Door Lock problems...or are these normal?

[moonpup]

Originally posted by: 280~Master

Don't worry Jeremy we are all novices unless we helped design and build the car, but that would make use what in our 60's.

Speak for yourself.

Oh and remember....we taught you everything you know, we just haven't taught you everything WE know!

[sblake01]

Speak for yourself.

Oh and remember....we taught you everything you know, we just haven't taught you everything WE know!

At near 60 (57) you know I've got to love that statement! ROFL

[Pir0San]

Don't know about there being only one key on the vehicle.

Depending on Prox's build date he may have a late 71 vehicle that got titled as a 72 and as such does not have the reversible key for the ignition. Then again, the reference at Zhome regarding key changes in the Series II denote the change to a reversible key here:

"4. Reversible Key-for starter, steering lock and glove box. "

(http://zhome.com/History/New71Late.htm)

But there is no mention of the door lock key, so it is possible to presume that it is different from the ignition key.

I tried to find a reference for when the cars went to a single key, and it may have been after the Series III, but I couldn't find one.

E

My car has a build date of 8/72 (she turned 34 this month). The key I have is indeed reversible, so that's not an issue. I have pulled the door skins off and taken a look inside of the door, but because it's such a tight fit, it's hard to see exactly what it is that I am looking for. The nylon adjusting nuts on the lock rod, if that makes any sense, seems to be in a different position for each door. I tried lowering the nut on the drivers side, but it didn't seem to do anything. I did reach inside the door and feel the mechanisms, and it didn't feel like anything was loose. Keep in mind that I am a novice, so I could be wrong . I'll take a more in depth look later. If it helps out, the "feel" of the locks on each door differs; on the driver's side it feels loose, whereas on the passenger side it feels tight. Would a worn lock cylinder be the cause of the looseness on the driver's side, considering the fact that pretty much any Datsun key can open that door?

[EScanlon]

I would really hate to try to diagnose the individual problems this way. The loose "feel" you describe could be a number of things which I or others may not interpret the same way.

You really do need to take the lock system out of the door to give it a good cleaning to remove the years of dirt and crud that have no doubt accumulated within it's mechanism. This may be more of a task than you want to deal with right now, so at least get a can of WD-40 and using the straw direct a healthy spray of it into the lock mechanism from the door panel side. This should get things moving again.

Then, address the issue of the adjustable rod for the door. If that nut lengthens the rod to the point that it is actually pressing the lever down (the Hair Trigger Door Handle), it will actually start to move components within the lock such that when you try to change some of those components, they begin to rub on others that they shouldn't.

The Key Cylinder's "looseness" that you refer to has nothing to do with it's actual operation. The "looseness" is due to age, and the worn down components within the body of the cylinder. That's why almost "any" key will open it. It's operation is to simply move a lever attached perpendicular to the axis of the cylinder. That lever moves the rod attached to it, UP or DOWN. The only way the looseness of the cylinder would affect the operation of the door lock mechanism would be if in addition to being loose (and allow any key) it also didn't rotate smoothly and got stuck in either the UP or DOWN position (i.e. Key slot not left straight up and down).

I'm still looking for a lock mechanism with which I can take pictures and illustrate some of this.

E

[Pir0San]

In order to remove the lock mechanism, all I have to do is disconnect the latch from the door, remove the door handle, remove the rod from the key cylinder, and it should all come out as a mess of rods and thread, right?

[twsutt]

Jeremy,

I, too, have a problem with my driver's side door lock locking when the door is shut and only opening while either holding the lock knob up from the inside or by holding it up with the key turned in the keyhole from the outside.

My question is, have you (or anyone else) found a solution to this yet?

I've had the panel off and the problem isn't with any of the controlling rods being misaligned , nor does the problem lie with the key cylinder. It seems that there's a spring missing somewhere that should hold things in the unlocked position until either the door is locked by pushing down the knob or turning the key from the outside.

[Miles]

Door locks as when it closes.

I had this problem on my 72 240z drivers door. On close examination I discovered that there is a small spring shaped like the spring part of a safety pin that keeps the lock plunger in the up (unlocked) or the down (locked position. The spring was missing on my driver's door. Without the spring the lock plunger flops up and down freely and stays in the down (locked) position which is why you have to hold the key in the unlocked position or hold the lock plunger up to exit the driver's side door.

Most likely the spring just fatigued and broke from years of use, and door slamming, and fell out.

Go look at the door that works (remove interior panel) and move the lock plunger up and down and you should see the spring that keeps the plunger in the up or down position.

I never found a suitable replacement for the spring so I bought a new door mechanism.

Miles

[twsutt]

Miles,

Thanks for the input. That's what I thought was going on. I considered trying to "rig" a replacement spring, but if I use too strong of a spring rate I'll just end up creating a new problem - a lock knob that will keep unlocking.

I'm going to give this some thought (trial & error & error & error) and I'll keep you guys posted if I find any answers.

Probably just going to put in some remote control lock actuators.

Terence