Simple Door Lock Actuator Removal and Repair
#1
Simple Door Lock Actuator Removal and Repair
The actuator is held by two screws to the lock body and one visible clip to the mechanism. Unfortunately the screw heads are blocked by the door inner sheet metal. For easy removal drill a hole in the sheet metal large enough too accommodate a screw driver and remove the screws. open the clip and remove the actuator.
To open the actuator use a sharp knife and a hammer and split the seams. Open the actuator very carefully and note where both slide pieces are. You will need this info for reinstallation. If you have a defective motor you can find a replacement on eBay or a hobby store. A broken gear is another problem. I tried to find one in a drone hobby shop and although the have tons of gears, I could not find a replacement. I could not find any on this site either. My drive gear was cleanly split down the middle. This is a nylon gear and was repaired as follows. I put the gear together in a "C" clamp and laid two small brads 90 degrees to the break and used a soldering iron to heat the brads and sink them into the nylon. I then removed the gear from the clamp and epoxied a brass disk to the other side of the disk. The gear had good structural strength. I did not glue the actuator together but used two heavy plastic ties. Replacing the actuator in the door was a snap using the same holes previously drilled
To open the actuator use a sharp knife and a hammer and split the seams. Open the actuator very carefully and note where both slide pieces are. You will need this info for reinstallation. If you have a defective motor you can find a replacement on eBay or a hobby store. A broken gear is another problem. I tried to find one in a drone hobby shop and although the have tons of gears, I could not find a replacement. I could not find any on this site either. My drive gear was cleanly split down the middle. This is a nylon gear and was repaired as follows. I put the gear together in a "C" clamp and laid two small brads 90 degrees to the break and used a soldering iron to heat the brads and sink them into the nylon. I then removed the gear from the clamp and epoxied a brass disk to the other side of the disk. The gear had good structural strength. I did not glue the actuator together but used two heavy plastic ties. Replacing the actuator in the door was a snap using the same holes previously drilled
The following 3 users liked this post by afterburner1:
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afterburner1 (04-02-2017)
#4
Right on! It a small finishing nail. On second thought I should have use a short thin screw in lieu of the brads for greater strength. I don't think it will make much difference in the long run. The replacement of the card is a bugger. Fitting four slide catches took a while to get all to engage and locating the blind screw hole for the arm rest was difficult. All in all it was an easy project and it sure beats going to the local Jag dealer at $100+ hour labor costs!