From digest.v6.n901 Sun Jul 20 20:10:11 1997
From: Gregory A James <Gregory_A_James_at_ccm.sc.intel.com>
Date: Sun, 20 Jul 97 13:17:00 PDT
Subject: E30 door lock (long)

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  From: Gregory A James at RNBCCM5 Date: 7/20/97 1:17PM To: alx_at_xperts.com at SMTPGATE To: chrisp_at_doe.carleton.ca at Internet_Gateway Subject: E30 door lock (long)

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Alex,

Don't know if you fixed your lock, but I fixed mine this weekend. When I removed the old cylinder (thanks for the tip! - see below) it looked like the spring hooked to the arm that moves the lock lever was old and corroded. Still kinda stiff, though. Anyway, I bought the new lock repair kit ($35) and set about repairing, which really meant rebuilding the lock. Repair kit has all the cylinder parts, so it's just a matter of duplicating the assembly. Instructions are in German, but Christopher Pawlowicz <chrisp_at_doe.carleton.ca> has placed valuable hints and a translation at: 51-21-9-061-343 (Central locking, left side) 51-21-9-556-313 (all other door locks)

ftp://ftp.doe.carleton.ca/pub/chrisp/bmw/central.lock.faq

Great stuff - I suggest anyone undertaking this repair to check it out.

I dismantled the old lock by drilling out the lock retaining pin (at the rear end) holding the pieces together. That sucker refused to be hammered out, so I took a drill to it and won. I then took it apart and laid everything out in the order shown on the picture that came with the new lock. Turns out the cylinder arm was broken at the cylinder pivot and was only held in place by the retaining pin. I think the spring was okay after all.

The heart of the lock is the cylinder that holds the tumblers, or blades. The trick to building the lock is getting the tumblers, or blades in the right order. There are two sets of blades. Set "A", with rectangular key slots, has a bunch of blades numbered 1-4. The other, set "B", with notched key slots are numbered 1-3. A combination of eleven blades in the right order are used to make the cylinder fit your key. The first seven (starting from the key insertion end) are from set A, the last four are from set B. Something like:

A3 A4 A1 A2 A1 A3 A2 B3 B1 B3 B2
(key inserted this way)---->

Easiest method is to copy what the old lock looks like and insert the blades the same way (don't forget the little springs!). Don't ask me why, but I did it the hard way by eyeballing the key to figure out the number code. I guessed right, but what a waste of time and I won't bother describing how I did it. Just dismantle the old lock like I should have done in the first place and copy. I think there's also a code written down somewhere for BMW keys by VIN#, but it wasn't in anything that came with my car when I bought it (used).

Reassembly is the reverse of disassembly (use the picture), resulting in a shiny, slimy, new lock cylinder. I put mine back in (real hard to do in a 4-door) and voila! locking action at 45 degrees and hard locking at 90 degrees, as advertised. One hour's work. Good luck.

GAJ

Alex wrote:

>>>I'm still in the process of fixing the lock cylinder. So any first
hand accounts of success will have to wait until at least this weekend. So far, I've recieved some hints on removing the cylinder from the door. No directions on repairing the lock yet. I'll let you know if I get more info

*

• x <-- clip
• x
• x ===
  • <-- lock cylinder ==================

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• x ===

  *

  door panel

the clip jams between part of the door lock cylinder and the door panel

it slides to the front of the car to remove.. I used a screwdriver or a pair of pliers or something to pull it forward

once it pops off the lock cylinder becomes loose

P.S: I've got Bentley and Chiltons' and both are useless. Both my independent mechanic and the dealer know the answers, but are less the anxious to share the info for anything less then the $125 lock repair charge...<<<

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Dog-n-Hog [SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
> Sent: Wednesday, December 13, 2000 8:23 AM
> To:   [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Subject:      Re: [uuc] Door lock ?s
> 
> Evan,
> 
> The lock cylinder rebuild kits are available only from the dealer:
> 
> 51-21-9-061-343 (Central locking, left side)
> 51-21-9-556-313 (all other door locks)
> 
> The kit includes a new cylinder and all the "tumblers" needed to
> build a new lock cylinder to match your old one (as well as your
> current key, of course).  Cost is about $35-$40.
> 
> The procedure basicallt entails:
> 
> o Remove inner door panel
> o Disconnect linkage from lock cylinder
> o You may need to remive the lock moter (sorry, can't recall)
> o Remove lock cylinder
> o Rebuild new cylinder using old one as a reference
> o Put it all back together
> 
> It will probably take you a couple of hours.  Patience and care are the
> key words, but nothing very difficult involved.
> 
> Norm