'86 Carrera Driver Side Door Lock Quit Working

[triwave]

My '86 driver side door locks no longer function when I use the key in the door or the central lock system in the center counsel. I can manually move the lock up and down with the wheel on the inside door panel ... but of course I can't do this from outside so I can no longer lock my car in the parking lot.

When using the central lock system the passenger side works fine, and I can still hear a good snap on the drivers side (of an actuator I presume?).

Is there some simple mechanism that connects the power lock system to the manual lock mechanism? If anybody had a similar problem and experiance how to fix I'd like to hear your thoughts.

BTW, that window is kind of slow so I'll try to fix it while I'm inside the door, suggestions appreciated...

Thanks - Warren

[stone43]

Mine does the same thing. I have to manually lock the driver's door by reaching in the passenger side and turning the wheel. But I can still unlock it with a key.

Still a pain in the arse, so if anyone has an easy fix, I am all ears as well. Damn that bloody central locking SNAFU.

[RandalJ]

I had a similar lock problem last year. If you can hear the lock solenoid work on the driver's side, it is probably OK, and the problem is most likely the mechanism between the solenoid and the lock.

There is a ball and socket mechanism what wears out. The ball is metal but the socket is plastic. Mine cracked and gradually would not hold the ball any more. It would "push" but not "pull". Or was it "pull" and not "push"?

Anyway this is why it will work in one direction but not the other when you use your key. You can easily see what is happening when you get your door panel off and observe as you lock and unlock using the key. The plastic socket screws on to a threaded metal shaft, so it is replaceable. I went to 20th St Auto here in Phoenix, which has a lot of wrecked 911s, and got a replacement.

Have had no problems since.

[makaio]

From what you described, it is the ball socket portion of the threaded rod inside the door. I had the same problem on my 86, just as everybody else has or is going to have.

If I remeber correctly, the replacemenct part # is: 963-537-37-100

When I purchased mine, I was told at Pelican they did not carry it. But I would check with them first.

[ruf-porsche]

Broken Linkage or the linkage came off.

[triwave]

So I guessed something along that line ... sounds easy enough to identify when I get a chance to take the door insides off. So ... is it fairly easy to remove the door panel without damaging/messing up anything?

[ruf-porsche]

Only tricky part is to remove the center knob that open and lock the door. You need to pry the center cover off to loosen the screw behind the cover.

Get your self a glue stick so that you can tack back on the plastic barrier bewteen the inner door and door panel.

[triwave]

Update: The diagnosis was dead on! I followed the instructions and removed the door panel easily. I ordered the plastic socket in advance (~$3) and had the whole thing done in <2hrs. The glue stick was a good idea Only comment I had on removing door panels is about the power window switches. I did not need to remove at all - just pulled the panel away from the frame enough and carefully pulled out the wire so I could get my fingers in there and disconnect the wires. Assembled in reverse and had no problems without need to remove window switches. YMMV

Thanks to all who contributed!

[falcon]

I came across this thread through a search since my drivers side door lock quit on me.

I used Bentleys pages 950-4 and 950-5 to Identify the problem. I could not see the problem since the "actuator connecting rod" was between the door panels and a light source was not available. I reached in to see if I can disconnect the top socket from the "door latch ball" and found that the rod had come loose due to the top portion of the rod had been broken off probably due to stress and age. I tried to disconnect the bottom portion of the rod to the actuator (part with bellows) but I could not get a good angle to remove the clip. I removed the 2 "actuator mounting screws" and was able to bring the whole assembly through the cutout of the door and access the clip. Here's some pics:





I purchased the "door operating rod" part number OEM-96453757100 from our host and replaced the stock rod here:



I noticed that the new black plastic part (about 3 bucks) was shorter than the stock part. I decided to loosely install the actuator pull the rod to the farthest travel and then tighten the actuator screws. This would limit the travel of the rod. Door lock was in the "open" configuration. After tightening the screws I turned on the battery and tried the remote. The doorlocks now work. I tried the up and down of the doorlocks about 5 times with no indication that the travel of the rod was going to "fall off"

I buttoned everything up.

I purchased and extra rod for the passenger side, but I decided against opening up the other door since it was not broken......so I aint fixing it :-)

Here are more pics:

[How2]

I would like to know if the "socket end" is available through any source as mine just broke.



If any one has a lead,would like to hear - looking around I haven't seen anything.


BTW what is the above part made of?

[Klax]

The socket end that is used for the auto heat arm works for the doors also. 999-168-021-40/100 is part number I have. I bought a bunch of them a couple years ago and used one for the door.

[jgurnari]

I am having an issue with locks as well. Locks go down then immediately pop up when trying to lock the doors for outside driver door.

.. lock doors PERIODICALLY... Center locking works PERIODICALLY! NEW micro switches, its NOT the console button unit (tried a second unit).

When I am in the car and push the console button over and over the door locks move down in increments, when they get low enough to lock they pop up again!

Could it be the EUC if it does work periodically?

[Keithg]

Happy that our 1984 doesn't have power ANYTHING except side windows...............

[JRSIII]

jgurnari...I had the same issue when trying to lock the door from the outside of the drivers side using the key. The door would lock then immediately pop back up. Turned out to be an issue with the anti-lockout. This is the feature that won't let you lock the doors if they are open so that you can't lock the keys in the car. Look at your door striker. There is a piece of white plastic in there. In my case, this had broken and the broken piece had fallen to the bottom of the striker, preventing the latch from properly engaging the post. This resulting in the the car "thinking" the door was open and engaging the anti-lockout. Here is something I posted a while back, which might help.

1988 Door Latch Mechanism - Anti-Lockout

[waizone]

I have an ‘84 with manual locks and experiencing same issue on drivers side. Same fix? Thanks