98 S70 Driver's side door lock pull question...

[theWIFES_S70]

So I lost the little rubber grommet that goes around the driver's side door lock pull. I purchased a new one and put it in, but it made opening the car rather difficult (I don't know if it was too tight around the door lock pull or if the pull was already bending) so I took it off because I didn't want any problems. I haven't noticed any issues with opening or locking the door. And it's been without the grommet for months now.

Well, it seems either my wife or I have elbowed this thing one too many times... I tried to straighten it out but it would move easily, so I decided not to force it. I imagine it's only a matter of time before this breaks. I want to prepare for it and hoard the part until it's needed... (To own a P80 is to always have parts lying around, no?)

s70_door_lock.jpg (33.09 KiB) Viewed 1463 times

So how do I prepare for this? Thanks guys!

[SonicAdventure]

Pretty simple fix - once you have removed the door panel.

These little lock toggles are pretty cheaply made honestly. The plastic part you pull on is only about 3" long, after that there is about another 3-4" of metal wire (think about a heavy metal coat hangar for approximate gauge) that has a small loop at the end that hooks onto the sliding lock actuator.

Some things are very well thought out and strongly engineered on these cars; some things are surprisingly flimsy. The sliding cup holders and these lock toggles are good examples of the latter.

You probably bent the wire part which is why it's sticking at that angle. Does the door still lock and unlock when you push / pull it? If not then the little hook at the end popped off the actuator.

You can buy these items online or the local junkyard where they cost next to nothing. Good luck!

[SonicAdventure]

Pretty simple fix - once you have removed the door panel.

These little lock toggles are pretty cheaply made honestly. The plastic part you pull on is only about 3" long, after that there is about another 3-4" of metal wire (think about a heavy metal coat hangar for approximate gauge) that has a small loop at the end that hooks onto the sliding lock actuator.

Some things are very well thought out and strongly engineered on these cars; some things are surprisingly flimsy. The sliding cup holders and these lock toggles are good examples of the latter.

You probably bent the wire part which is why it's sticking at that angle. Once you have the panel pulled, you can pop the toggle off and straighten it. Does the door still lock and unlock when you push / pull it? If not then the little hook at the end popped off the actuator.

You can buy these items online or the local junkyard where they cost next to nothing. Good luck!

[erikv11]

Kudos to Sonic for figuring out what the heck Marco was asking for! And knowing exactly how to address it.

[scot850]

I was looking at the price of new ones as I have to replace the front ones on my new project. On Tasca website the part is listed at $1.80 each! I was planning a trip to PnP to source but temp is forecast to be at -10C or below for the next week or so, so may buy new to move project forward.

Neil.

[theWIFES_S70]

Pretty simple fix - once you have removed the door panel.

These little lock toggles are pretty cheaply made honestly. The plastic part you pull on is only about 3" long, after that there is about another 3-4" of metal wire (think about a heavy metal coat hangar for approximate gauge) that has a small loop at the end that hooks onto the sliding lock actuator.

Some things are very well thought out and strongly engineered on these cars; some things are surprisingly flimsy. The sliding cup holders and these lock toggles are good examples of the latter.

You probably bent the wire part which is why it's sticking at that angle. Does the door still lock and unlock when you push / pull it? If not then the little hook at the end popped off the actuator.

You can buy these items online or the local junkyard where they cost next to nothing. Good luck!

hey Sonic, thanks for the reply. The door still lock and unlocks fine. I'll keep an eye on it! I just found pictures of the wire you're talking about...

s70_doorlock_toggle.jpg (41.59 KiB) Viewed 1380 times

You're right, not too expensive off eBay!

Kudos to Sonic for figuring out what the heck Marco was asking for! And knowing exactly how to address it.

I new it wasn't a "lock" but who knew it was a toggle?? I went with "pull" because "push" didn't seem to fit it! (Even though we all probably push it down more than we pull it!) It's probably got some crazy name in Sweeden!

[SonicAdventure]

Kudos to Sonic for figuring out what the heck Marco was asking for! And knowing exactly how to address it.

Hey my pleasure and you guys have always been there for me when I needed help! When I have knowledge I want to share - learned a lot about these darn locks cause I've def. had my share of issues with them that's for sure! Lol

[SonicAdventure]

As far as these little toggles are concerned, I really think the grommet is more important than it appears to be. Both my front doors have issues with the toggles being or becoming bent / misaligned etc., and both of the toggles are missing the grommet. My back doors I believe still have the grommets and no problems there. Now, I don't use the back doors as often, but I think not having the grommets up front gives the toggles just enough play that snagging them on clothing or with your hands or elbows (reaching out the window to grab your tacos at the drive thru?.?.?.?.) starts to misalign and slowly starts to bend the pretty flimsy metal guide rods and eventually after many minor hits they can pop off internally. For some reason even though my passenger door locks and unlocks fine, the toggle is barely above the door panel when unlocked and almost flush with it when locked. I've tried bending the rod and getting it to stand straight but with that grommet, it's kind of too much to expect, esp. given the relatively light construction of this aspect of the unit.

I prefer a door lock mechanism that doesn't use these vertical toggles but instead uses the pivoting tab near the inner door handle release lever. Toyotas and Hondas seem to use the latter style more often than not, not only in the 80's and 90's but these days as well. But I think the vertical toggle is just past its prime and should be done away with. But in the meantime we have to work with what we have.

I'm going to go online and look into getting a pair of new OEM grommets for my front doors and see if that improves things. The used grommets are pretty much free at the junkyards as long as you pay for one real item, but they aren't worth it because they are too brittle most of the time to even get off without breaking them. The toggles on the other hand might be $1 a piece at the yard and a solid non-contorted one would probably be well worth it. Once you have the door panel off and see how they attach to the lock actuator you will be surprised that they haven't popped off before! Just a friction fit to a little circle tab, that's it.

Good luck!

[abscate]

Thanks for help Sonic, and for using the report function to clean up...this makes mod life easy.