Rear Window Lock Station Wagon 1956 Issue

[Jwawhite]

I've re keyed the doors and glovebox and turned my attention to the rear lock. Unbelievable but my key works! Turning the key about 20 degrees to the right allows the upper pin ( on the handle top L side) to be depressed and the lock barrel comes out. The handle bolts outside and the locking mechanism bolts to the underside of the window. The key barrel has a bar on the surface which turns a small barrel with a male Allen type protrusion. This Allen turns the locking mechanism , lock and unlock. But, the small barrel kinks? up and I can't turn the key when the unit is mounted on the car. Question: is something missing from the lock barrel and small barrel which prevents the smooth operation?

 

[Daves55Sedan]

Ummm, that handle and mechanism is the exact same on the Courier models, except the handle is located at the right edge of the Courier rear door instead of in the middle of the wagon liftgate.
It sounds to me like you need to take the handle/mechanism off and remove the lock cylinder. Squirt some WD40 down where that small barrel is to free it up some. After that, grab a pipe-cleaner or something to swipe some lubriplate way down in there, then when you push the lock cylinder back in, it will shove the lubriplate down where that small barrel is.
I did that to my Courier door handle in 1998, and now almost 20 years later, it is beginning to get a little difficult to turn the key, but you can tell that the lubriplate has dried up, probably from the sun beating down on that handle, heating up the lubriplate and drying it up into a powder.
I wouldn't use the lock at all, but sometimes I go to Aldi's grocery for some stuff, then I go to Kroger's directly afterward, so I lock it to keep thieves from stealing my Aldi's grocery haul. I hate that.

 

[Jwawhite]

Hey Dave! I've had the entire unit apart...I wonder, if the parts are worn, is this the reason why the end of the key barrel does not fit tightly up against the barrel part that turns the lock mechanism? My key barrel end has a raised bar across it ( in the center) that turns the short barrel that has a raised triangle on it. I saw another key barrel end that has an offset raised bar, is my key barrel wrong? The barrel kinks up and cannot turn the lock mechanism.

 

[Daves55Sedan]

Flip the lock cover upward to view the lock cylinder installed in the door handle. The lock cylinder itself should be recessed down in there a little bit. If the key end of the lock cylinder is flush with the chrome surface of the door handle under the lock cover, it is not down in there all the way and will not engage with the actuator.
The key must be turned in order to remove the lock cylinder from the door handle. When the key is turned, there is a little pin at the back and top of the lock cylinder that can be pushed down to clear it from the housing. Once that pin is pushed down, pull the key (while the key is turned) and the whole lock cylinder comes out of the handle. To re-install, turn the key until the pin can be pushed down and insert the lock cylinder in the handle. Push it all the way down until the pin mates with the hole in the housing, the turn the key to the un-locked position and make sure the pin pops up into the hole. Now the lock cylinder is locked in place. If the raised semi-rectangular dog at the business end of the lock cylinder is not aligned with the mating recess, it will not be possible to get the lock cylinder to go all the way down and subsequently will not be locked in place. So prior to attempting to install the lock cylinder, turn and hold the actuator so that it will properly mate with the business end of the lock cylinder.
There can be some wear on the raised portion of the rectangular dog and it should still work, but it just requires turning the key a little more to get it to actuate.
Lubricate all the moving parts prior to assembly

 

[Jwawhite]

I think I know what may wrong, there may be a sedan lock instead of a Station Wagon lock in the deck lid. There is a difference on the rear of the tumbler. New lock is on it's way, stay tuned.

 

[Jwawhite]

Yep! That's what it was all along, someone put in a lock for a Sedan Deck Lid instead of a Wagon Deck Lid. That took some time to figure out.....the photo is the Sedan lock, sorry, I already installed the Wagon type. See the bar at the end of the barrel? The Wagon has a Triangle.