Body &
PaintBody &
PaintDoor Lock Cylinder Gasket Repair
Re: Repair of loose door lock cylinders.
It's so easy it's almost embarrassing:
1. Pick up a couple of lock cylinder gaskets from your dealer or mail order...
Dave Roberts and Mark Anderson both have them available.
2. Open your door: on the edge of the door panel just under the lock mechanism
you'll see a black rubber grommet - pop it off (easy pop-off with a flat
screwdriver or maybe even just pull it off with your fingers. You'll see a hex
head screw... use an 8mm (I think) allen to loosen it up and remove... be
careful not to drop it. This is the screw that secures the lock cylinder.
3. You can now pull the collar of the lock cylinder away from the body panel
just enough (about 1/4") to remove the old gasket (without having to
disassemble the lock)... you might need to use a needle nose pliers to grab it.
I had one gasket that was still pliable which allowed me to just stretch it
over the cylinder to remove... the other side was dried out and crumble so I
had to pick it out in pieces being careful not to scratch the paint. Pay
attention to the orientation of the notches in the inside of the gasket if you
can as you'll want to put the new ones in with the same orientation.
4. Stretch the new gasket over the cylinder starting at the top and run the tip
of the flathead screwdriver around the cylinder, between the gasket and the
cylinder collar, to get the gasket in place. The gasket is notched to seat
properly around the cylinder and you might have to turn it to find the right
orientation.
5. Push the cylinder back in to the door maneuvering the gasket so that it is
even around the cylinder.
6. While maintaining pressure on the lock cylinder against the door replace the
hex screw and tighten.
7. Replace the grommet.
8. Admire your handywork.
Michael Gerard