soontobered84

On my '89, the passenger side door was apparently replaced at some point and the lock tumbler was not switched from the original door. Consequently, the key has never worked. I removed the lock tumbler and had it rekeyed. The key now works perfectly.

Problem is, when I removed the tumbler from the door, I apparently broke the small ball coupler that connects with the latch lever mechanism.

Question: Is the ball on the lock tumbler pressed in and something that can be replaced?

****OR**** Could I drill out the ball and put a very small self tapping screw to hold the lever?

****OR**** Am I gonna have to get another tumbler and have that one rekeyed?

Anybody have any experience at all with this?

kelanel

are you talking about the little white/beige plastic piece that connects the balljoint of the tumbler to the locking mechanism? it just slips on/slips off the ball joint of each side and easy to replace if thats what your talking about. i kept mine attached to the lock mechanism in the door when i replaced mine. it can be hard to find without getting a feel for where itll dangle down to inside the door. slipping it on is a real treat, i wound up using needle nose piers through the lock screw hole in the door jamb to hold the piece against the ball joint while i pivot the tumbler until it popped in. i cant seem to google it but hopefully i can get you a part number when i get home if thats what you are talking about.


Hope this helps,
Jonathan.

soontobered84

Well yes, I am talking about that part, but I'm saying that I broke the little ball that the little beige/plastic piece connects to on the tumbler assembly.

kelanel

oh. the ball on the tumbler itself? ouch! Thought the plastic shaft sleeve would be the first to go. Sorry :/, not sure if roger has new/used ones. you could go through him or intl,i know they will rekey the lock (new or used) you buy from them for 45 to match any key you give them. id give you my old lock to scrounge for parts but it hit the trash heap after i got the replacement.

if you have the pieces still, id be somewhat tempted to try and jb weld it back together and see if your lucky. there isnt more that a couple of in/lbs for that the joint sees when moving mechanism (assuming its well lubricated)

Best of luck,
Jonathan.

jwillman

John.

Not long after I bought my car another rennlister sent me a spare for the same problem. I happen to have a spare now myself. If this is what you need let me know and I will drop it in the mail

soontobered84

Jim,
That sure looks like it! I will be really surprised if it is the same across all year models, but when I orient my part to the same as the one you are holding, it surely does look the same. I will PM you my address. Just let me know what I owe you. If it doesn't fit, I will be glad to send it back.

Thanks a bunch,

jpitman2

These sort of things can be had at r/c model shops - the thread that the ball attaches with varies , starting at 2-56, 4-40 etc. This looks like the small size. They usually come with a nylon snap-on connector.
check here...
http://shop.dubro.com/products/produ...3.0.0.0?pp=12&
jp 83 Euro S AT 54k

Mike Frye

John,

I did a write-up a few years ago when I had to replace (and re-key) my lock cylinder for the same reason.

Actually mine had a broken tab that meant it wouldn't actuate, but the little ball for the rod had snapped off too so there is a pic of that too.

A word of advice: Pay special attention to the spring orientation when you take it out. There are a few ways it could go back in but only one is right.

... and wear goggles because if it's in wrong or doesn't quite catch the tab, it WILL snap and go flying.

soontobered84

Thanks Mike.

I'll check it out.

Bill Ball

You mean this spring? This is a hatch lock.

Mike Frye

Yup, that's the one.

With the door lock it goes into the slot of the lock housing and you have to get it to go around the tab on the lock insert (shown in that excellent pic you posted, which I wish I'd had when I took mine apart and couldn't figure out how to put back in...).

I couldn't figure out how to get it to go in ahead of time so I dropped it in through the slot and had to pry it apart slightly to get onto the tabs and seated correctly with the inner lock cylinder and the housing lined up (key in). The thing kept snapping off the tabs and I had to start over.

Bill Ball

That's not a before picture. That's after I puzzled over it for a while and finally figured out how it was supposed to go back on. It wraps around the post, and once you reinsert it back in the lock housing the spring tangs act to return to tumbler to center position.