1988 Door Locks Not Working!!!

[clutch_dust]

I have searched to no avail.

My trim piece is fine, my key will turn to the unlock position on both doors, but the locks will not lock at all. I have pushed the door tabs almost to the point of breaking them, I have twisted a key trying to do it from the outside, I have taken the door panels off and traced the jam to the little box looking thing on the rear side of the door panel, but I can't get in there to see what is causing the issue. I can't lock my car and I need to get this fixed a.s.a.p.!

Any suggestions or ideas on what could be wrong and how to fix it?

 

[mjsn1]

First check if you can lock the doors from the inside, if they dont:

Take out the door panel, remove the lock that is inside the door "the box thing" and the door handle lock. test them as they are outside of the door with the wires connected and all, give them a good clean and lubricate them from the inside and out. If that didnt work then you have a wiring problem.

 

[peytoncoyote]

it could also be the doors saging not alowing them to lock

 

[clutch_dust]

I can't seem to get the "box" out. I've taken out every screw I can find and it wiggles but it won't come out. I checked the door sag and it's not perfect but it's close enough that it wouldn't give me any problems.

 

[peytoncoyote]

Then it is very possible for it to be eletrical, if you can't get the box out the toyota dealership should have a wire diagram if you don't have one. You should be able to read the wires and the box out to make sure you are getting voltage and the box is working properly.

 

[jonahs_supra]

have same problem with mine
spray some penatrating oil into lock cylinders
then try and work it loose

50% chance it will work out but if not you will need to replace lock cylinders

 

[Asterix]

When it's cold, mine don't like to lock, so I take off the door panels and spray every hinge and slide of the whole lock system with a good lubricant. (That's either Tri-flow or Superlube, depending on which is closer to my hand.) That helps for a while, but I'm still locking both doors with the key right now. Maybe I'll have time to take off the passenger door panel this weekend and lube it up. They unlock just fine, which must be because how the linkages work. The old grease seems to turn to putty, which acts the opposite of grease.

 

[clutch_dust]

I'll soak it all down and report back.

 

[Dan_Gyoba]

Whoa whoa whoa.

Take the door panel off. Look at the locking mechanism.

If you can't turn the key, and you can't press the tab, then something is jammed. All of those rods have to move in order for the lock to activate, so anything that jams ANY of them from moving stops the whole works.

Does the passenger door lock/unlock? I suspect that it does, since this sounds like a mechanical problem.

So, eliminate one set of rods at a time.

The inside toggle is connected to a rod with a bell crank near the top rear of the door. Disconnect the retainer for the rod at the bell crank, and see if the toggle moves freely from lock to unlock. If not fix it. If it does, reconnect it. While you're in there, wipe off the old grease (Probably full of dust by now) and apply new. I like lithium grease for this, but graphite lubricant would be a good idea, too.

The key cylinder connects to a rod near the power lock motor. Disconnect it. If you can lock the doors from the inside toggle (Or power locks) then fix it.

If all else fails, you can disconnect the rod that goes to BOTH the toggle and the key cylinder. See if the power lock operates. If it does, then start looking at that assembly. If not, then replace the lock striker. At least if you do that, you won't have to re-key the car.

Hint: '89+ lock mechanisms fit inside the earlier doors, and don't have the "hold the handle to lock" feature. (I installed my '89 hardware in the '87 doors which are on my car to avoid having this, since it's not once managed to keep me from locking keys in the car, but it makes locking the car door with stuff in my hands way more inconvenient.