im experiencing a problem with my drivers side lock mech. it seems to have seized up completely. the interior button will not pull up or release using the electric lock button, the key will not manually unlock the door and ive had CAA try and unlock it using their little bag of tricks, all to no avail. it looks like ill have to take off the interior door panel somehow to get at the lock mech and see if i can release it. anyone have any suggestions or previous experience with this? one good thing, im getting more limber from climbing in through the passenger door and contorting across the console to the pilots seat! tia.

lee

 

when i got my truck the gas door lock was missing and the door lock didn't work that well, so i got a set from a junkyard, ignition included , and changed them all

 

Sorry I can't help on this one.. All my door locks have stoped working at the same time. At least they are all unlocked.

Pulling the door panel is a easy job. Thats the only thing I know.

 

i think the locks on the 2nd gens wear out, my 90 was pretty bad, i felt like i was picking the lock to open it. Not quite what you describe. There's an old post about getting a full set on new cores for under 200 & that it was easy to swap them all out, maybe search for that.

 

I have no advice, but I share your pain.
For a couple months now my driver's side door won't unlock from the outside. I have to open it from the passenger side, lean over and unlock it manually. It bugs the hell outta me but it's not bad enough to where I'm going to take it in and get it fixed
I tried lubricating the lock with graphite and got it to work once (with a lot of force and a bent key afterwards) but it stuck again right after that.

Well, here's a bump for ya. Misery loves company right?

 

Any chance somebody may have tried to boost your truck? They could have damaged it while trying to slim jim it.
I have a '93 4Runner and recently picked up a full set of FSMs for it. I can go through and see I can come up with any clues for you if you would be interested.
As far as keyed entry problems, mine was a hassle until I shot some penetrant into it and let it sit for a while. Now it opens fine and dandy.
I used to go rounds with the locksmith over graphite and wd-40. We'd use wd-40 to break something free and get it working and he would get ticked since wd-40s lubricating qualities are actually somewhat suspect in comparison to graphite. He only wanted to use graphite in any situation, but it won't clear out any existing problems. IMO, graphite will give a cleaned mechanism something to ride on and operate fairly smoothly unless there is considerable moisture around then it turns into globs.
Personally, I say for tumblers and such, pump them out with a good penetrant, then lube with something like a teflon lube.
Getting back on track, let me know on the info from the FSMs. I'm betting your mechanism has been bent out of whack. The problem as far as the repair is if you can pull the door panel without having to pull the driver seat.

 

f451, thanks for the offer to check the fsm, ill take you up on it. in the mean time, ill stop at the stealer today and 'pick' their brains to see if there is an easy way to get the interior panel off. the only problem i see is the push pin that is hidden behind the side of the dash when the door is closed. the CAA guy tried valiantly yesterday in the dark and cold to try and get the lock open, broke the key in the lock in the process! no more slim jim, they have quite the array of tools for opening locked doors.

lee

 

just a bump to see if anyone else can offer suggestions. tia.

lee

 

well, heres the deal. you're gonna have to remove the door panel as you already know. it's going to be a little more difficult with the door closed, but it can be done. theres a little plastic push in clip that will be behind the dash, and you wont be able to remove it, so it will likely break. all the other fastners are accessable. once inside, you will be able to figure out whats hanging up on you.

for more working space, you can remove the seat on that side and pull it out the passenger side. its only 4 bolts, and it will make life easier while trying to get the panel off in a tight space.

 

i didnt want to take out the seat, when i installed my cb i took out the pass. seat. for the life of me, i couldnt get two of the bolts to go back in! if its nice tomorrow, ill dig into it and see what i can do. thanks guys and gals, feel free to offer any suggestions. ill post my findings and solution.

lee

 

thats strange. your seat tracks must be tweaked for some reason, or the threads on the hole or bolt must be boogered.

either way, im sure you can get the panel off w/o removing the seat, but it would make it alot easier. i removed both of my seats to install amps underneath, and they went back in super easy.

 

I just took the door locks off the one that I am junking.

The are two nuts holding the the door handle/lock assy to the door and then two rods the thick one is for opening the door and the small one is the lock. Both of these have that plastic clip and hold thing on both of them. That piece is very easy to break as it get brittle with age. unclip it from the rod and the rod will pull out. Remove the two and the whole handle will come out of the door, I had to turn the lock with the key to get the back piece in the correct position to remove with out bend it or breaking it. The locking device is held on by a spring clip remove the clip and the keyed locking device will be off of the handle assy. The one nut that is towards the front I just put a 10 mil socket on it. The one that is towards the back has a plastic hole covering plug that I had to pull off. Opening the door after the handle is gone is a matter of pushing the big rod down and pulling from where the handle once was. It took me just under an hour to get the assy out, but that was with the door open. Hope that helps.

 

Sorry about being slow about getting back to this. I did get some time today to go through the FSM and do a quick look at my '93 4Runner.
Frankly, the FSM is somewhat worthless in this particular matter. It has a really nice schematic of what it all looks like and tells you how to pull it apart, but there is no troubleshooting segment and no really good pic of the latch mechanism itself.
I tried a variety of ways to jam up the mechanism on my '93 to see what could cause similar results and the only consistent thing I could come up with was putting tension on the control link by pulling the inside door handle then trying to undo the lock.
It may be possible to get to the cutout in the door and get ahold of the control link by popping some clips on the door panel along the bottom and latch side, pulling the service access cover (plastic sheet) then reach in from the back seat with the front seat pushed all the way forward and the seat folded forward however much it can and the window rolled up.
If you can, get ahold of the control link (long rod running from the inside handle over to the lock/latch) and work it around while trying to pull up on the lock stem or if you have the type you can't pull on, use the electric switch.
I tried finding a similar post on this that I remember reading in the last year or so where somebody's 4Runner wouldn't open and it was the result of somebody trying to steal it and bending the control link. I couldn't find it here and don't know what other site it might be on.
I'd say give it a try that way and if it is too big a bear, then pull the seat. Pulling the seat should be quick and easy and may well be easier than trying to do the acrobat/mechanic routine. On the other seat, the rails probably got tweaked a bit or were already tweaked and pulling them released the tension. Some levering with some sort of pry bar may be necessary to get everything aligned again. I don't know how often you have passengers, but those two bolts could save their lives.
Just a guess. I hope it is something easy.

 

Didn't see this until today...the same thing happened to me a couple months ago. I couldn't pull up on the lock and the key wouldn't unlock it either. It was just stuck.

I pulled off the top of the interior panel to get access to the lock and something must have jiggled because the lock magically opened. That made it much easier.

I looked around the mechanism carefully and found a small spring just hanging there. Further inspection showed where it used to be attached to. Without the return spring, the mechanism thought the door handle was being pulled up. To replicate this, pull up on the door handle and try to unlock it, it won't work.

So, look for a broken spring or a place where the spring attaches to.

 

I'm not sure how the door panels are on yours but on my '88 I was able to work the panel off without removing the seat. Just take your time and nothing will break. The clips had just enough space to pull out and up.

As for the lock, you'll see what everyone is talking about when you get in there. You'll have to fiddle with it using a screw driver to get the lock to release. Again, take your time and have patience.

After you get the door open and pull the lock out of the door it may just need to be cleaned real good and greased like mine did. You can always pull the other side apart first to see how it works as a reference.

Good luck,

Chenedog

 

hey steve!

i did hear something unusual the week before it jammed up, i was opening the door from inside and heard what sounded like something breaking. everything worked fine until last wed night/thurs am. im hoping the weather is nice this weekend so i can tear into it. ill look for the broken spring, thanks for the tip!

thanks to all who answered, ill keep you updated on what i find.

lee