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A Door Lock Question
My bus has a front door as normal, but there are no steps there, only storage. We have a mid door for entry. both doors have the same brand lock, but different keys.
Recently the main entry door lock (Pictured above) has been acting funny. The key began sticking a couple of weeks ago. It goes in fine, but it would hesitate to turn left or right. It was like I put in the key for the other door. I could not force it past this imaginary stop, but I could wiggle it and it would suddenly turn.
It has deteriorated quickly from there. We have three keys for this lock with us and only two of them will work and only sporadically and only after just about giving up.
It locks and unlocks from the knob inside with no hesitation.
I have cleaned it the best I can with Strikehold with no improvement.
Is this a locksmith situation or a new lock situation?
Thank you in advance for your knowledge.
Davy
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34 Replies
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I’m not only lazy, I can tend to be cheap. Seems like you already have the replacement lock.
But yes, a locksmith can fix whatever is ailing the lock.
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You might try 3in1 lock lube, not WD40 or anything like that. It will gum up the lock and make it worse.
You can get at most hardware stores or a parts houses.
If you haven’t already tried that.
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Thank you. I will look for a locksmith in my next city.
Jon, if you mean the replacement is the lock from the other door, that door needs to be locked too. It opens to storage beneath the floor but into the bus above the floor. It is also used regularly. It is also the first door a thief would reach for because it is in the standard front door position. The mid door is kind of lost on the side of the bus and most people miss it.
Davy
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Had a locksmith once tell me to NEVER use WD40 on locks. He said they put a varnish like substance in it so after it’s first application and lubrication, it starts to dry out and get sticky. Guess what frees it up the best. More WD40, which adds more of the varnish like substance, and the cycle continues.
Chuck
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On ours the solution was a locksmith who said the keys wear. He made a new key using a shim under the old key in the key follower on the key grinder. New key worked like a charm. Fast and inexpensive.
also, search for what to do if the door latch lock mechanism fails locking you outside the bus. It is possible to knock out the round cover and use a metal piece inserted through that hole to unlatch the door from the outside. New latch mechanisms are available from Amazon for $30 or so while the same replacement latch with a few additional lever pieces comes from Prevost in a $500 + kit.
Jerry
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Davy,
Take off the door panel and remove the lock, there are threads on this site as to how to get the hardware (rectangular box) and the cylinder separated.
Recommend you take the box apart and clean out the 20 years of hard grease. Carefully note how it comes apart and put it back together again after re-greasing. The cylinder can be rotated to far and it will not pick up the slide inside the hardware box to move the deadbolt in and out.
That may be all that is required. Perhaps a new key cut as described above would have worked.
In my case I did replace the cylinder. If you need to replace it, the order code is below. I don’t recall the cost but it should be available at several on-line suppliers. Critical is the “134”. You can google the other parts number attributes to know what they are but these need to match pretty much exactly for a direct replacement. You will need to take it to a locksmith and have it keyed.
corbin-russwin-1000-134-a04-6-l4-626-mortise-cylinder
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Dt, can you please provide the Amazon part numbers ?
thx
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Davy, I think you said your center door had a differant key.. Chances are if you take that key and front outside set to locksmith he can re key to center key. Easy in most cases.
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I don’t think the corbin cylinder can be found on Amazon. i purchased from a hardware supplier online.
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The removal is very specific if your door is like mine.
The interior of door has flanges that are bent 90 degrees to prevent the rotation of the cylinder. Without them a person could screw the cylinder out of door from outside. Also insures the cylinder stays in alignment to operate the lock mechanism.
I ordered a lock cylinder with same key way as my house key. Now my house key fits my door on bus.
The cylinder is a length not normally stocked by a smaller locksmith but search various lock supplies and you can find at a reasonable cost.
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Thank you. Great information!
I have been down the door latch replacement road 11 years ago when Prevost still had latches for $150.
Clarifying questions: If I have a lock smith rekey it, do I need to take the lock to him?
IF he comes to me, do I need the inside door panel removed for him to work his magic?
Davy
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We had a similar problem. It was caused by lock alignment. the tabs on the rectangular box had bent. I opened it up and fixed it in 10 mins. Details here:
/threaddetails.asp?Category=Chassis&ThreadID=6297
2000 Featherlite H3-45
2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee
Leesburg, FL -
Take the lock to him save the service call and if he is not familar with a Prevost he may do more damage than if you takr precautions and remove yourself.
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Let me revive this thread. A few days after I posted, we took a long pandemic break and I am just now getting back to this. We are now at home in the barn and the key does not turn the lock either way. That is no problem here in the barn, but I need to hit the road pretty soon.
I called a large locksmith in the area and they had the mobile guy for my area call me. I explained the problem and he asked for pictures. I sent him the picture above in my original question and these two with the door panel off.
The red circle is the inside part of the deadbolt.
Once the locksmith saw the pictures, he said he would have to research it. He called later and said the lock and labor would be $600 and he would only need one day’s notice. Ouch! Not only was the price steep, but I also am not sure that he had a clue.
I came back to this thread and studied it and another thread that was referenced. Thank you all for the information.
I suppose this is what I try next from Joe, although I am not confident in my skill level here.
“Take off the door panel and remove the lock, there are threads on this site as to how to get the hardware (rectangular box) and the cylinder separated.
Recommend you take the box apart and clean out the 20 years of hard grease. Carefully note how it comes apart and put it back together again after re-greasing. The cylinder can be rotated to far and it will not pick up the slide inside the hardware box to move the deadbolt in and out.
That may be all that is required. Perhaps a new key cut as described above would have worked.
In my case I did replace the cylinder. If you need to replace it, the order code is below. I don’t recall the cost but it should be available at several on-line suppliers. Critical is the “134”. You can google the other parts number attributes to know what they are but these need to match pretty much exactly for a direct replacement. You will need to take it to a locksmith and have it keyed.
corbin-russwin-1000-134-a04-6-l4-626-mortise-cylinder“
I found this by searching the number above. Correct?
Any more thoughts?
Davy
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