Chinese Ebay door locks

[Jeff G 78]

I know this has been discussed and the general consensus is that the quality isn't great, but will these replacement locks last for a while? Mine have the typical shaft wear and they no longer move the arm far enough to push the rod an unlock the door.

Datsun 510 240Z 260z 280z 1600 Door Locks with Keys | eBay

My locks are both shot and my options are to find better old ones, do the wire fix on mine, or replace them with new ebay ones. I have a few old ones that might be less worn that my current ones, but they don't work smoothly. Some oil might help, but I haven't tried yet. The wire fix doesn't look too hard, but how long does the fix last before something bends or breaks? And finally, how bad are the ebay locks? My car doesn't get driven much, but I do need to have working locks. Right now, the only way I can unlock the car is to open the hatch and reach in lift the rod on the door. It's hard to reach and I look like an idiot trying to get into my car. :tapemouth

Edited April 7, 2013 by Jeff G 78

[Jeff G 78]

OK, I dug through my boxes and I found four door locks. One had a pair of keys in the lock and in the box was one other key along with the other three locks.

After a lot of WD40 and key wiggling, the lock with the key started working very smoothly and the shaft/lever combo appears to have very little wear. The other key fits one of the three other locks and I managed to get it to operate, but not smoothly yet. Both working locks with keys are marked with an L on the lever, so I assume they are both lefts which is better than two rights, I guess.

The lock that works like new has a much longer lever with a rubber sleeve on it while the other three have short arms with a hole an a plastic insert that snaps onto the pushrod. From what I remember, my '78 locks have the long style arms with the rubber sleeve, so at least the one that works well is the right style for my car.

The Ebay ones are the short kind with the plastic insert so I don't see how they would even work on a later S30. It looks like the Ebay option is off the table for me. If the one I have fits the left side and works well, I'm in business and I can remove the worn lock and see if I can mend it with a wire for future use.

[SteveJ]

I have a set in the garage. Tell me what dimensions you want to know about, and I'll take measurements.

[marvelous240Z]

Hi Jeff. My NOS Nissan set (which I'm selling by the way) has the short arm with plastic insert. The left lock has a clear off white insert and the right has a yellow insert. I have a second NOS set and it's the same set-up. I believe the part number for one of the sets was 80010-E8800. I'm not sure what the part numbers are for the individual door looks.

Matt

[Jeff G 78]

Those are purdy Matt. I'm thinking the long arms might have come with the redesigned '77 latch system.

[Captain Obvious]

Yes, the longer arms came with the significant door redesign in 77, and yes, you are right in that the ebay door locks will not easily work on your 78.

However, the problem isn't just the length of the arm. It's also how the arm fits onto the back of the lock cylinder. If it were as simple as the arm length, you could just move your old arm over to a new ebay lock, but you can't because it won't fit. In fact, most of the auctions for the door locks include some generic BS note about "You may have to move your arm over from your old locks". But it's BS because you can't!

The problem is that the older style locks have a different shape cam and follower on the back of the lock and they cannot be mounted onto the newer ebay style locks.

You're OK if you have a pre-77 Z because you can just use the new arms on the new locks, but the 77 and 78 guys are left a little cold.

Here's what my PO did... Cut the new arm from the ebay lock in the middle. Cut the 77-78 style arm from the original locks in the middle. And weld the two of them together to make a 77-78 arm with the new ebay style cam follower hole.

It wasn't a great welding job, but it's certainly strong enough. It's ugly, but it's behind closed doors. Pun intended.

Remember though... I'm not a locksmith.

[Captain Obvious]

And if the cam and follower stuff doesn't make sense, let me know and I'll snap some pics. I've got both types in the shop but haven't taken pics of that detail.

[Jeff G 78]

Makes perfect sense Cap'n. Hopefully the spare lock I have with the long arm is as wear-free as it feels. At least I'll have one side working properly. I'm glad I figured out now that the Ebay ones are not an option.

[Captain Obvious]

Not so definitive... My PO proved that the ebay locks are an option. They are clearly not an easy drop-in option, but they are an option if you run out of other simpler avenues.

In my limited lock work, I've found that there are two things that commonly happen with the stock door locks. First, the pot metal cam on the back smears out and you can't get enough travel to actuate the lock. This is the problem you have, and you can clearly see this by pulling the retainer clip off the back and getting a good look at the cam and follower.

The other thing that happens is that the lock cylinder and wafer tumblers wear on the inside of the lock. As this wear occurs, the lock becomes finicky and eventually gets so bad that the correct key will no longer turn the lock. This wear, unfortunately, you cannot see without taking the lock apart and that means dealing with the crimped on chrome face cap attached to the outside face of the lock assy.

Your sticky stock locks were probably a combination of worn cylinders and wafers/springs that were corroded in place and stuck in their slots. The WD-40 hopefully freed up the tumblers, but it won't do anything for the wear.

If you're going to drop in a different pair of stock locks (or a pair of ebay locks), you'll have the multiple key situation. And if you decide to have the locks keyed alike, or do it yourself as I have, you'll get the opportunity to evaluate the guts for wear.

[Captain Obvious]

And I forgot something else about the ebay locks...

The ebay locks do not have the "return to center" feature that the stock locks have. Your stock locks have two springs that balance the lock position to the middle when you aren't turning the key. The ebay locks have no such feature. They will stay anywhere you leave the key.

Not a big deal, but I kinda like that return to center feature of the original locks. I'm not crying about losing it, but I do think it was neat.

Apologies for the multiple additions, but it's been a while since I messed with my locks and this stuff is coming back to me piecemeal. Something else I forgot to mention. You said:

Both working locks with keys are marked with an L on the lever, so I assume they are both lefts which is better than two rights, I guess.

I'm not positive, but I believe the lock cylinders themselves are identical right to left. Only the arms are different. So if you find two old usable locks, you can mix and match the arms from your original set to get a R and a L.

Edited April 8, 2013 by Captain Obvious
Failing Memory?

[Jeff G 78]

Thanks again CO. Not having the return spring would suck. I will have two keys to deal with, but it's better than being locked out of the car.

[Hardway]

Back when I had my '77 280z I did the coat hanger lock repair. See thread here -> http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/open-zcar-discussion/45114-how-s30-door-lock-coat-hanger-repair.html

My keys still worked and did not require any fiddling to the get lock to turn. The only problem was the the pot metal cam had smeared and would no longer move the metal arm when the lock was turned. The best part about the repair was I not only got to keep my keys but the repair was basically free and I maintained the return to center feature of the original lock which I would have missed if I had gone with the Ebay locks.

Another option that is out there but I have not personally tried yet is the use of a set of door locks for a 1981 Maxima. My 240z's locks are toast and I have a set I picked up at O'Reilly Auto parts for around $30 but have not had a chance to install them yet. Not sure if they would work with a 280z though. I found the thread on them here -> door locks 240z/510 - Nissan : Datsun ZCar forum :Nissan Z Forum: 240Z to 370Z