Hi all. I recently picked up a 93 Import. It’s a really nice car but I do have a short snagging list I’d like to work through. One of which is that the lock key barrels on both doors are very loose feeling. No positivity about the way the key engages or locks/unlocks. I have had this issue on previous MX5’s and my solution at the time was to fit remote central locking so that the lock barrels could be largely ignored. I am happy enough to do that again if it’s the best answer but wanted to explore all possibilities first. I should mention that one scenario I want to avoid at all costs is ending up with different keys for different locks. I do however have a complete spare use lock set. It shows the same problems but at least might allow me to perform any repair 'offline as it were or indeed have a practice run.
So questions,
Is there a repair process for the locks that will restore some positivity into their action?
If not, is there a good quality remote central locking kit I should purchase?
Either new locks (used locks) or somehow replace the lost metal (araldite etc). As I recall, these are not sided, so the passenger side should be as new., because how often is the key used on the passenger side?
A BODGE I did in the distant past on a several old cars with similar locks (British and often about five years old!) was to simply squeeze the “washer thingy” for a tighter fit on the flat section of the hole.
But the wear damage had already been done to the soft alloy die-casting (usually mostly zinc) and it never lasted more than another couple of years before that lug eventually snapped off the body.
The main reason for the wear is metal-metal corrosion with salty water ingress, and a new lock with lots of grease usually lasts longer. At the time at work we had something very sticky called Stay-put which held the film much better than ordinary grease on the new replacements. I can’t find it now.
I guess this modern lithium grease might be more effective than ordinary car grease.
