Door key works doesn't work

dgr

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One of my doors on my 86 has an issue with the door key. About half the time, turning the key moves the lock mechanism almost enough to unlock the door. When this happens, the pop up pops up but the door won't open from the outside. Opening the door with the inside handle fully unlocks the door and the outside handle works.

The rest of the time, it operates normally and unlocks from the outside.

When it works normally, I can see the pop up looks like it cams past maximum and drops a little. When it doesn't operate normally, it looks like the pop up almost reaches maximum height but doesn't quite go up all way. The key feels the same and the amount it turns doesn't seem to differ whether the lock unlocks or not.

Any thoughts on what's wrong before I take it apart?
 

Cubey

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Try putting some graphite on the linkages inside the door. If you don't want to buy a tube of it, the "lead" of pencils is graphite. It's crazy how good it is, especially in lock cylinders. My RV deadbolt, if rain gets in it, I can't hardly even insert the key. After putting in some graphite, the key goes in with no resistance. So yeah I'd try graphite or other suitable lubricant on linkages before taking things apart.
 

dgr

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Bumping to the top

I might try some graphite once I get it apart. The thing is it feels smooth and no different between when it does unlock and doesn't unlock
 

Cubey

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Bumping to the top

I might try some graphite once I get it apart. The thing is it feels smooth and no different between when it does unlock and doesn't unlock

Yeah my F250 is similar. I never looked into it though.
 

hesutton

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Have the same issue on my '86 F350 CC. I have found that putting WD-40 in the lock helps, but I need to take the panel off the door and really lube the linkage.

Heath
 

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