How to install door lock cylinder

Seth Swoboda

Seth Swoboda

Well-known member
Does anyone know a good trick to line up the square shaft of the door lock cylinder into the door latch. Car is a '36.
 
i've got two new ones at the locksmith getting a key made to match the one for the ignition and will soon have the pleasure of installing them. i've heard a little bit of plumbers putty can hold them in place during installation.

i'm planning on finding a couple of o-rings to do the job. or maybe a rubber band.

regardless...i'm expecting to be frustrated beyond imagination. :)
 
I take a thin kcirp (lol) point and stick it from the inside through the hole. Then I take the lock cylinder shaft and hold it against the pin with pressure. this allows me to back it in and turn the square shaft to the correct position.
 
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34fordy said:
I take a thin kcirp (lol) point and stick it from the inside through the hole. Then I take the lock cylinder shaft and hold it against the pin with pressure. this allows me to back it in and turn the square shaft to the correct position.
Click to expand...

I use a piece of stiff wire ...
 
Kube said:
I use a piece of stiff wire ...
Click to expand...


You are guiding the lock shaft along the thin wire? Do you insert the thin wire in the set screw hole to hold the square shaft upright? It seems that when the lock cylinder is in the door the wire can no longer hold the shaft up. Hopefully that makes sense.
 
Not sure if its the same, but for my Model A I pushed a short piece of plastic straw over the shaft, pinched the end then it was easy to line up with the hole. Pull hard on the straw while pushing the handle and the shaft will slide in.
 
I dripped some melted candle wax on the square connection to the lock that made it rigid when you insert it in. The wax breaks off the minute you turn it.
 
I use a small glob of duct seal putty at the end of the cylinder body, mold it around the lock shaft and install. The putty stays attached to the lock cylinder and the shaft can turn freely. Having the duct seal putty over the end of the lock cylinder helps shield water from entering the rear of the lock.
 
After and hour and a half of fooling around with the lock cylinder I realized that you can stick the wire all the way through the lock cylinder to guide the square shaft. Then I carefully lined up the shaft and slowly turned the cylinder and it went in. Thank God because I had to be at work this morning at 8 am.


Now after all of that the lock cylinder turns with the key but does not unlock the door. for now I'm leaving it alone and won't lock the doors.
 
Seth,Here is what that latch looks like out of the car. The hole on the extention at the bottom has a hole .That is where the square of the shank goes in.That should turn ,if all is there and actuate a plate that moves up and lock the latch..Not sure if this helps.Does the key just spin when you turn it or stop and turn back? Sheldon
 

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deuce lover said:
Seth,Here is what that latch looks like out of the car. The hole on the extention at the bottom has a hole .That is where the square of the shank goes in.That should turn ,if all is there and actuate a plate that moves up and lock the latch..Not sure if this helps.Does the key just spin when you turn it or stop and turn back? Sheldon
Click to expand...


The key stops and turns back. With the lock cylinder out I took a flat blade screwdriver and turned the lock part of the door latch and I could lock and unlock the door this way. When I install the lock cylinder it seems as if the lock cylinder does not make enough rotation to unlock the latch mechanism. With the key in the lock cylinder, it does rotate and stop allowing me to remove the key. I have done a lot of V8 repair over the years but I don't have much experience with lock cylinders.


Much of my time spent yesterday evening was studying how the latch and lock cylinder work together. I have the door panel on and want to avoid removing it unless I have to. Authentic upholstery doesn't grow on trees anymore.
 
just picked up my recently purchased Bob Drake door locks at the locksmith's today. i had the cylinders modified, as mentioned in my previous post, such that now my glovebox lock and the door locks and the trunk lock use the same key. and will now have the pleasure of installing the locks in the doors.

sooo....on the way home i stopped at Home Depot and bought some #5 o-rings. they fit over the square stock with a bit of stretching and two of them hold that piece of square stock fairly rigid. i'm hoping that will facilitate installation. ...probably a false hope (actually, i'm a "glass half full" kinda guy, and with all the failures i've suffered over the years, i should probably be a "glass three-quarters empty" guy), but a hope nonetheless. :)
 
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hueyhoolihan said:
just picked up my recently purchased Bob Drake door locks at the locksmith's today. i had the cylinders modified, as mentioned in my previous post, such that now my glovebox lock and the door locks and the trunk lock use the same key. and will now have the pleasure of installing the locks in the doors.

sooo....on the way home i stopped at Home Depot and bought some #5 o-rings. they fit over the square stock with a bit of stretching and two of them hold that piece of square stock fairly rigid. i'm hoping that will facilitate installation. ...probably a false hope (actually, i'm a "glass half full" kinda guy, and with all the failures i've suffered over the years, i should probably be a "glass three-quarters empty" guy), but a hope nonetheless. :)
Click to expand...


You can do it. Actually, I installed mine 3 times. When it wasn't working properly I removed it two more times and re-installed. So a total of 3 installations. That's part of what ate up so much of my time.
 
The lock square shaft may not be in the proper orientation for the square hole in the door latch. Try rotating the shaft 90 degrees.
 
Terry said:
The lock square shaft may not be in the proper orientation for the square hole in the door latch. Try rotating the shaft 90 degrees.
Click to expand...

ya, it bit of planning and manipulation of the cylinder with the key during assembly may be necessary to position the square peg in the square hole and ensure the cylinder and key is vertical (if that's what's desired) and matches the orientation of the lock on the other door.

...wouldn't want to end up with the key upside down or ninety degrees offset (not even certain that's possible) and have to install one or both of them again. :)
 
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