Just to confirm what my archive search found:

The driver's door lock will not lock or unlock with the key. It has been acting up a little for about the last year. It sounds like the only way to repair it is to buy a new door handle/lock assembly for about 150.00 to 200.00.

Am I on the right track or is there a more economical solution to the problem?

Thank you,
Doug

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1980 Mercedes 300 SD, 215,000miles
2001 F-350 Powerstroke turbodiesel, Crewcab, 4x4, 81,000 miles
1993 Chevy Suburban, 185,000 miles

> Am I on the right track or is there a more economical solution to > the problem?

Well, if the lock does not operate perfectly all the time, why not spend the same amount to have installed a remote lock/unlock, comes with an alarm. This way you can put neat plastic caps in all locks and operate them without having to use the key.

You can switch with the passengers side, if you don't mind having the broken lock on that side of the car. I planning on doing this on my car sometime, because I have the same problem. Try another search, there are a few threads that get into switching locks.

Hi Doug:
I had fixed my drivers side lock by following procedure in my 1985 300D Turbo 1985.
Give it a shot. Worst case senario is you will have to put another one for which you are prepared anyway. So try fixing it yourself and see what happens.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?threadid=43491&highlight=door+lock

Good luck. Let us know how it goes. Mine still works like a new.

MVK

__________________
One penny saved is three penny earned.

1985 300D Turbo 179,000miles

I checked three places online - Fast Lane, Benzbin, and mbz.org. All three were within about five dollars of each other, $175 or so. I would like to try to get the cylinder ironed out. The little flapper that covers the keyhole when the key is not in has not covered the hole for quite some time, so I imagine there is all kinds of crud in there.

I have had the door panel off many times, but I have never looked at the way the lock handle comes off. It sounds like there is not much to it. Does anyone have any pearls of wisdom about getting the handle off?

Doug

__________________
1980 Mercedes 300 SD, 215,000miles
2001 F-350 Powerstroke turbodiesel, Crewcab, 4x4, 81,000 miles
1993 Chevy Suburban, 185,000 miles

Did you get it 'keyed' with your VIN, as in can you use the original keys?

I kinda remember $200 for it from the dealer.

Thanks

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2008 BMW 335i Coupe

Now that's really cool.

I am gonna go ahead and find out how much my dealer charges.. then I can replace all the broken locks.

Did you get the whole door handle or just the tumbler? (I don't think you could separate the tumbler can you?)

Do you mind telling me which dealer it is? Maybe I can mail order it instead of payin $200 locally.

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2008 BMW 335i Coupe

I was able to work on the lock yesterday. It was a relatively easy fix. It would have been real nice to have a new cylinder, but this will do for now.

After I cleaned everything up, I was able to see how everything was supposed to work. I finally figured out that one of the tumblers was broken. When the key was inserted, instead of sliding into the cylinder smoothly, it would slightly cock sideways. This would cause it to bind. Since I did not have another tumbler, I just removed it.

I thought I had everything figured out. I put the handle back in the car. Before I reinstalled the interior panel, I tried the operation. I still could not get it to unlock. I finally noticed a very slight burr on the inside of the door handle. When the bad tumbler would cock to one side and bind, it created the burr over the years. I cleaned that up and everythng is as it should be. I have just a little less lock security now, but not much less.

Thanks for all the comments.
Doug

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1980 Mercedes 300 SD, 215,000miles
2001 F-350 Powerstroke turbodiesel, Crewcab, 4x4, 81,000 miles
1993 Chevy Suburban, 185,000 miles

I broke off the part which the knob screws down onto. The rest of the mechanism works fine.
Can I just replace this part or will I have to buy an entire assembly?

I think you should be able to find that part at a wrecking yard. It should be replaceable, although I have not looked at the feasability of doing this repair specifically.

Doug

__________________
1980 Mercedes 300 SD, 215,000miles
2001 F-350 Powerstroke turbodiesel, Crewcab, 4x4, 81,000 miles
1993 Chevy Suburban, 185,000 miles

Hi Doug:'
I am glad the easy repair worked for you. New handles are too expensive.

MVK

__________________
One penny saved is three penny earned.

1985 300D Turbo 179,000miles

Doug,

The tumbler unit can be removed from the handle assembly once it's removed from the door. Once you've removed it the entire tumbler unit and key can be dunked into a cleaning solvent to remove all the accumulated gunk. Work the key around as you swish the tumbler around in the solvent. I did this recently to my door lock and have done it to my ignition lock and both of them work fine now. After celaning, I shot s small amount of graphite into the tumblers.

Additionally, you probably should have a new key made, once the lock is cleaned, as the keys get so worn that they often don't work.

This method is a lot cheaper than the new stuff,

Ben
www.reproduce100s.com