Antlion

My front driver side outside door handle stopped opening the door a while back, and I was confused about it for ages until I opened up the door recently and found that the pawl that operates the latch pushrod had snapped off... somehow. I went to Pick 'N Pull, picked up a new handle assembly, sprayed it to match my cars paint, and almost installed it before I remembered that the lock wouldn't work with my key. So I went to swap the lock cylinders and discovered it's damn near impossible.

The shop manual (the PDF one that everyone has) says nothing about the locks and all I can glean from examining it is that you have to compress tabs in tiny holes on either side of the cylinder while prying it outwards, but that isn't working and I don't know why. I *desperately* need to make this work. Anybody know how to do it?

 

Antlion

Problem solved with some effort. I wasn't able to find anything about this when I searched earlier, so for anyone else who's trying to swap locks from one handle assembly to another I'm going to provide some information I would have found invaluable:

Find a stiff metal rod and find or create a stiff metal rod with a ninety-degree bend at the end. The latter is to reach the release tab that's obscured behind the cable harness connecting the light around the exterior of the lock. I'm not sure if this is present on every vehicle, but it's a tight spot anyway. Do this whole procedure over a catch pan because small parts may liberate themselves from the assembly.

The housing that the cylinder slots into has three holes, two on either side and one on the "top" face. The two side ones expose the release tabs, the top one is just to confuse you. Grab the end of the lock cylinder gently with pliers/vise grips, then have a second person press in on the two side tabs. They require more than a little force and the cylinder won't just "pop" out, you'll have to rock the assembly with your pliers while tugging for a few seconds to work it out.

Once the lock is out you'll want to inspect the keyhole end of it to ensure the metal flap is still there. On mine it popped off of its own accord and I had a hell of a time getting it back together; there's a tiny hinge pin that likes to fly out of the spring and get lost. If this happens to you it may not be clear how the thing ever went together in the first place; I can probably scrounge up photos showing how to repair it if you need them.

When you're ready to install the new lock you need to ensure you hear the two snaps of the tabs locking into place as you push the cylinder into the housing. They're sprung very strongly and you will hear the tabs engage. You really don't want this thing to pop loose when you put the key in one day and burst into pieces inside your door.

Hope this helps somebody!

joe.inom

Hey , you see , i hadent fall in that problem , my partner did , and what he did was kept and kept on compressing the cylinder , but no outcomes.
He thus finally went to the machenic where they charged him $40 for ficxing that.
he , you information was quite worth it at that time , thanx anyways.

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stephen

On most lock cylinders you need to insert the key then depress some catches with a small punch or similar tool.

rngwrm

i had to replace driver's handle when i bought mine, and i don't remember it even resembling a pain in the ass - and that was w/ no manual. it's been a few years, but i thought it was just clipped in.

theGodfather

Thanks for the post. I'm going to have to do this soon as my exterior handle snapped off on me from wear.

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pacallen

Are the release tabs on either side the two ~3mm round holes? I've tried pressing them in but it doesn't seem like anything is moving or giving and the cylinder won't budge.

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