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95 XJ- MANUAL door locks question

WNC95xj

NAXJA Forum User
Location
NC
I bought my Cherokee about a month ago and both the driver side locks had the siezed up issue where the buttons will not push in all the way/open the doors from the outside, at all. I've PB Blasted about 60% of my Jeep already, including the lock assemblies. No luck. I'd really like to get my driver lock fixed, I'm tired of looking like a retard everywhere I go with either having to leave the window down to open it from the inside, or even worse, having to crawl through the passenger side and open the door from the inside. However, somehow the spring for the button as well as the button itself popped out and fell into the door. I was curious as to if anyone had a diagram or knew how to replace this. I'm about to say forget and take it to the dealership and let them deal with it- however I'm not all about trying to drop some money on that if I can help it.
My question is, is this something I could simply fix myself, or should I just take it to the dealership and let them deal with it? :banghead:
 
It's probably something you can do yourself if you have some time and feel inclined to get your hands dirty.

When the mechanism gets rusty, sometimes the lever in the handle assembly bends, and won't push the latch in far enough. For the one that's already fallen apart, the likely cure may just be a new handle assembly. You can probably get that at a junkyard. The handles are attached with two studs, and you'll have to take off the inner door panel to get at one of them, but that's pretty easy. If things are rusty, you can pretty well guarantee that the studs will shear off in the handles, but if you're replacing a broken one, it's no problem. Just make sure your new ones have the studs intact and nuts included.

If the latch and button are still unbroken, you can adjust the stroke. In the edge of the door you'll find a little elongated slot, behind which is an allen bolt. Loosen this and you can adjust the action a little, and it may be enough. It may help to douse everything in the neighborhood with lubricant. Rear doors and locks especially tend to stiffen up from disuse.

The latch assembly itself sometimes breaks, and if that's the case you'll have a little more work replacing it, but it's really pretty simple stuff, with little rods and linkages to disconnect and reconnect. Keep track of which rods go to which parts, and don't force anything, and it should be fine. It's more likely the handles anyway.

If you take out a handle and the studs break off, it's possible to drill and tap the handle. You can tap it to 1/4 x 20, and just use a short bolt instead of a stud. Just be very careful when drilling not to go too hard and fast or the plastic handle will melt around the brass insert you're drilling into.

When dealing with the linkage rods, note that they have a little clip that you must flip up out of the way before pulling the rod out of its hole. Once you've figured out how they go together it's pretty simple, though some are a bit hard to reach. Keep track of the clips, which can fall out and land in the bottom of the door.
 
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