Door lock conundrum

[full foot notch]

So I'm doing all the little things on my truck to make it 100% and general upkeep , and one of the items is the door locks and making sure they operate properly. When I bought the truck the driver side and passenger side were finicky with locking them. They unlock fine by key but occasionally the lock wouldn't want to go all the way down unless I put some pressure on the key and then it would go down slowly

I figured that I would look at the passenger side and see if anything needed to be lubed or if it needed to be repaired. Took off the door panel and all seemed well by moving the key in the cylinder for lock and unlock and the lock stem up and down to do the same with the door open. All seemed perfect, got everything back together, tried it all again, all seemed gravy, I'm in the home stretch right ? Nope. When I lock the door and then try to close it it unlocks itself. So I thought hmm that's weird. Locked it both via key and seperately with the lock stem and get same result. Thinking maybe it some anti lock out feature, maybe you need to hold in the pushbutton on the door while closing. Nope that didn't work.

my next thought was to do further process of elimination and see if it's the lock or lock stem and it seems that when I closed the unlock door and try to lock it with the key, it does not want to lock even though it makes the motion of turning towards the lock and all, until you test the pushbutton and then it opens like normal.

I open the door and look at the latch mechanism on the door and I can see a tiny part moving when I move the key or lock stem to lock and unlock and nothing seems to be binding or blocked.

So that's where I'm at for what do I try next or what do I look at next or is there something I need to adjust and don't know about since it's my first 67-72.

[hamjet]

Good morning, two things, thats the way they're made is to not be able to lock the door and shut it. You have to shut the door first and then lock it. If theres too much pressure on the door,( new door seals) they are hard to get to lock. Does the key turn easier if you push on the door and then try to lock it? Edit: or when the doors open?

[ERASER5]

Yep. With only 1 key, the lock was made so you could not lock your key inside.

[Jimjific]

I have the same problem with my drivers side door lock. Actually it gets worse when it is really cold say 10 degrees or lower. I haven't had a chance to really look into it yet but I figured it was the tab on the lock isn't long enough to push the lock down.

Jim

[LockDoc]

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If you haven't already, first stick the penetrating oil (not WD-40) tube inside the lock cylinder and give it a good spray. Put the key in the lock and turn it back and forth a few times. Then roll the window down and with a good strong light you can see the door latch and locking mechanism through the opening at the back of the door glass. Spray the crap out of the latch and lock parts with penetrating oil (not WD-40). Then open and close the door and lock and unlock it few times and see if that helps....

LockDoc

[Custom/Ten]

I put new locks in my truck cause I didn't have the key. They worked great until I refit the door to line it up better. Now the driver side locks a little tight and sometimes I have to push the door a little to be able to lock it. What I'm saying is it may not be the lock, it may be the way your door is fitted.

[LockDoc]

Originally Posted by Custom/Ten

I put new locks in my truck cause I didn't have the key. They worked great until I refit the door to line it up better. Now the driver side locks a little tight and sometimes I have to push the door a little to be able to lock it. What I'm saying is it may not be the lock, it may be the way your door is fitted.

That can be very true, and especially if you have replaced the door weatherstrips.

LockDoc

[Jimjific]

Pushing on the door works! Thanks for the tip. I'm not sure why it works, but hey, it's better than having to lock it from the inside then the passengers outside.

Jim