Problem installing new door lock

[bstarr3]

I've got a new-to-me 91 318i 4 door with a lousy driver's door lock. I got my door lock rebuild kit from Pelican today. Wife and kid out of the house tonight - perfect time for a quickish little project with small parts. I used this thread for a step by step. Unfortunately, I didn't even get to the rebuilding the lock part, because my door is not designed the way that this thread (or Bentley) show.

I'm talking about this:


Instead of a nice wide open space behind the weather sealant, I have a more or less solid steel panel. There are a couple of holes in the panel, but no large spaces where you can get a good look at everything/get a hand in. I could barely see the retaining clip, had a hard time imagining getting it out, and I know I couldn't get it back in.

I decided to button it back up and seek guidance here. Has anybody encountered this? Do I have to take the door panel apart to get to that lock? Any help? I, of course, didn't take pictures while I was in there. :?

[89 e30]

Same as my door and I got it in and out pretty easy. You just stick your hand in from the right and a screwdriver through the smaller hole that way you can just push the clip out. The retainer clip is pretty hard to miss it is pretty big and goes around the whole lock

[bstarr3]

Thanks for the help, but I must not have explained correctly. The picture is what a normal e30 door looks like. My problem is that my door doesn't have that big hole behind the plastic. As a matter of fact it doesn't have any plastic. Just what appears to be some foam soundproofing. Has anyone encountered this before, and how would I get a lock in/out?

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[bstarr3]

Bump. Am I the only person who's ever come across this problem?

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[blocke]

Pics would help

[Holland]

Did your inner door panel fall apart? Sounds like someone was in there before, and either replaced the plastic with foam or forgot the plastic entirely and your sound proofing welded itself to your door.

[bmwstephen]

pics would help

[dogsbark26]

It does sound like the previous owner sealed the holes and soundproofed over. You will likely need to peel back / off the soundproofing in order to determine how the holes were sealed (glue, tape, welded, screws, etc.) and with what (wood, metal, fiberglass, etc.). Only then will it be possible to determine how to proceed.

[bstarr3]

I'll attempt the job again tomorrow and post pics. I wish I had pics to express what I was trying to say, but the entire panel is OEM steel, painted OEM diamondschwarz. That's what's behind the soundproofing. There is no opening in the door, except for a few holes no more than an inch across.

[dogsbark26]

Ah, yes. Now I understand. The sedan doors ARE different from the coupe doors pictured in the tutorial.




The sedan doors simply require you to fish your arm up a little farther (from the big hole down farther in the door) in order to reach the lock. It is possible. I've done mine (pictured). It does take some perseverance. The screwdriver (or other lever) is inserted through one of the smaller holes near the lock mechanism (you can shine a light into another one of the holes near the lock) and your hand / fingers just guide the tool to the proper location. If you drop the clip when it pops off, it is easily retrievable from the base of the door with a magnetic tool. Reattachment is possible in this same manner.

[bstarr3]

Thanks for the reply. Glad to know I'm not crazy, but certainly not looking forward to being up to my shoulder inside the door! I guess if it's been done before, I can do it. I'm just hoping to get away from relying on my shit paint job to prevent people from stealing my unlocked car!

[bstarr3]

Just tried this. Spent about 45 minutes on it but couldn't get my arm up far enough to really reach it. The other problem seems to be holding the assembly and the switch plate in place while getting the clip on there. Holy shit do I wish I had a coupe at this moment! Any tips?

Also while we're at it any reasons the key wouldn't turn in the lock? I guess I'm going to take it back apart and recheck the tumblers but are there any other reasons it wouldn't work?

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[bstarr3]

Got it!

I had taken the tumblers out as I removed the key - bottom to top. I put them back in upside down. D'oh! So once I fixed that... nothing! But, once I tried my factory key, instead of the hardware store copy spare, the lock worked!

After a painful amount of time fiddling with it last night, I couldn't get it. But after about ten minutes and two tries this morning, it fell right into place. So, now I have a working lock in my door. And also I've now found that my central locking isn't working. One more project to the list.... But overall, it's so cool to take your car apart, put it back together, and have it work. I'm really loving my new hobby.

[jrobie79]

But overall, it's so cool to take your car apart, put it back together, and have it work. I'm really loving my new hobby.

Preach it...I feel lost when I don't have anything to do to my car on a particular weekend. Whether it be regular maintenance or a "mod" or customization, its addicting with these little bastards

[dogsbark26]

Congratulations. Wasn't that hard, was it?

By the way, if you correctly recorded the pin numbers, that is the code a locksmith needs to cut a key from code.

What do you mean "central locking isn't working"? Was it working before? All doors must be closed for the central locking to operate. Do all doors lock with the doors closed using the driver door pin from inside? Does the driver door lock with the door closed using the driver door pin? How about from the trunk?