Replace Tailgate Lock Mechanism Spring

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wrldky

Well-known member
Apr 21, 2004
412
7
Raleigh, NC
Did this last night on my disco 1. Did a write up with pictures to replace the lock spring on my tailgate. it's in Word. I'll try to post it here later but in the mean time if anyone wants it i will email it to them

rcaulfieldnc@gmail.com
 
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Tugela

Tugela

Well-known member
May 21, 2007
4,766
566
Seattle
Just received a copy of the write-up. Pictures are detailed with highlights pointing out key parts in the lock system. Instructions contain the humor of someone who has learned patience the hard way working on his Disco. Once I receive my springs from Phillip Stuart in the UK I will give it a go.

Thanks to Rob and hooray for discoweb. Hopefully this will save me some time and frustration.
 
W

wrldky

Well-known member
Apr 21, 2004
412
7
Raleigh, NC
Please feel free to share, send, post the write up anywhere. This board has helped me a lot and anything I can do to give back I will.
 
Tugela

Tugela

Well-known member
May 21, 2007
4,766
566
Seattle
I had a time-consuming, but ultimately successful, attempt at replacing the tailgate lock spring in my 1998 Discovery over the weekend. With a color print-out of this write-up I managed to navigate the process with patience. Here are some observations from comparing my experience to the description.

I have pretty large hands (can palm a basketball) and this was definitely a limiting factor for me when re-attaching the various clips to the rods in the lock assembly. Ultimately I had to enlist my wife's help to re-attach the innermost metal clip. Despite my best attempts to improvise tools to do the job, without her small hands I never would have done it. As a result of this, some additions to the "tools needed" list might include:

- a friend with small hands and good motor skills for the re-assembly process
- a pair of tweezers
- panel separator tool (this helps prevent breaking the panel studs, and since the tool only cost me $6 I figured it was a good investment- especially since I plan to replace the spring on the rear passenger door and fix the window regulator on another door. It's going to get a lot of use)
- an optional item would be one of those retractable "magnet on a stick" tools (could also be improvised with a piece of heavy gauge wire and a fridge magnet). This would have helped me retrieve the metal clips I dropped repeatedly into the door frame.
- spring seating tool (described below)

Using a flathead screwdriver to seat the replacement spring into the triangular shaped hole was awkward. The end of the spring kept slipping off the tip of the blade. I didn't take the time to fashion such a tool, but a better solution would have been to use a narrow, flat strip of metal or plastic with a small notch filed into the edge. This would hold the spring in place as you seat it into the retaining holes. Having such a tool would have saved me 15 minutes, but making it would probably have taken the same amount of time.

Having page numbers on the document would have helped. I got a little mixed up flipping through the pages during the job and had to spend a little time figuring out which order they went in. I should have thought of this before I started and labeled them.

Otherwise, it was reassuring to have the photos and commentary to help me visualize what I needed to do. Once I had the panel off the complexity of all the linkages and pieces in the lock mechanism was intimidating. I was nervous that I'd never be able to put it all back together again, but somehow it all went back in. The special note on the red washer was essential.

Having completed this project the quality of my marriage has now improved slightly. Having to use the key to open the tailgate all the time was driving my wife nuts, and now that it works she is delighted.

Thanks for the write-up! A couple hours and a couple bucks for the UK-sourced springs saved me hundreds over an entire lock assembly. Not to mention the value in satisfaction from having done the job myself.

I suggest you post your write-up as a PDF in the tech section, if that is possible. Including a reference to the eBay vendor that sells the replacement springs would be a good resource for those who don't have their new springs yet: look up seller phillipstuart33 on eBay.

Cheers!
 
S

stecz

Well-known member
Sep 4, 2004
88
0
What are the symptoms?

Right now, my rear door actuator will make the lock mechanism move up and down, but it doesn't stay up, so you can't open the door. In order to open it, you have to hold the lock button up and use the inside handle or, from the outside, use the key to hold the lock button up and then the outside handle will work.

The basic issue is that there is not any resistance to hold the button up, it just flops back down again. The linkages seem ok, there isn't major slop, etc.

The acutuator just flops around also. I was expecting it to provide some resistance, but it doesn't.

there is one arm coming off the central point (at about a 45 degree angle) with a hole on the end, but nothing is in it.

If seems like if there were a spring, the door would either stay locked or un-locked, because the actuator doesn't provide any resistance.

Is this spring being referred to here, the problem?


John S.
('97 disco 1)
 
W

wrldky

Well-known member
Apr 21, 2004
412
7
Raleigh, NC
John, I think you have to open up the tailgate to make sure. I never actually crawled back there to see if I held the button up if it would unlock.
 
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NW40

Member
Apr 4, 2014
8
0
Seattle, WA
wrldky, do you still have these instructions that you wrote up 5 years ago?

I think I'm having the same problem as stecz (John) mentioned a couple posts up. My cargo door won't open anymore unless I hold the lock button up and use the interior handle. And even that doesn't always work. Sometimes the door won't open no matter what I do, or it will just go barely ajar, but I can't free it all the way from the locking mechanism to fully open the door.
 
V

vportnoy

New member
Jun 19, 2006
2
0
San Diego, CA
Hey guys, just got a 96 disco with this problem: tailgate lock will not stay up, aka "bad spring" problem. Does anyone still have the instructions for this operation and the link to the source of the spring.

Thanks in advance.
 
Tugela

Tugela

Well-known member
May 21, 2007
4,766
566
Seattle
I have a copy. PM me with your email address and I'll forward it. Once I get around to it I will post the updated version in the tech section.
 
p m

p m

Administrator
Staff member
Apr 19, 2004
15,651
869
58
La Jolla, CA
www.3rj.org
vportnoy said:
Hey guys, just got a 96 disco with this problem: tailgate lock will not stay up, aka "bad spring" problem. Does anyone still have the instructions for this operation and the link to the source of the spring.

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
V,

come over, I'll walk you through. Also, I thought it was a 97 1/2 Disco, wasn't ?
 
O

old school

Well-known member
Apr 20, 2004
84
0
hedgesville wv
having similar issues with mine. i have read through a lot of the old posts and tried what they said. i pulled the emblem off the back and lubed it up. tried opening the door with the key holding the lock up. tried pushing in, pulling out on the door to take pressure off, etc and still no open. wont open from inside or outside. pulled the interior panel off and all the linked appears to be working correctly but it just wont release. tried using pliers and giving the linkage abit of a tug thinking they may have worn some and isn't pulling enough. the lock isn't sagging like i have read is the tell tale sign of the spring/clip breaking. im kinda at a loss. any ideas as to how i can even get the door open? i tried kicking it ( not too hard ) from the inside while my girlfriend used the handle on the outside.
 
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