Passenger door won't lock!

[cmwp1]

Hi. Have just bought a 1989 944 and the passenger door doesn't lock, either with the key or the central locking. In South East London, this is not good news! Any ideas what might be the problem, or how I might lock it for now?

Many thank in advance!

Chris

 

[pauljmcnulty]

Hi. Have just bought a 1989 944 and the passenger door doesn't lock, either with the key or the central locking.

Not even if you push the knob down from inside the car?

 

[cmwp1]

Pushed it pretty hard but doesn't work! I'll have to try and sort it in the morning and leave it unlocked over night. Far from ideal but little choice! Might have to replace the locks but I'm not sure where to get parts for this sort of thing yet, or even who to trust to fit it. Not an ideal start!

Any thoughts?

 

[944 man]

1984 cars didnt have central locking: so Id suspect the retrofit locking system. Take the door card off and itll al become clear, and be easy to lock.

 

[tref]

Hmmm... there is a little plastic push-rod that clips on - and can break, that I suspect is the problem from the outer door handle, but the inner one should be a direct connection - that said, if the lock mech is jammed, it can bend, and it will never work properly after as it will flex in preference to operating the lock mech, unless the latter is very free moving.

As an immediate fix, remove the door-card, and it should be possible to manually push the little lever down on the lock directly.

 

[tref]

Oh, and where to get it fixed... the door lock/lever/handle mech on a 944 is almost a pleasure to work on, the expensive bits are pretty bullet-proof, so buy second-hand, if you can't find a PCGB member who has one spare. As to where to get it fixed, find a PCGB member who has done it before, and take the bits to a regional meeting, and fix it for free.

You are, or are planning to be, a PCGB member right? This could pay for your membership alone!

 

[cmwp1]

Many thanks to all three of you. I started to remove the door card this morning and found that the housing for the internal door handle wasn't letting the handle go far enough in, so the lock thought the door was open. A bit of adjustment means I can now manually lock the door. The key still doesn't open the lock from the outside, but I still feel it's been a success - at least I can lock the car! Now for the immobiliser...

And Tref, yes I have every intention of becoming a PCGB member. Yesterday being my first day of Porsche ownership, I hadn't got round to it! Maybe on day two...