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Rebuilding / rekeying a Toyota lock cylinder
Rebuilding / rekeying a Toyota lock cylinder
First note the construction of the lock cylinder. Through the drain
opening on the bottom of the cylinder you can see the spring-loaded lock
wafers. They follow the cuts of the key, and are all flush when the
correct key is inserted. The closed end of the cylinder has a c-clip
holding on the activating lever and the return spring.
Now on to dis-assembly.
Pry off the lock bezel.
The stainless steel cover is staked into place at two places on the
outer ring. You need to partially pry out one of the crimped spots, but
you don't need to bend it back much before you can pop the lock bezel
off.
Insert a key. Even an uncut key will work. This will keep the wafers
and springs from popping out after the next step.
Remove the C-clip on the rear of the lock cylinder. Remove the
activating lever and return spring.
Push the interior assembly from the external cylinder. Push from the
c-clip end, don't pull the key.
Note that the lock cylinder has eight wafer slots. Two of the slots
have split wafers to make the lock more difficult to pick. Each wafer
is lifted by a small spring underneath. If you have the correct key the
wafers will be flush with the surface, otherwise the wafer will project
from one side or the other.
Put the interior assembly into a plastic bag or enclosed area. Pull the
key out. If the lock is still well lubricated the wafers will pop out,
freeing the tiny springs to find dark corners. If the lubricant has
dried out the wafers will remain stuck into place. If you need the key
code, pull the key out incrementally saving each wafer in order.
Each wafer has a key cut depth code from 1 to 4 stamped on it. If you
saved the wafers in order you can read these, starting from the key
shoulder, to get the key code. If you mixed them up, or are rekeying a
used lock to match your key, you can go slot by slot, trying each
wafer size to see which sits flush with the key inserted. With a little
experience you can just look at the key and read off the depth codes.
If you are rekeying an old lock cylinder don't worry if you run short of
a wafer size to fit your key. Not all of the wafer slots need to be
filled. Missing wafers will make the lock a little easier to pick, but
have you ever heard of a car thief using a lock pick?
Reassembly is almost as easy as taking the cylinder apart. Clean the
old lube off of the parts with solvent. Find an appropriate grease --
clean, stable, wide-temperature range waterproof grease. I use white
lithium grease. Fill the upper slot in the outer cylinder with grease.
Force some grease into each wafer slot, taking care to get enough into
the spring end to keep the spring from falling out.
Now we have to load the wafers into their slots. You can incrementally
insert a key while you load springs and wafers into their slots. Or, if
you want to live dangerously, load all of the springs and wafers on one
side, and hold them in place with a finger as you flip it over and load
the other side..
Now reassemble the lock cylinder. Turn the key until it mates
completely. Load the spring into its position, which will require
putting a little tension on it. Install the activating lever so that
it's projection is between the two spring ends, and snap on the c-clip.
If you filled the cylinder upper slot with grease, enough should have
squeezed out to lubricate all parts of the lock. If it looks a little
under-lubricated, smear some into the lower slot and around the spring.
The lower slot can't be packed full of grease or water won't be able to
drain. Insert key a few times, wiping it off each time, to squeeze out
any grease from the slot.
One point of confusion is the lock lubrication. Brass locks are
sometimes lubricated with graphite, but car locks usually use waterproof
grease. Putting graphite into the lock is a bad idea. The wafers are
such a close fit that pretty much you can't re-lube the lock from key
hole.
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