has anyone ever fixed their central locking on an e30?

[jintermont]

my problem is on the drivers door it will unlock everything but wont lock everything back up so i have to lock it on the trunk or passenger door

[Zues]

Has anyone replaced the drivers side door lock on their e30. Is this something im going to have to get from the dealer. I busted my lock and now it wont turn at all.

[lowlightbw]

i have the same "turn to the right and get jammed problem." everything else works fine with my locking system. im going to try the wd40 trick and then, just replace the actuator if that doesnt work.

[xLibelle]

i've heard that if one of the locking mechanisms is malfunctioning, it will send strange reactions into the rest of the system.

[TDE30]

Has anyone replaced the drivers side door lock on their e30. Is this something im going to have to get from the dealer. I busted my lock and now it wont turn at all.

You need a new tumbler, the lock cylinder is ~$70 from the dealer, I recommend buying it.

For everyone else's CL issues, I replaced my lock cylinder and lock actuator for the driver's door and the thing feels like brand new. Granted the parts were both new (setting me back roughly $160-170) you cannot undervalue the price of being able to get into your own vehicle.

Also, another culprit might be a bent rod somewhere in the door. Removing the door panel and giving everything a once over should be step number one before you order any of the aforementioned parts.

[xLibelle]

well, personnaly having rebuild a couple doors i can say that the biggest problem EVERYONE faces are the grommits that the rods go through when hinging on the levers.
After 20 years they ALL fall appart and this leaves for a LOT of room for movement. Order a bunch extra because they are hard as hell to install and you will destroy a few in the process.

Second, i have rebuilt the tumblers. Rather pull them appart, clean them throughly and rebuild liberatlly with grease. Worked on three that i have done.
The problem i'm stuck with is my keys are worn down over time and arent exactly the best match to the lock anymore. Need to do something about this.

[TDE30]

well, personnaly having rebuild a couple doors i can say that the biggest problem EVERYONE faces are the grommits that the rods go through when hinging on the levers.
After 20 years they ALL fall appart and this leaves for a LOT of room for movement. Order a bunch extra because they are hard as hell to install and you will destroy a few in the process.

Second, i have rebuilt the tumblers. Rather pull them appart, clean them throughly and rebuild liberatlly with grease. Worked on three that i have done.
The problem i'm stuck with is my keys are worn down over time and arent exactly the best match to the lock anymore. Need to do something about this.

The little rubber discs? I replaced them, I think there were four and that did help out quite a bit too.

Good idea on rebuilding the tumbler, I may eventually give that a try with the passenger's door. Do you have any recommendation on the lock actuators? I need to replace my driver's rear actuator due to the age-old buzzing noise, there's no quick fix/shortcut around spending another $100 is there?

[Knockenwelle]

My locks all work fine from either the trunk or the passenger door, but the driver's lock cylinder is F'ed up. I have to fight to get the key all the way in, and then I can spin the key round and round either direction, but it sometimes gets hung up. Having never had the tumbler out, I dunno if it's something broken, or just sticking. Thoughts?

[Car Addict]

well it is not an e30 but i fixed my central locking on my e28 but that was just replacing the lock cylinder so ya.

[Car Addict]

My locks all work fine from either the trunk or the passenger door, but the driver's lock cylinder is F'ed up. I have to fight to get the key all the way in, and then I can spin the key round and round either direction, but it sometimes gets hung up. Having never had the tumbler out, I dunno if it's something broken, or just sticking. Thoughts?

had the same issue as stated above i think i may have a pic one sec


as u can see in the pic the one closest is the new one. You see the little tail thing coming off now look at the cylinder above it notice anything missing. that is the problem most likely.


now i am not sure if the e28 and e30 system is close at all considering i have not looked at my e30's locking since it is fine. but that is what i have.

[xLibelle]

TDE30, rubber disk? no idea what that could be. What i'm talking about are clear plastic cylinders that act as bushings for the linkages. There are like 6 per door, something like that.
the only way to fix broken lock actuators are replacement. new or used. get the one off your trunk or gas door if youre going used. that way, if the used one sucks, its easily accessed via trunk.

[nando]

my locks always worked perfectly until some stupid fucking homeless dude tried to break my driver's lock with a screwdriver. he wasn't even sucessful, it's just really tight when using a key. I use keyless anyway but it still pisses me off.

[gearheadE30]

For those of you with worn keys, you can buy a VIN matched key from the dealer, probably for some outrageous price.

[Rodoni]

i just use the trunk when my driver side door is being finiky. The trunk is the easiest place to turn too. Doesnt bother me much.

[xLibelle]

To order new key the hard and cheap way, you can remove the tumbler, take the pins out and note down the code. This code can be used for reproducing an e30 key.

i think.... right? ive never gone through with it but i know that that code is essentially the key's cut.