Repaired Door Lock Actuator Myself.
02-20-2011, 07:15 PM
#1
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Repaired Door Lock Actuator Myself.
Thought I would relay to anyone with a vacuum leak in a door actuator how I fixed my problem. I have a 1996 C280. Issue was the rear passenger door lock would lock fine, but when I tried to unlock the door, the lock would not open and a hissing sound could be heard while the vacuum pump could be heard running for about 10 seconfds.
I removed the door panel. Note: I had no problem until I found out there is a screw behind the plastic cover under the door handle. Once I found this, be careful, but it is not difficult to snap the door panel off.
Once the door actuator was exposed I operated the locks and found that air was leaking out around the bottom of the black plastic actuator.
I removed the actuator by removing the screws attaching it to the door. It is tricky but not difficult. NOTE: The yellow vacuum lines running in to the actuator attach to the actuator with a gray plastic fitting. It took me a while to figure out but do not try to remove the yellow line from the gray plastic fitting. Remove the fitting from the actuator with the line attached! You simply put a screwdriver behind the fitting and pop it off.
Once I had the actuator out I found that it is a two-piece cylinder. Where the 2 pieces fit together the tabs holding the cylinder together had cracked and the seal was lost. At that point I considered buying a new one but thought I would just try gluing the two parts to gether to get a seal. I used super glue, attached the two parts together and replaced the actuator. It worked perfectly! No leaks and the door locked and unlocked fine.
Put the door back together and fixed at no cost. Hope this helps someone out there with the same problem. Sorry no pictures but I am not that advanced with this stuff.
I removed the door panel. Note: I had no problem until I found out there is a screw behind the plastic cover under the door handle. Once I found this, be careful, but it is not difficult to snap the door panel off.
Once the door actuator was exposed I operated the locks and found that air was leaking out around the bottom of the black plastic actuator.
I removed the actuator by removing the screws attaching it to the door. It is tricky but not difficult. NOTE: The yellow vacuum lines running in to the actuator attach to the actuator with a gray plastic fitting. It took me a while to figure out but do not try to remove the yellow line from the gray plastic fitting. Remove the fitting from the actuator with the line attached! You simply put a screwdriver behind the fitting and pop it off.
Once I had the actuator out I found that it is a two-piece cylinder. Where the 2 pieces fit together the tabs holding the cylinder together had cracked and the seal was lost. At that point I considered buying a new one but thought I would just try gluing the two parts to gether to get a seal. I used super glue, attached the two parts together and replaced the actuator. It worked perfectly! No leaks and the door locked and unlocked fine.
Put the door back together and fixed at no cost. Hope this helps someone out there with the same problem. Sorry no pictures but I am not that advanced with this stuff.
