Lift handle door lock issue. Door wont open from inside

[benjwom23]

Hi all,

I have read hundreds of forum posts on the early Defender lift handle locks but nothing seems relevant to my issue. When the door is shut against the seal, it wont open from the inside handle. From the outside with the window down, I can push against the door to take the pressure off the striker arm, then it will open using the inside handle but if there is pressure on the striker arm (ie the door is fitted against the door seal) it will not open. It opens fine from the outside handle, albeit there is some resistance before it releases. Obviously I can adjust the door so that there is no pressure from the door seal but that would kind of defeat the point of the seal!

Has anybody experienced a similar issue or does anybody have any experience of taking these locks apart? I know these early lift handle locks are no longer available from anywhere so I am reluctant to drill the rivets to have a look inside without some sort of guide as there seem to be quite a few moving parts, although it does feel like there is some wear / some springs have lost tension inside mine as the outside handle moves a few degrees with no resistance and therefore rattles.

The lock is the one as in the diagram below

Thank you!

[miketomcat]

Squirt some oil in there then work it using a screwdriver to operate the latch. You'll be surprised how much difference it can make. Failing that a small adjustment to the striker plate may be enough without jeopardizing sealing. I have the even earlier type and they took a lot of fiddling to get set up just right.

Mike

[benjwom23]

Thanks Mike, I will have a play with it this evening.

Thinking about it the striker did seem a little high last time I fitted it (it has been on and off about 100 times already!). I had to rebuild the doors from new steel as only the top half was salvageable. I have fitted new skins so they look great and are all seam sealed / filled with dinitrol but it has taken over a day so far to get one door to line up in all dimensions and it still needs bending out a little at the bottom (but my frame is really bl**dy strong and I'm struggling to bend it!) and lifting at the back slightly. I regret now not just buying new later type doors! 

Also turns out I am missing numerous bits so I cant get the lock barrel to work. Apparently there are more parts which bolt onto the back of the barrel and some bearings which I dont have. Think I will make some stainless 'blanking' barrels tapped so they can be screwed in from the back and just use the remote central locking to open the front doors. One less thing for scumbags to try to break into anyway...

Ben

[mickeyw]

Have you examined the pull linkage from the remote handle to the lock (the horizontal flat bar in the picture)?

It can be adjusted, and if too long, the lock can be a pain to open from the inside. There are two very small nut and bolts in long slots that you adjust to the required position, and the self tap screw that is drilled through to prevent these slipping. Over time, wear at the latch end can require readjustment of the linkage.

First I suggest you do what @miketomcat suggests and lubricate everything. Before that though I like to squirt a load of brake cleaner fluid into the lock to flush out any hardened grease and debris, then relube with white grease from an aerosol can. Then, I'd disconnect the linkage so you can operate the latch end of it by hand, and see if the door opens as it should. 

Do not be afraid of removing the rivets in the latch, there's nothing too scary inside. Normally the handle return spring breaks, and leaves the handle limp and prone to rattling. I opened my door latches up to replace this spring (home wound, as of course these were never a replacement item), and fixed back together with countersunk screws and nuts. Of course if your springs are OK I'd leave it all alone.