i tried to search some threads, as my lock system was fused into place. after pulling door panels it became obvious that all the plungers were fine, to include the gas door.

a simple reversal of the lines made the locks work.

now here is were it gets interesting.

i go to take a look at the drivers door. i figured why not, since it was obvious that i had vacuum. after disconnecting the vacuum linkage to the lock cylander, i actuated the locks with it on the valve, with no problems. it was at that point i tried to manually lock the drivers door, to find that it was stuck open! the entire vac system was fine, but my latch refused to allow the lock switch to operate.

so next up, removing the latch mechanism. this was made so much more fun by the need to remove the window to allow the latch to come out. after removing it, i took off the black plastic cover to examine the parts. dirty, yes, but very little wear

after tracing all the levers to figure out the part they played, i found that while the door is open, one of the backing levers will keep you from locking the door. so i similated a closed door with a large screwdriver, and found that at the first click, the lock would still not operate. however, a little more push, and the pin in question would finally slide down the side of the plate, into the locked position.

so now my questions. on a healthy mid eighties 300d td, can you lock the door while it is open? i need to know if this is common and healthy, or a sign of interior parts wear....

and now the really odd part. right now my door closes fine, and the strike plate seems to be adjusted. all the lines are correct. however, if i move it out, it seems to me that it would simply cause the door to latch too far out from the body

so finally, has any one experienced this, and if so, what was your solution? i was about to rip out all the vac loc stuff and intstall an aftermarket all electrical system, but now it seems the vac system works, and my only problem is mechanical in nature.