Brand new Z owner - Door Lock Question

[shoudt]

Sorry for what is probably a really silly question. I just got my first Z. I am trying to read the older posts so I don't repeat any questions and I did not see this covered.

I am able to open my doors with the door handle. However I can not lock either door. I have tried using the key and pushing the lock down. I have removed one of the door panels and I can see most of the lock mechanism, but I can not see what is preventing it from locking.

I was just going to spray a bucnh of WD-40 in there and hope that it loosened something up. Does anyone have any other ideas?

Also I can not open the hatch. I tried turning the key and pushing the button in. It will not open. Any ideas on this one?

Thanks a bunch.

[thefastestz]

The doors can only lock if they are closed.

You can't lock the door while it is in a open position.

You have to use your key to lock it from the outside while the door is CLOSED.(unless you are sitting inside the car then you can lock it by hand so long as the door is closed.)

When i got my first 240Z this also confused me thinking my locks were broken.

You will have to try very hard to get locked out of your Z.

[thefastestz]

i don't know about the hatch.

Under normal operation if it is working properly:

turn the key and put it in the horizontal position. then push the button.

If it isn't working properly i think there is a way to get it unlocked though it will be very tough and annoying.

[MikeW]

I wouldn't spray WD40 in a lock. If anything you need to use graphite powder to lubricate locks.

[PrOxLaMuS©]

What do ya mean you can only lock it while the door is closed?

If you are from the outside, you can lock your door, by pushing the lock down, and then before you close the door, hold the handle UP, untill the door closes. You will notice the lock stays down.

But I had problems with my locks... I actually lubricated all the joints and parts and stuff and it worked great.

Also, since the car is nearly 30 years old, your key or the teeth inside the lock may be a bit worn out. If lubricating doesn't work, you may have to look closer at everything, and you may have to replace the locks.

[Victor Laury]

Yes, On your 280Z, you can lock the door, just as you described. But, on the 240Z, our Texan brother described it perfectly. And just as Ernie said, I too thought my lock was broken when I first tried to lock the door with it open.

[Inf]

Yes Ernie, I had the same problem with my 240z at first.

My hatch was also pretty tough to open, and still is. I think this is because of the aftermarket weather strip being slightly thicker than the OEM strips? I don't have an OEM strip handy to compare.

To open my hatch, I turn the key to the unlocked position (key slot perpendicular to the length of the car) and push in on the button until I hear a pop noise, then I can raise the hatch (while holding the button). It takes quite a bit more force than I would expect on my Z. Not sure if this is normal operation or not, but that is the way mine works right now. It doesn't really bother me since I do not put anything back there anyway.

Andrew

[Ivan]

Hard to explain without visual aid, there are two closed positions on the doors (when you close the door you shoud hear two clicks) the first position / click lowers the door opening mech a bit and the second position / click lowers a bit more.

In it's first position the lock latch mech is too low to lock the door opening mech in place.

The second, lower position allows the lock latch mech to lock the door opening mech in place.

[Walter Moore]

Somewhere on this site there is a thread about my problems opening the rear hatch on my 240... I hope that you don't have the same problem.

Long story short, my car had been in storage for 10 - 15 years, and the rear hatch door latch was rusted in the closed position.

The latch was actually released, but the toggle was rusted so badly that it just would not open. I had to resort to drastic measures to open the hatch, and my latch mechanism is still soaking in a batch of ATF... (Until every last rust crystal is gone...:devious: )

I hope you have better luck.

But then few places are as "rusty" has Indiana...

[shoudt]

Thanks for all of your help. I am now able to lock my passenger door and was able to apply a lot of force to get the rear hatch open. The hatch is a lot better now.

The driver door is still causing problems. I will try to lube everything there and see how it goes. There are a couple of nuts on one of the rods. Does anyone think that I should adjust these?

Thanks again.

[DakotaZ]

You may have to do some minor adjustments. One way to see if your door latch isn't working properly is to operate it with the door open. It has 2 clicks, if it is stopping at the first click then your door will be closed but the lock won't operate. So with the door open make sure the latch runs through it's entire operating motion. If it is when it's open and the door locks then you may have to adjust the plate on the door jam. If I remember right there is also some plastic adjusting nuts on the rods inside of the door.

[thefastestz]

Like Ivan said there are 2 position of the door being closed . Make sure your drivers door is closed all the way.

I would close mine and if it didn' t lock the i would lean / push agaist it and i would hear the click sound of the door closing.

Then it was a breeze to lock.