sliding door lock mechanism spring...
Posted: 17 Feb 2011, 11:21
i have spent all of yesterday afternoon and this morning searching the internet for a good fix. cant find anything on the wiki and i have searched all the forums with no solution except a temporary bodge
the little locking catch on the inside of the sliding door ( small black round one on mine just forward of the inside door handle) used to stay up when flicked up, and down when down. for the last 6 months is has been loose and just drops down which means that you have to hold it up to open the door. it also means that from the outside you have to hold the key turned in the lock to be able to open the door. a two handed operation which is starting to be a pain ( with the shopping in the rain).
i took everything apart yesterday and a tiny spring (like the one at the tail end of a lock barrel) fell out in two parts.
i think i could see where it came from but cant see an easy way to replace it without dismantling the entire lock which as you probably know wasn't made to be dismantled. that could also bring a whole world of pain as there are several other much larger springs in there.
the only fix i could find was on an American forum and involved putting a bit of rubber hose on the lock switch shaft with enough friction (between it and the door metal) to hold it up when up.
i will try this but am thinking that it cant be an uncommon problem and hoping that at least one of you crew might have come up with a more satisfactory solution.
if anyone else had dismantled one of the locks before and can tell me what to look out for, then i will willingly try but i cant find the spare lock i thought i had so if i screw it up i will have a door closing problem.
any and all help and advice will be much appreciated.
the little locking catch on the inside of the sliding door ( small black round one on mine just forward of the inside door handle) used to stay up when flicked up, and down when down. for the last 6 months is has been loose and just drops down which means that you have to hold it up to open the door. it also means that from the outside you have to hold the key turned in the lock to be able to open the door. a two handed operation which is starting to be a pain ( with the shopping in the rain).
i took everything apart yesterday and a tiny spring (like the one at the tail end of a lock barrel) fell out in two parts.
i think i could see where it came from but cant see an easy way to replace it without dismantling the entire lock which as you probably know wasn't made to be dismantled. that could also bring a whole world of pain as there are several other much larger springs in there.
the only fix i could find was on an American forum and involved putting a bit of rubber hose on the lock switch shaft with enough friction (between it and the door metal) to hold it up when up.
i will try this but am thinking that it cant be an uncommon problem and hoping that at least one of you crew might have come up with a more satisfactory solution.
if anyone else had dismantled one of the locks before and can tell me what to look out for, then i will willingly try but i cant find the spare lock i thought i had so if i screw it up i will have a door closing problem.
any and all help and advice will be much appreciated.