How Stiff is Your Thing? Options

[bkrantz]

Mine is too stiff, I think. Oh, the thing I mean is the internal door latch mechanism. And the part that seems stiff is the locking function.

In case your never spent any intimate time with the mechanism, the locking function is done by a stamped plate that shifts up (to lock) and down (to unlock). I continue to have problems unlocking the doors with keys, even after Curt did his magic on the cylinders.

Since the up-down shift of the locking plate is accomplished by the little lever on the internal end of the cylinder, as twisted by the key, so it would seem to be better if the plate shifted without much resistance.

Oh, and I have tried some different lubes.

[bkrantz]

OK, I decided to try some new ideas.

First, I will try the passenger door without internal lock/unlock function. I can still do that from outside with the key.

Here is the lock in stock form, with the lock rod pivot spring in place. The end of the spring (green arrow) traps the tab (red arrow) that is part of the locking plate. With the tab trapped to lock or unlock the latch, the pivot rotates and also moves the rod that goes down to the internal handle. In this state, the locking plate requires a lot of effort to shift up and down.