblers so I can go and get them rekeyed so all my door locks match. It’s a pretty easy job, maybe took me about 10 minutes a side and I figured I’d show the process since there isn’t a lot out there on it for the YJ’s.

Tools needed:

Hammer, door panel clip removal tool, Philips head screwdriver, a flathead screwdriver, a T27 Torx head bit and a magnet



1st step is to take the door off the Jeep and set it on a workbench. I have mine propped up on some foam blocks and a piece of foam on the workbench.



Then you need to take off the door panel (mine was already off since I had to manually unlock the door when the lock got stuck)

Once you have the door panel off you’re going to see this metal cover in the corner of the door by the latch. Remove the 5 philips head screws and then the two Torx head screws on the side of the latch. Then just lift up and the cover should come off.





Now you’ll see the latch and lock cylinder. The lock cylinder is connected to the latch by a rod, so swivel the piece of plastic holding the rod in and pull it out on the latch side.



Next you’ll see the lock cylinder has the other end of the rod mounted on the top with a circlip.



Simply push off the circlip with the flat head screw driver and the plate will come off with the rod attached.


The circlip will probably fall into the door so you can use your magnet to pull it out.



All that’s holding the cylinder in now is a black plate that’s flush up against the back of the door. There are two tabs facing out (towards you) and simply push them with a flathead screw driver and the tab will come out. If the plate is really stuck on there you may need some WD-40 and a few light taps on the screwdriver with the hammer.


This is what the tab looks like once you have it out:


Now with everything disconnected, just push the lock cylinder out from the inside and you’re done!

Here’s all the parts:


Reassembly is the opposite of disassembly - and make sure you spray a little white lithium grease on the latches to prevent them sticking in the future.

Now I’m off to get these bad boys rekeyed!
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Luckymac
Great detail and super pics.

I started my career as a body technician (ended up as a shop owner). What you've posted is exactly correct.
When I did my full door locks, I found it was cheaper to buy new locks that were already keyed, than have a locksmith re-key them.

Those look to be 1987-1990 lock cylinders. You may find that the keys are different from your ignition in your 1991. The lock cylinders are a different size for 1987-1990 than what's in the 1991-1995 YJs. IIRC, the lock cylinder holes in the 1991 & newer doors are larger than the 1990 & older doors (or it may be the other way around).

Make sure to replace the weather shield between the trim panel and the door shell. It keeps moisture off the cardboard of the trim panel and thus prevents separation of the vinyl from the cardboard.

Trim panel clips should be available from online suppliers that are sponsors of this forum or maybe at your local auto parts store (Dorman products).

Extraordinary luck to find doors that look to be the same color as your Jeep. You can buy an "eraser wheel" at your local automotive paint supplier that works in a drill to remove the stripe from the doors. Then buff the doors and the Jeep side panel to get the best color match without painting the doors.
Some folks use a hair dryer and a plastic squeegee to remove the stripe then clean up the residue with Goof Off.

Good Luck, L.M.
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Gottagofast
FWIW.... it can also be done without removing the door from the jeep.... I just swing em open and sit on my rollie stool....

Also I stick a magnet on my screwdriver shaft when removing the circlip.... the clip then sticks to the screwdriver
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agalloch07
Luckymac said:
Great detail and super pics.

I started my career as a body technician (ended up as a shop owner). What you've posted is exactly correct.
When I did my full door locks, I found it was cheaper to buy new locks that were already keyed, than have a locksmith re-key them.

Those look to be 1987-1990 lock cylinders. You may find that the keys are different from your ignition in your 1991. The lock cylinders are a different size for 1987-1990 than what's in the 1991-1995 YJs. IIRC, the lock cylinder holes in the 1991 & newer doors are larger than the 1990 & older doors (or it may be the other way around).

Make sure to replace the weather shield between the trim panel and the door shell. It keeps moisture off the cardboard of the trim panel and thus prevents separation of the vinyl from the cardboard.

Trim panel clips should be available from online suppliers that are sponsors of this forum or maybe at your local auto parts store (Dorman products).

Extraordinary luck to find doors that look to be the same color as your Jeep. You can buy an "eraser wheel" at your local automotive paint supplier that works in a drill to remove the stripe from the doors. Then buff the doors and the Jeep side panel to get the best color match without painting the doors.
Some folks use a hair dryer and a plastic squeegee to remove the stripe then clean up the residue with Goof Off.

Good Luck, L.M.
Click to expand...

I have a question for you since you are a body guy. I bought some full doors new from Mopar and had them painted. They came in some kind of OEM black primer inside and out (epoxy primer maybe?) and they looked coated pretty good. But the inside of the doors did not get painted. I was worried moisture and mud would cause them to rust from the inside out. The jeep is garaged so there is no rust on the outside but i have not takent he door panel off in a while. I need to do it soon so i can use Vinyl dye to turn my CJ7 door panels from spice to black to match my interior.

I was thinking about brushing por15 allover inside of the door to coat whatever primer it was sprayed with to keep the inside from rusting. Do you think this would be worth the time and effort to do?

Also yeah having the locks keyed was expensive because i had it done i think it cost me like $65
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Luckymac
agalloch07 said:
I was thinking about brushing por15 allover inside of the door to coat whatever primer it was sprayed with to keep the inside from rusting. Do you think this would be worth the time and effort to do?
Click to expand...
The factory doesn't paint inside the doors except for whatever overspray blows in there while the vehicle is being painted.

I think brushing POR15 on the inside of your doors is a good idea, especially the lower part of the inside of the shell where rust is more likely to form. I would have done it on the inside of my doors had I thought of it. We both plan on keeping our Jeeps for a while, so we need to do what we can to prevent rust.
I kinda remember you stating you'll be buried in your Jeep (or something like that).
I don't plan on being buried, just maybe stuffing my ashes into the glove box and giving my Jeep to one of my kids in my will.


Good Luck, L.M.
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willd
Luckymac said:
Great detail and super pics.

I started my career as a body technician (ended up as a shop owner). What you've posted is exactly correct.
When I did my full door locks, I found it was cheaper to buy new locks that were already keyed, than have a locksmith re-key them.

Those look to be 1987-1990 lock cylinders. You may find that the keys are different from your ignition in your 1991. The lock cylinders are a different size for 1987-1990 than what's in the 1991-1995 YJs. IIRC, the lock cylinder holes in the 1991 & newer doors are larger than the 1990 & older doors (or it may be the other way around).

Make sure to replace the weather shield between the trim panel and the door shell. It keeps moisture off the cardboard of the trim panel and thus prevents separation of the vinyl from the cardboard.

Trim panel clips should be available from online suppliers that are sponsors of this forum or maybe at your local auto parts store (Dorman products).

Extraordinary luck to find doors that look to be the same color as your Jeep. You can buy an "eraser wheel" at your local automotive paint supplier that works in a drill to remove the stripe from the doors. Then buff the doors and the Jeep side panel to get the best color match without painting the doors.
Some folks use a hair dryer and a plastic squeegee to remove the stripe then clean up the residue with Goof Off.

Good Luck, L.M.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the positive feedback LuckyMac! I appreciate it very much.

Honestly I'm thinking about keeping the pinstriping, I kinda like the look of it on the Jeep and maybe just continue it. Not too sure yet though! And you are correct, the lock cylinders did not fit my key. They made me a new key for them which is fine for now, but down the road I'll replace them with new ones. It was actually pretty cheap for the rekey, it was only $14 a lock!

My plan was to get new panels and clips anyway since the old ones didn't match and he had screwed them in with wood tapping screws even though the clips were all okay? :confused:

However I did get my hardtop this weekend and on the Jeep, and I'm pretty pleased with how it looks and performs, if you wanna check it out it's on my build thread! (I'm going to try not to hijack this one).

Once again, thanks so much for your reply and I appreciate your words of wisdom.

:Thanx:
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sccritterkiller
willd said:
Thanks for the positive feedback LuckyMac! I appreciate it very much.

Honestly I'm thinking about keeping the pinstriping, I kinda like the look of it on the Jeep and maybe just continue it. Not too sure yet though! And you are correct, the lock cylinders did not fit my key. They made me a new key for them which is fine for now, but down the road I'll replace them with new ones. It was actually pretty cheap for the rekey, it was only $14 a lock!

My plan was to get new panels and clips anyway since the old ones didn't match and he had screwed them in with wood tapping screws even though the clips were all okay? :confused:

However I did get my hardtop this weekend and on the Jeep, and I'm pretty pleased with how it looks and performs, if you wanna check it out it's on my build thread! (I'm going to try not to hijack this one).

Once again, thanks so much for your reply and I appreciate your words of wisdom.

:Thanx:
Click to expand...
I have 91 lock cylinders with a key...swap you for your 90 cyliders...that way I can have then rekeyed to match my tailgate key and loose a key on my ring...you can have mine rekeyed to match your ignition key..It's the perfect swap..lol.PM me..must be getting cold everybody is gettin button up fer winter
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willd
sccritterkiller said:
I have 91 lock cylinders with a key...swap you for your 90 cyliders...that way I can have then rekeyed to match my tailgate key and loose a key on my ring...you can have mine rekeyed to match your ignition key..It's the perfect swap..lol.PM me..must be getting cold everybody is gettin button up fer winter
Click to expand...
I might be interested in doing that scrcritterkiller! I'll shoot you a PM
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Dusty Duster
Advice on getting the cylinder clips back in again? I'm having a hard time. I have it partially in.
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willd
Dusty Duster said:
Advice on getting the cylinder clips back in again? I'm having a hard time. I have it partially in.
Click to expand...


Are you talking about the circlip that connects the rod? If so just grab a pair of needle nose and just push it back on.

The black clip against the door frame can be pushed on with a flathead but if you're having trouble put the flathead against the back edge and tap it in place with a hammer.


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Dusty Duster
Black clip.

Hammer it is. Thanks. I've been working it with needle noses with no luck. Forearms are looking killer though...
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Luckymac
It's a little tricky to get the flat clip that holds the lock cylinder into the door panel to seat properly because the window channel is right in the way. If you don't spend the time to get it seated properly it'll probably fall off and your lock cylinder will dangle in the hole.

Since you have it part way on, I suggest that you follow the advice offered by willd.
Rather than tapping the clip with a small hammer, hold the blade of the flat screwdriver against the standing up lip and tap the screwdriver. I think this is what willd means. You can also use a short piece of 1/4" wooden dowel instead of the screwdriver if you're concerned about making a ding in the door panel with the screwdriver blade.

When he did his locks, he had his doors off and laying flat on the bench with some padding in between. That's the easiest way to get the clip in place because you're not fighting gravity.
I have a rollie stool like Gottagofast. I use it regularly because these old bones get painful if I squat for more than a moment or two.

I strongly recommend replacing the plastic weathershield. The old one probably tore when you removed it (or a PO never put it back). Without the weathershield, the water that gets inside the door will cause the cardboard of the trim panel to deteriorate and the vinyl covering will come loose.
When I replace weathershields, I use 3M spray trim adhesive (available at Big Box lumber yards), (any spray adhesive should work just fine) and (with the window rolled up) spray the door shell where the weathershield goes. You may want to mask the edges to save cleanup.
Then I lay whatever plastic sheeting I have handy on the sticky adhesive and cut away the excess with a razor knife or a utility knife. I've used plastic garbage bags in the past, but landscapers plastic sheeting is heavier and will probably hold up better. Any solid plastic sheeting should work just fine.

Good Luck, L.M.
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Dusty Duster
Thanks. You nailed it, it fell out and dangled. Thus why I'm at it again. Mine are later YJ ones that I had keyed to my ignition key. You're right, it's tight. Gravity isn't helping either.

Good advice too with the polly between the door card and the frame. I used duct tape in the past around the edges. I'll try the spray adhesive trick. I used it a ton while building paper models in design class in college.

I have to replace a quarter window too on my hardtop soon. I bought a used window to use. I think I document that replacement for a post here.
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willd
Luckymac said:
It's a little tricky to get the flat clip that holds the lock cylinder into the door panel to seat properly because the window channel is right in the way. If you don't spend the time to get it seated properly it'll probably fall off and your lock cylinder will dangle in the hole.



Since you have it part way on, I suggest that you follow the advice offered by willd.

Rather than tapping the clip with a small hammer, hold the blade of the flat screwdriver against the standing up lip and tap the screwdriver. I think this is what willd means. You can also use a short piece of 1/4" wooden dowel instead of the screwdriver if you're concerned about making a ding in the door panel with the screwdriver blade.



When he did his locks, he had his doors off and laying flat on the bench with some padding in between. That's the easiest way to get the clip in place because you're not fighting gravity.

I have a rollie stool like Gottagofast. I use it regularly because these old bones get painful if I squat for more than a moment or two.



I strongly recommend replacing the plastic weathershield. The old one probably tore when you removed it (or a PO never put it back). Without the weathershield, the water that gets inside the door will cause the cardboard of the trim panel to deteriorate and the vinyl covering will come loose.

When I replace weathershields, I use 3M spray trim adhesive (available at Big Box lumber yards), (any spray adhesive should work just fine) and (with the window rolled up) spray the door shell where the weathershield goes. You may want to mask the edges to save cleanup.

Then I lay whatever plastic sheeting I have handy on the sticky adhesive and cut away the excess with a razor knife or a utility knife. I've used plastic garbage bags in the past, but landscapers plastic sheeting is heavier and will probably hold up better. Any solid plastic sheeting should work just fine.



Good Luck, L.M.
Click to expand...

Luckymac is right, I meant to say tap the edge!

Thanks for catching that!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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sccritterkiller
Dusty Duster said:
Thanks. You nailed it, it fell out and dangled. Thus why I'm at it again. Mine are later YJ ones that I had keyed to my ignition key. You're right, it's tight. Gravity isn't helping either.

Good advice too with the polly between the door card and the frame. I used duct tape in the past around the edges. I'll try the spray adhesive trick. I used it a ton while building paper models in design class in college.

I have to replace a quarter window too on my hardtop soon. I bought a used window to use. I think I document that replacement for a post here.
Click to expand...
I have found when working on doors to just take them off lay them on a bench...put an old clean blanket on the bench first so you don't scratch the paint...unless u just like fishing parts out the bottom of the door..
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Swagracin
I have an 86 cj7 that has the old school two key system one for ignition one for the locks Is it possible to convert it to a more modern single key style? I would love to eliminate a key off my ring
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Luckymac
Welcome to the Forum Swagracin,

Look at both keys. If the only difference is the shape of the head and the cut of the key, then likely yes. If the grooves are different, then likely no. What I would do is take the ignition key and all 3 locks to a locksmith and see what he says (assuming you have an opening tailgate on your CJ7).

Good Luck, L.M.
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Swagracin
Ok thank ya sir ill give that a shot
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Old Dogger
Swagracin said:
Ok thank ya sir ill give that a shot
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Welcome to the Forum, from Cave Creek AZ.
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vertical horizons
Luckymac said:
... When I did my full door locks, I found it was cheaper to buy new locks that were already keyed, than have a locksmith re-key them.
Click to expand...
But, if you bought new locks that were already keyed, you ended up with one key for your doors & one key for your ignition?
I called a locksmith in Katy, Texas (B&B Locksmith). We talked about getting both door locks done. Then, the guy put someone else on the phone. The other guy said that, if I pulled the lock cylinder & brought it to them, they would rekey it for around $35. With a 2nd guy getting on the phone, I forgot to ask the 2nd guy if this was for rekeying both door locks, or for just one.

My fault for the confusion.
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