Changing door locks/spinning lock cylinder

[khammack]

Just ordered a door lock and the dealer will order it keyed to my current key. They use the VIN to get the lock keyed correctly. Cost with a BMW CCA discount is $311.

[hgg2k]

@ Steve F

Hi,

I am having the same problem with both the door lock spinning and today I've decided to see if I can fix them.
I found all the pieces in the door bottom except the one in the red rectangle.



Where is this piece supposed to go?

If I put everything all parts in the lock except the small block with the long spring,
any key turns the lock. If I put all the parts in the lock then the key cannot spin
the lock at all.

Is this because I am missing that part?

Thank you.

[Slooperman]

And to add one more thing to this post in case any of you are still wrestling with this (I've had to do both my locks twice). If you lose that little spring, good luck finding one that small at a hardware store. My wife actually came up with the solution....use the spring that's inside those ballpoint pens (the ones you have to click to retract the point). Skinnier the pen, skinnier the spring. The one I used was actually still a hair too big, but a slight ream of the hole in that block and it fit perfectly.

You my friend are a life saver. Give your wife a peck on the cheek from me.

[EmmJay]

Thanks to this thread I was able to tackle my passenger spinning door lock issue over the weekend. Thankfully I managed to find all the pieces ("T" plate, black spring and the rectangular spring holder) in my door, put everything together and then used J-B Weld Steel Reinforced Epoxy to hold the "T" plate in place. Now everything works and as an added bonus I won't have to listen to the little metal rattles in my door anymore, yay!

door.1.jpegdoor.2.jpegdoor.3.jpeg

[khammack]

Just be aware that if you had one fail, the other can't be far behind. I had my driver's side door fail and then two weeks after I fixed it, the passenger door failed.

[EmmJay]

Just be aware that if you had one fail, the other can't be far behind. I had my driver's side door fail and then two weeks after I fixed it, the passenger door failed.

I'm not too sure when it actually failed as it failed sometime in the previous owners ownership. Interesting thing is that when I was looking in the door for missing pieces I found 2 "t" plates, 1 spring and 2 rectangular spring holders. I was initially confused, but then when I looked through the records it turns out that many years ago the previous owner replaced the door lock at the dealer, so guessing the tech didn't bother checking the door and just left everything in there leaving me some spares. Drivers side still seems to work OK and will repair if it ever breaks, but all access is now through keyless so should hopefully be good for a long time

[khammack]

It doesn't seem to be effected by usage. I always use the remote and have only used the key 5 or 10 time in 20 years, but both of my door locks failed. Not sure when they failed (except I did check the drivers door about 2 weeks after fixing the passenger door and it was spinning) because I don't use the key that much.

[Hoyt Clagwell]

Could it be that using the key locks actually helps keep them working? The passenger side of my car had a stuck key lock that I was able to remedy with lube after some lubing/trying cycles. I almost never used the passenger side lock. The driver's side worked fine but I lubed it up anyway.

[khammack]

Could it be that using the key locks actually helps keep them working? The passenger side of my car had a stuck key lock that I was able to remedy with lube after some lubing/trying cycles. I almost never used the passenger side lock. The driver's side worked fine but I lubed it up anyway.

I think these are two different issues. The gummy or stuck lock is a build-up of dirt and grease which can be resolved with lubrication, while the spinning key is because the back side of the lock falls apart and must be reassembled or replaced.

[bombur]

Is it possible to do this fix without removing the door handle/lock please

[Dakar Ole]

Yes, it is possible because I've done it but it is hard to explain how difficult it is.

I will say that it's a one handed operation.

[sjdennis]

I finally got around to doing this fix myself. Not much to add to this old thread but everything in it was very helpful. Both my doors had the problem. I was only able to find enough parts inside the doors to fix one of the doors (Tee, square plunger, and spring). I used my 3D printer to duplicate the Tee and the Plunger for the other door and was able to get a suitable spring online. I also designed a snap on cover that will hold the Tee in place so it does not fall out again. The black parts are the ones I made. I will send the .stl files to whoever wants them or I will try to upload them to this thread if I can figure out how. I recommend using PETG to print them. I was missing the bushing on one of the doors and was able to duplicate it in TPU.
IMG_0885.jpgIMG_0948.jpg

[Robrecht]

Thanks, SJ. I'm sure that will be very helpful to many people encountering this problem.