82 Vanagon back door won't lock

[ZeeMoss]

The hatch back door of my vanagon won't lock. Does anyone know how it is meant to lock? Or how much it might cost to get a replacement lock installed?

[erdonline]

What year? Power locks or no?

Ed in CT
_________________
'85 Vanagon Westfalia
'84 Vanagon 7-passenger
'98 Mexican air-cooled Beetle

[ZeeMoss]

It is a 1982 camper model. Manual locks, not power locks. The key goes in and the button depresses and you lift the back. But when I take the key out and close it it stays unlocked. The key doesn't turn at all in the lock. It works in the other doors well, with a bit of jiggleing.

[speedtek]

Yeah, you have to be able to turn the key so that the slot is oriented straight up and down. If it's horizontal it's always unlocked (ps, you don't have to insert the key to open when it's like this).
You may need to take the cylinder apart and get the tumblers rekeyed to match your key if you are unable to make it turn.

[erdonline]

That's the earlier style with the knob sticking out a bit, rather than recessed, right? As far as I know, the earlier ones and later ones work the same. You should be able to insert the key and turn it (can't remember which way) to lock it, turn it the other way to unlock it. When it is locked, the knob will still push in but won't unlatch the hatch.

How many keys do you have for the van? You might try another one if you have one. Or try the same key and insert it the other way, jiggling it a bit, or even not inserting it all the way- try pulling it out just a millimeter or so.

It's possible that someone before you had some locks re-keyed. Does the key you have work in the ignition and the other three doors?

Some people find that having a key made from the key code will sometimes work better than a worn key- but that doesn't always work. You can have a locksmith re-key any of the locks that aren't working, so they will work with the key that you have.

Removing the hatch lock isn't that difficult. There are a few screws inside, as I remember. There are one or two well-known locksmiths on this forum- Gabriel Garcia is one who comes to mind. You can him your lock to re-key if you need to.

Sometimes things get gummed up inside the lock and prevent it from opening. Although not usually recommended to spray WD-40 inside the lock, if yours doesn't work now, you don't have much to lose. You might shoot some inside to loosen things up.

Ed
_________________
'85 Vanagon Westfalia
'84 Vanagon 7-passenger
'98 Mexican air-cooled Beetle

[joet]

I had a problem with my rear hatch lock that might not be the same as yours, but I can't tell from your description.

For my issue, whether or not the key was in the lock position, depressing the lock still opened the hatch. It turned out that the unit was bent such that whether or not the key was turned to the locked or unlocked position, depressing the mechanism still actuated the lock spring and opened the hatch:

In the unlocked position the mechanism was missing the plate but still depressed the latch:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/6342528/vanagon/lock1.jpg

In the locked position, because the entire latch was bent, the mechanism still depressed the latch when depressed:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/6342528/vanagon/lock2.jpg

A vice straightened out the unit and now when in the locked position depressing the mechanism does not touch the latch.


EDIT: it doesn't look like my problem has anything to do with yours. I removed the pics to speed page load time.
_________________
2003 Eurovan Weekender
Previously: 1987 Westy Weekender

[BC Westie]

I had the same issue. I went to a professional lock smith who cut a key to my original spec (You need the # on the tumbler from what I can remember)

Then voila. Once the lock had the original key in it it re alligned the inside of the lock. Now my older worn keys work. It also trued up all my other locks so they work a little better.
_________________
1980 Vanagon Cali Import 86,000Miles
1981 Vanagon (Auto) 219,000kms
1981 Westfalia (Auto) Cali Import 169,000Miles
1981 Westfalia 300,000kms
1982 Westfalia Cali Import 193,000Miles
1982 Westfalia (Auto) 205,000Kms
1984 Vanagon 306,000kms
1987 Vanagon GL 300,000Kms

[ZeeMoss]

Thanks for all of your helpful replies.

It is the lock type where the knob sticks out. The key does not turn the lock at all from the horizontal position. We have one key for the ignition, a key for the gas cap and a door key. They door key only opens the front doors, I'm unlocking the side door from inside. Not sure if that's a problem with our key or the way the door works. That's not really as much of a problem as not being able to lock her up!

Any idea how much getting a key made from the key number or getting the lock recalibrated might cost? The door key is rather worn so getting a fresh original cut is probably better than making worn down copies.

Thanks again.

[?Waldo?]

You can re-key all the locks to match the ignition. Not at all hard to do. Use the search for details.

[RCB]

[ZeeMoss]

The whole problem is sorted. A locksmith made a new key which works in all of the locks, and we no longer have to do our wiggle dance to get the worn key in the right spot to open the door. Now to figure out what's wrong with the turn signal wiring...Haha

[BC Westie]

Excellent. That is was cured my lock issues as well
_________________
1980 Vanagon Cali Import 86,000Miles
1981 Vanagon (Auto) 219,000kms
1981 Westfalia (Auto) Cali Import 169,000Miles
1981 Westfalia 300,000kms
1982 Westfalia Cali Import 193,000Miles
1982 Westfalia (Auto) 205,000Kms
1984 Vanagon 306,000kms
1987 Vanagon GL 300,000Kms