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Door lock cylinder small arm rod insertion problem
As soon as I fix one thing, another thing randomly breaks. This time it is the small short rod that goes from the door lock cylinder into a small hole in a swing arm.
I replaced the broken metal retainer clip (Dorman 75453)
but now I cannot physically shove the metal rod end through those saloon doors on the clip. It is an extremely small area inside the car door. I’ve attempted to use wrench ends for leverage to push it in, but nothing will push it through.
Yep working in that area is a bear. I would just take the latch assembly out, it’s only three torx bolts. You may not even have to disconnect the inner door handle rod to get at that clip.
So I got it through. It was a pain. You need these tools:
Rubber glove to protect your arm and hand from being cut when applying force inside the door, 13mm wrench with an angled round end, and a tool with a pointy end like this sharpened former screwdriver.
I used the pointy screwdriver to shove through the saloon doors for a while in order to loosen them up. Then I put on the rubber glove and took the wrench inside there, put the side of the round end of the wrench against the curve of the arm which I had lined up in the hole, and pushed as hard as I could. After a few tries it finally shoved completely through. Push once more for good measure.
You WILL need someone to hold the flashlight for you in order to see what you’re doing in there.
If you’re wondering, I was able to pop the old broken metal retainer off because the saloon door closer to the ground had broken off and I wedged a tiny flathead under where it broke off to pop it off.
Door lock cylinder small arm rod insertion problem
