Door lock question....

[MrBinAz]

Seems kinda like a silly question, but I've become so used to new cars that my memory of older vehicles has posed me with this question:

I remember the old days as.....
locking the door by pushing the pin down and closing the door....done...door locked.
Now days....you lock 'em with the key after closing the door....I guess to prevent leaving the key in the ignition.

On my '72 , are the door locks supposed to work by pushing down the pin/post on the inside and then closing the door? (doesn't work like that now) or locking the door with the key lock from the outside (sorta works like that now but having key/tumbler issues).

<<<<me.........ready to be schooled

[matapalo]

I've always had to use the keys to lock the doors on my '72 suburban. I'm pretty sure thats how they were made to work but then again I've always had problems with sticky/hard to turn doorlocks.

It's actually quite an ordeal to lock my burb up; I carry around a rock (hand picked from the bottom of Canyon De Chelly) and a pair of pliers (antiques from my great-grandfather's collection) to pound the pin down and pry it up again because it sticks so badly. I suppose one of these days I'll have to get around to fixing it...but then I'd miss the rock and pliers so...

[Frizzle Fry]

Lock with key after closing the door. Locking before closing will cause it to pop up.

[MrBinAz]

Ok.......so it appears that I have a lock/key issue on the drivers side door only.
The passenger side and rear cargo door work good.
What can I do? Is the lock repairable? Figure the key is OK since it works on the other locks.
Hate to end up with having to buy new locks.

Thanks guys.....

[MrBinAz]

Oh.....another thing.....I'm not crazy right? They did make cars that could lock the old way right? Push the pin and close the door.....locked.

[Frizzle Fry]

Yes there are cars that lock that way. I wish ours did. If your key won't turn in the drivers side only, that door cylinder may have been replaced. It could also just be frozen. With your inner door panel off, the cylinder comes out by removing one clip. Take it out and lube it up. Worste case, take it to a locksmith.

[Scrubby]

Originally Posted by MrBinAz

Oh.....another thing.....I'm not crazy right? They did make cars that could lock the old way right? Push the pin and close the door.....locked.

Yep. Actually in 73, GM changed the trucks to do this same thing. It is a pain, but I have never locked my keys in the burb.

[skeeter288]

the door locks in my 68 panel work like yours. i don't worry about it. you can't lock yourself out thatway. if it really bothers you, get an aftermarket power lock kit and install it . i installed one on my dakota and it works great. once i get a good set of doors for my panel thats what i'm gonna do.

[ol' truck]

man.. I was wondering about this.. I thought only honda and some newer cars did it.. nice..

[bagged91]

The reason your door is having difficulty locking could be one of these 2 reasons...

#1) Your door latch is "sticking". Soak it with CRC or WD-40 or Tri-Flow. I actually removed mine from the door(it broke). I soaked the crap out of the new one, got the catch to spin nice & free and I greased the contact surfaces. After reinstalling, it works fine and locks with just your fingertip on the key. The lock cylinder had nothing to do with it...

#2) Your door is out of alignment. You may notice that you have to push, pull or jiggle your door to get it to lock. Again, that is because the dogleg in the catch isn't engaging.

This is my experience with the locks on burbs. Also, I found out it's really fun to put it all back together with the glass in...