Re: e30 central lock

[bolhuijo@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

On Tue, 13 Oct 1998, David Lacroque - ColorImage wrote:

> Damn you stopped me right in my tracks, i was going to go get the cylinder
> tonight. Does putting in the lock cylinder require expertise or would a
> mechanic fool around for hours trying to fix it just like the way I will. I
> would like to do it myself but if a Tech can do it in an hour I would
> rather pay and not waste a Saturday. I had the patience to replace SI
> batteries how would this compare?

 I wouldn't say that it requires any special expertise other than a
good sense of how things fit together.  i.e. no training required. 
What I did was sort the parts out on a table according to how they
were bagged.  Then I spent quite a bit of time just fooling around
with 'em.  I experimented with various ways in which the parts would
and would not fit together.  Fortunately, it MOSTLY only goes together
one way.  The last couple bits of information can be had when you
punch the roll pin out of the old cylinder and gingerly disassemble
it.  It was helpful to play with the pieces parts in a low stress
situation the day before I removed the old parts and committed myself
to the task. 
 Now that I've done it once, the second time would be a breeze.  Not
that it wasn't fun the first time, it just took me all afternoon.
(what am I talking about here?  oh yeah, locks)  Anyway, a dealer tech
probably could do it in an hour, assuming she'd done it before.
 As for comparing it to SI batteries, I'd say that it's harder to get
the door guts apart than to get to the instruments.  It also requires
more dexterity with small parts than a simple solder job.  On the
other hand, if you screw up the cylinder assembly, you can swallow
your pride and hand over the few extra $$ to have it done for you.  If
you destroy your instrument cluster, you're in a bigger world of hurt,
dollar wise. 

- --
  John Bolhuis    | These are no ordinary monkeys --
 bolhuijo         | these are mean, spiteful, butt-biting
  @domain.elided   | monkeys with an obvious mission: conquest.
                                        -tabloid.net

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