help with door lock repair after break in

[ultrasam]

My girlfriend's 1988 camry wagon without power locks was vandalized/almost broken into. It pretty much looks like somebody took a screw driver and jammed it into the door lock key slot and wiggled it around. I've worked on my various VWs for years, but not on a Toyota ever. What do you guys think will be the extent or possible extent of damage, and how hard is it to replace lock cylinders? what sort of options are there? Are there other good forums to ask around on?

thanks in advance!

-Sam

[atobe]

replace the whole thing with solex !!! or you can replace the whole cylinder it's about a 30 min job pulling the door panels off and replacing em.

[ultrasam]

what is solex? also, is it possible to buy lock cylinders from toyota that will work with the original keys? thanks for the reply already!

[Doctor J]

One time it was possible to get all locks from the junk yard and then getting a new key made for these in Toyota dealership using the lock cylinder number and VIN from the donor car.(cost $3 in 1994)
Second time I was able to unfold the lock cylinder face plate and re-code lock for my key.
I was even able to re-use the face plate ( folded it closed with the aid of small hammer and copper rod)on my 79 Supra.
The door lock cylinders with the keys are available from the parts store.

[joeykrim]

Originally Posted by ultrasam

what is solex? also, is it possible to buy lock cylinders from toyota that will work with the original keys? thanks for the reply already!

i googled solex car lock and it seems solex replaces the current lock cylinder with a lock cylinder that uses a different type of key. instead of the thin flat keys common today that a screwdriver can be shoved in, it uses a circle shape, but the center is filled in so a screwdriver cant be shoved into it. anybody on here replace their locks with them? is it worth it?

[atobe]

i replaced mines with solex... after my car got stolen once..... i think it's worth it cause once you lock it with the key... you can't even pull the tab up to unlock w/o using the key to unlock.. so if they really want the car they'd have to break your window... it's pretty cheap investment i got it for 40$ and installed it myself.. comes with 3 locks..and 4 keys.

[wetnap]

Originally Posted by atobe

replace the whole thing with solex !!! or you can replace the whole cylinder it's about a 30 min job pulling the door panels off and replacing em.

Same problem, but are there instructions on how to get the panels off, with power locks?

This stuff is dicey with the aged and fragile plastic, stuff cracks without much effort.

[wetnap]

Aww heck I figured it out, for the next guy i'll tell you this, the hard bit was the inner door handle not being easy to deal with, it has to slide forward to come out, then the damned plastic clip holding the wire arms is just too hard to pop off, I think I read in another thread advice to just leave it on and thread the entire handle through the hole as you rotate the entire side panel off, that worked fine.

I don't know if there is a technique to getting those plastic clips to let go but damn...they hold fast.

And yea had to replace the silly door lock after some idiot joyrided in the car and ruined my locks.

Got a steering wheel lock now so too late to bother with the fancy solex locks.