Date:         Tue, 23 Apr 96 18:33:10 EDT
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         snuggles@VNET.IBM.COM
Subject:      Keeping in Key -OR- It Takes Only One Time to Learn

hey now,

well, after work last night i went to my friend's house to indulge in some beer
and darts...and was unlocking my van to leave later that night, when the key
turned, the lock didn't, and the key kept on turning. i managed to get the
key out of the lock, and upon further investigation, actually broke the key.
guess what...i don't have a spare. anywhere.

crashed in the van last night...woke up, went to a hardware store and asked if
they could make a key with the broken one since all the grooves where there.
nope they said. ack. so i take the sliding door lock off and get a ride to the
vw dealership. they look at it and can't make a copy cuz it doesn't have the
key code on the lock. very strange. so i go back to the van and take the side
door lock off.  that wasn't easy, found the trick. two little metric bolts. and
ya gotta use one of those little wrenches which is a trick in itself since the
space is limited. so i look at the door lock. ain't shit for numbers there.

i go back to the dealership. as i expected, they couldn't help me. so i get a
ride to a locksmith. only i had forgotten the broken key at home *duh!* so they
make a key by counting...took awhile but i was impressed. key worked great in
the door locks. i breathe a sigh of relief and head on back to the van. i
hopped up in the driver's seat and put the key in the ignition. It fit! but....
not good enuff to turn.

so after looking around, i find the original broken key and get yet another
ride to the locksmith. they go, duh, do a few more cuts on the key and i'm off
again...this time the key works. i now have two spare keys, one in my wallet
and one in a hide-a-key box. woulda saved 4-5 hours and $17 if i would have
taken the time to have one copied before this. oh well...

meanwhile, i've put the passenger door and lock back together. i'm having some
problems with the sliding door. got the handle and lock and all that put
together, but  there's a rod in the door that slips on another...i assume
this is so you can open the door from the inside. looks kinda like this:
       A
         -|-  <--this is a hinge contraption...the lower parts fits into this
     =--- 0     it screws onto the door. it's removable.
     |
     |  <---- this is inside the door, it has a joint in the middle and the
B    @        top part fits in a lop of the above part
     |
     |

my problem is that i can't get part B to stay in the part A and this causes
the door not to work from the inside. may also cause some problems with the
lock. i don't rememember if there was a washer or not, i don't think so. can
anyone give me some suggestions? did i put the whole assembly in wrong? i
might take it apart and start all over....help!

thanks again,

jonathan '74 retrowestie