Seized door locks?

[Trav83]

Been a while since I've posted outside the hangout section but here's the deal... I have an alpine alarm system with remote door locks so I never use the key to unlock my doors.. So I decided to try my key out for the hell of it and this was the outcome...

Drivers side lock I had to wiggle the key back and forth but it eventually turned all the way and unlocked the door

The hatch I could put the key in but wasn't able to turn it at all

Passengers side I couldn't even get the key in all the way!

So what's the deal on this?.. Are they most likely rusted inside from lack of use over the years? I'm wondering what would cause them to seize up like this.. Am I looking at getting new door locks?...

 

[talontd92tsi]

My car is the same way, my 92 TSi you could only open from the passenger side, and my 90 TSi the hatch would not open with the key. I think they get corroded over time, if you figure out something that gets them working again let me know, as i have tried silicone spray, pb blaster, wd 40, graphite dust and lithium grease and have had no luck.

 

[Spades]

Do you have one of those copied keys? I had the same problem with my 1g years ago and I went to the dealer to get a new key cut using my VIN # instead of copying it off my copied key. Worked perfect!! Then i went to a walmart and made a copy of my new OEM key and it worked perfect as well...ended up throwing away my copied key that came from the previous owner. Costed $37 but I went for it since its annoying to have to play around with the key to get the car to start and open the door every time

 

[steve]

So what's the deal on this?.. Are they most likely rusted inside from lack of use over the years? I'm wondering what would cause them to seize up like this.. Am I looking at getting new door locks?...

Not sure if it's lack of use or lack of lubrication but they do corrode.
I've taken the cylinders out and cleaned them up before but you have to be gentle.

I fixed that problem on the "new" car. It looks like they sometimes install the lock cylinders upside down so that the drain holes are on the top. Then the darn things fill up with salt and corrode the tumblers to the body.

The disassembly of the lock requires prying up the two stake downs on the black cap over the front of the lock being careful not to loose the door when it comes off. Remove the c-clip on the back and before pulling the tumbler assembly out of the lock cylinder insert your key to keep the unfrozen parts from flying.

As this point you'll be able to tell how many tumblers are stuck and can remove the others one by one, noting their order, by slowly sliding the key out until you can remove a tumbler and spring, flip the lock over and do the next one.

I found that CLR work great at dissolving the corrosion but you still have to worry the frozen ones out. I cleaned up the exterior with a wire wheel in the Dremel and picked as much junk as I could out from between the cylinder and tumblers before soaking it in CLR for about 5 mins. Then washing it and spraying PB Blaster to loosen it up. Repeat as needed until you manage to free all the tumblers and springs.

I then soaked the body again in CLR to eat more of the corrosion and used a needle file to clean up the rest before greasing everything and putting it back together.

Here's all the parts. I put the springs inside each of the tumblers where the key would fit to avoid losing them

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Here's what it looked like when I pulled the cylinder from the lock body.
This side has the drain holes and was facing up when installed in the car.

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Here's a more visual description of the process on a 3S. Fix Your Frozen Door Locks - 3SI Wiki

 

[Trav83]

Do you have one of those copied keys?..

No it's the original


Steve - Detailed answer, pictures, and a link A+ thanks!

 

[nelliott500]

This is an old thread but I figured it made more sense to bump it instead of posting a whole new one.

I can open the passenger door and turn the car on but the hatch and driver's door don't unlock with the key. I pulled both lock cylinders out last night. The hatch lock looks pretty good but the driver's lock is pretty corroded. I went to a locksmith today and he confirmed that the key is correct for the locks but he spent a few minutes trying to get them to free up but didn't have any luck. The tumblers (is that what they're called?) seem to fall in to place on the hatch lock but the key still doesn't turn. The tumblers on the door lock don't seem to move at all but the key does go in and hits the back of the lock.

I asked the locksmith about my options and he said there's nothing he can do with them and that I have to replace them. At this point, finding a complete matching replacement (ignition, both doors, hatch) would be pretty difficult unless there's a junkyard somewhere that will pull all four for me. Is this just a lazy locksmith? Couldn't the locks be disassembled and cleaned like Steve posted? I have no problem paying for the service. It would be much easier and faster than trying to source new locks.

I guess I can take a stab at taking it apart and cleaning everything but I feel like it could become overwhelming fairly quickly. Is there something I can soak the locks in first to try it? Soak in oil? Maybe some sort of solvent to get rid of the corrosion?

Thanks.

 

[gusu]

This is an old thread but I figured it made more sense to bump it instead of posting a whole new one.

I can open the passenger door and turn the car on but the hatch and driver's door don't unlock with the key. I pulled both lock cylinders out last night. The hatch lock looks pretty good but the driver's lock is pretty corroded. I went to a locksmith today and he confirmed that the key is correct for the locks but he spent a few minutes trying to get them to free up but didn't have any luck. The tumblers (is that what they're called?) seem to fall in to place on the hatch lock but the key still doesn't turn. The tumblers on the door lock don't seem to move at all but the key does go in and hits the back of the lock.

I asked the locksmith about my options and he said there's nothing he can do with them and that I have to replace them. At this point, finding a complete matching replacement (ignition, both doors, hatch) would be pretty difficult unless there's a junkyard somewhere that will pull all four for me. Is this just a lazy locksmith? Couldn't the locks be disassembled and cleaned like Steve posted? I have no problem paying for the service. It would be much easier and faster than trying to source new locks.

I guess I can take a stab at taking it apart and cleaning everything but I feel like it could become overwhelming fairly quickly. Is there something I can soak the locks in first to try it? Soak in oil? Maybe some sort of solvent to get rid of the corrosion?

Thanks.

I'd try Steve's method. The corrosion is going to have to be taken off with some grinding.

One method to remember the order that is pretty easy and effective is to buy a set of colored markers and mark the tumblers and then take a picture. Remembering where they go is probably the most annoying part.

 

[nelliott500]

Okay, great. I'll probably give it a shot tonight.

 

[TopGun8818]

Depending if the corosion isn't too bad to the point where the mechanism is seized up. I would put on some of the lock graphite spray they sell at OSH and auto parts stores. I usually have to spray this stuff during the wet season as the mechanism starts to become difficult to turn when I put my key in it.

 

[steve]

The locks I did this to in 2009 are still functional but the car isn't

I can't imagine any locksmith doing this, the cost would far outweight the value of a new lock but if I could fix it I figure I'm ahead and if I can't and ruin it I'm even. In this case I won and learned how the locks works in the process.

In case you didn't catch it, I used three solvents, CLR CLR Calcium, Lime and Rust Remover, PB Blaster Blaster Racing, and water. CLR was used to dissolve whatever oxide the lock body forms from the moisture, salt and dissimilar metals without eating the whole thing like a stronger solvent might.

 

[nelliott500]

Thanks for replying to this thread again, Steve. Now that I'm at home with the lock in hand looking at this thread (I was at work when I found it originally), I'm feeling a little more confident because I can see the general assembly.

I'm going to the garage right now to try to get the driver's lock apart. I don't have any CLR or PB Blaster (WD-40 might work, PB is better) but it's worth a try for tonight. My Talon is a spare car anyway so it's not a big deal if it's down.

Well, no luck. I'm definitely going to need some CLR. Getting the tumbler barrel out was no problem even with how corroded it is. However, the tumblers are 100% seized. On my way to work tomorrow morning, I'm going to pick up some CLR and PB Blaster.

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[Trav83]

I'm curious to see how you make out with this... I never did fix mine

 

[nelliott500]

I picked up some CLR and PB Blaster this morning. Soaked the tumbler cylinder in 100% CLR for 10 minutes and it came out beautiful and clean. Now it's been soaking since about 9:30am in PB Blaster. I'm going to check it out when I get home tonight and see if I can get the tumblers out.

 

[steve]

The PB Blaster by itself isn't going to do much soaking after the first few mins.
I used it to penetrate so I could start wiggling the tumblers to work them loose. If they were still stuck, I'd wash it all down with dish soap and try the CLR soak again. After a few rounds they all came out.

 

[Firsts tuner]

This is an old thread but I figured it made more sense to bump it instead of posting a whole new one.

I can open the passenger door and turn the car on but the hatch and driver's door don't unlock with the key. I pulled both lock cylinders out last night. The hatch lock looks pretty good but the driver's lock is pretty corroded. I went to a locksmith today and he confirmed that the key is correct for the locks but he spent a few minutes trying to get them to free up but didn't have any luck. The tumblers (is that what they're called?) seem to fall in to place on the hatch lock but the key still doesn't turn. The tumblers on the door lock don't seem to move at all but the key does go in and hits the back of the lock.

I asked the locksmith about my options and he said there's nothing he can do with them and that I have to replace them. At this point, finding a complete matching replacement (ignition, both doors, hatch) would be pretty difficult unless there's a junkyard somewhere that will pull all four for me. Is this just a lazy locksmith? Couldn't the locks be disassembled and cleaned like Steve posted? I have no problem paying for the service. It would be much easier and faster than trying to source new locks.

I guess I can take a stab at taking it apart and cleaning everything but I feel like it could become overwhelming fairly quickly. Is there something I can soak the locks in first to try it? Soak in oil? Maybe some sort of solvent to get rid of the corrosion?

Thanks.

If you do have to resort to replacing your locks there is a thread in tuners somewhere that shows in great detail how to rekey the new tumbler to your key. I used the write up and it worked perfectly. The worst part of the whole process was getting the damn door apart ant the tumbler out of the handle.

 

[nelliott500]

Fixed! Getting the rods clipped back in to the driver's door handle was a complete pain in the ass but I got it done. The hatch was no problem. I'm 99% sure that one of the driver's lock tumblers was missing a spring. I never saw one come out with the tumbler and it wasn't in the slot. So, I just took a spring from the hatch lock and left one of the tumblers out on that one. No big deal.

Like in the 3SI Wiki that Steve linked, I did notice that even after putting the driver's lock back together, it still wouldn't turn because two or three of the tumblers weren't completely flush with the housing when the key was in. I just put the key in and ground them down to flush with my Dremel, then took sand paper to it to smooth it out the rest of the way.

This was time consuming but also very fun (besides the reassembly of the door handle). It was neat seeing how the lock works and, when I put the driver's lock back together and the cylinder turned with the key, I was pretty overwhelmed with excitement.

I really appreciate the information that you provided, Steve. I would not have attempted to tackle this without having some idea before going in to it. Here's some more pictures to add to this thread. If anyone has any questions, just let me know.

Driver's lock after CLR and a rinse before disassembly:

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Hatch lock before CLR (this one most of the tumblers still moved):

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Hatch lock pieces before cleaning:

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Driver's lock after cleaning and ready for grease + assembly:

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You can see where I ground down tumbler #1 and #3 to make them flush. I believe there was one on the other side too:

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Just another view of the ground tumblers:

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Reassembled and ready for installation:

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[Trav83]

Awesome

 

[Neil 73]

Big thank you to all who contributed to this post. I'm an extreme newbie. That aside, fixed my two siezed door locks with it. Do I just use regular automotive grease for this? Guess all I have is a packet of bulb grease will that do? One more thing, if you soak your lock in CLR long enough begins to eat the housing. Soaked mine overnight. Actually caused some of the housing to fall off, but wasn't structural.

 

[nelliott500]

Good to know about the CLR. I just have a tube of Mobile 1 grease that I've been using for years. I'm not sure the type of grease really matters; however, you should really get a can of graphite to spray in to the locks. I need to pick one up myself.