Thread: Locks

I believe the burst proof locks are not supposed to be openned but I have certainly done so with my 1976 locks years ago. Just need to be re riveted afterwards. Pretty simple mechanisms from memory.

Cheers
Lakey

Originally Posted by drifter

The DLS ones are certainly a good price but I am not too happy with them. I have purchased 2 recently (for a series 2a) and both have been broken within days of installation by some plonker trying to open a locked door from the outside - it shears a pin off inside the mechanism that locks the external handle to the shaft. They appear to be a little weak compared to the original ones I have here.

Hello All,

I did a search on door locks and found LWB123's old thread and I found some information that could be similiar to my situation.

Can anyone match what Drifter wrote about the pin shearing off to what may have happened to me?

So what has happened is that a couple of times the "U' shaped latch on a pivot point on the door that clicks over the bolt fixed on to the door frame stuck a couple of times. This meant the "U" shaped latch was forced down and would not allow the door to close. I managed to loosen the "U" shaped latch a couple of times and the door closed properly.

Now what has happened is that the door closed and will not open again. The Land Rover only came with an ignition key so I don't have a door key.

Inside the door and on the door latch box there is an arc with a lever that travels from about the 12 O'clock position down to the bottom of its movement at around the 3 O'clock position. Is the little lever within the arc slot meant to be an internal lock? If so is up or down the "locked" position? Because on a number of my Series 3 Land Rover the position of the little lever within the arc does not seem to make any difference at all.

As I don't have a key should moving the latch up or down override a possibly externally locked lock?

I do intend to take lock mechanism off the driver's side door which still works okay to a locksmith so I can get a new key cut.

However, if the little pin has broken off the passenger side door which will not open getting a new key will not make any difference to the passenger side lock.

So this could mean buying a new lock for the passenger door. Does a new lock replace the pin if it has sheared off as Drifter suggested or is the pin located somewhere else and getting a new lock won't make any difference to the door being able to open and close again?

Worst case scenario - Would taking the passenger door off its hinges allow me to release the door from the bolt located on the door frame or would this still be locked and the door stays stuck on the door post? It could save me the time of taking the screws off and achieving nothing. Or can the lock be undone from the inside and allow the door to at least open while I work out how to release the "U' shaped latch from the door post and replace it with another lock from another of my Land Rovers? Having a door in a ute that does not open or close is a pain in the arse.

Kind Regards
Lionel

Hi Lionel,

The little lever in the arc will lock/unlock the door from the inside on my 1976 SIII. However, it doesn't do anything unless the door is fully closed. The rotating part that goes over the pin on the door frame has two positions. The first position ("half-closed") retains the door, but is not fully closed, so the internal door lock won't work. The second position is engaged when the door is pushed further into the frame (which rotates the catch further around) and in this position the internal lock will work, as will the key lock on the outside (if you have a key).
Yes, if the door is fully closed and locked, the lever will override a "key-locked" door.
I don't have my machine here at present, and I can't remember which position of the lever is locked or unlocked.
After moving the locking lever to the unlocked position, you still have to operate the door handle to open the door. If the door is fully closed and the lever is in the locked position, the door handle won't move. Irrespective of the position of the lever, the door handle will move (and open the door) if the door is in the half-closed position.

Hope that helps,

Coop

Originally Posted by C00P

Hi Lionel,

The little lever in the arc will lock/unlock the door from the inside on my 1976 SIII. However, it doesn't do anything unless the door is fully closed. The rotating part that goes over the pin on the door frame has two positions. The first position ("half-closed") retains the door, but is not fully closed, so the internal door lock won't work. The second position is engaged when the door is pushed further into the frame (which rotates the catch further around) and in this position the internal lock will work, as will the key lock on the outside (if you have a key).
Yes, if the door is fully closed and locked, the lever will override a "key-locked" door.
I don't have my machine here at present, and I can't remember which position of the lever is locked or unlocked.
After moving the locking lever to the unlocked position, you still have to operate the door handle to open the door. If the door is fully closed and the lever is in the locked position, the door handle won't move. Irrespective of the position of the lever, the door handle will move (and open the door) if the door is in the half-closed position.

Hope that helps,

Coop

G'day Coop,


Okay working off what you and Drifter wrote and the status here on the ground I ran out of options. I have put my somewhat considerable weight against the door so it is definitely in the fully closed position and the little lever inside the arc does Sweet Fanny Adams.

So realising that the door latch is locked and the arc lever does not override it I undid the three bolts that hold the lock on the door. Yes - somewhere over its previous life a bolt has come adrift and the lock has not been square to the latch pin. Over time this being out of skew may have done something nasty to the latch's internal mechanisms.

I then took the pin out of the door slide and undid the four hinge bolts into the firewall. I then manoeuvred the door so the handle could slide out. This has left the door lock still hooked into the pin in the door frame.

I will undo the two bolts that hold the pin. I have a couple of spare door handles and pins so I think the current lock has had its day.

I will take one of the locks off one of the spare doors to the locksmith and since the spare doors were off the same vehicle hopefully the locks will be the same.

So I will do a lock swap on Rebus's driver’s door and passenger door and have one key fitting two doors.

I will be fitting all the correct number of bolts back into the door and frame to avoid this joyous occasion happening again - well I will at least try to prevent it. I suspect that Mr Murphy has visited my passenger door.

Kind Regards
Lionel

Hello Coop & Others,

The door was taken off and the lock and the pin are together in their own embrace. But they are no longer on Rebus.

Gee isn't fun to go fishing with a piece of wire down the bulkhead door pillar to get out the captive nut and then do the same thing again when the nut decides to un-captivate itself while not accepting the door bolt that has just been freshly wire brushed to make sure the threads are clean.

I managed to get three out of four bolts in so the door is opening and closing again.

I have since learnt what part numbers MRC2178 and 79221 are. I will revisit this and get a stainless steel set in the very near future.

Kind Regards
Lionel

Originally Posted by Lionelgee

Gee isn't fun to go fishing with a piece of wire down the bulkhead door pillar to get out the captive nut and then do the same thing again when the nut decides to un-captivate itself while not accepting the door bolt that has just been freshly wire brushed to make sure the threads are clean.

Hi.

When the neighbours hear my kids yelling "Mum, Dad's working on the Land Rover and he's swearing again...... " you get to wondering if half that statement conveys any additional explanatory power.

Cheers,

Originally Posted by S3ute

Hi.

When the neighbours hear my kids yelling "Mum, Dad's working on the Land Rover and he's swearing again...... " you get to wondering if half that statement conveys any additional explanatory power.

Cheers,

Hello S3 Ute,

There are advantages of living on acerage as far as how far the voice and certain choice words can travel

After I got it all back together I must admit to having a Homer Simpson moment - "door opens; door closes; door opens; door closes ... .

Okay it is not perfect and it needs some adjustment - I can sort that out when I get the new stainless steel door pillar hinge bolt set. Especially since I have to take the door off again so I can have 4 bolts in the hinge, not just the three in it that it has now.

Kind Regards
Lionel

Originally Posted by Lionelgee

After I got it all back together I must admit to having a Homer Simpson moment - "door opens; door closes; door opens; door closes ... .

Hello again.

Yes, I have the odd Homer moment too - but often more like "Why youuuuu little............." usually followed by reaching for a cold chisel to execute plan A or a cold beer to think over plan B........

Cheers,