Greetings all,
Working on a '89 420 SEL this weekend and had the following nightmare:
Drivers side lock inop with any of the keys. Passenger side door lock was operational and locked entire system beautifully. My idea was to simply switch the handles.
Wrong.
Inside the door panels, the door handle is removed by slightly loosening a set screw on the leading edge of the handle mechanism through an access hole on the inner door's metal skin. Then the lock/handle assembly has a long thin rod which is connected from the back of the keyhole to the assembly carrying various linkages to the door latch and the vacum system. In order to disconnect the door handle I had to pry a small plastic drum which fit inside a keyhole to rorate, then release the lock/handle assembly.
BOTH of these plastic pieces snapped off at this keyhole junction when carefully prying them up.
I tried to drill a hole in the remaining plastic and thread some decent gauge wire through to connect the plastic drum to the linkage, but no dice.
I then tried to drop the entire striker plate/latch assembly from the door to access and replace these plastic pieces...and wow is that a pain.
Any advice on how to get these striker/latch mechanisms out of the doors?
As far as I could tell, the Window regulator bar furthest to the rear of the door, completely blocked getting it out of the door for servicing.
Finally, I have come to the conclusion that my problem did lie in the door handles...it is indeed somewhere within the latch mechanism.
Any help greatly appreciated!