"worn" door locks fyi
 

one of the only places american cars are better than overseas ones are they doorlocks. my mustang had 30 year old locks and they never wore out, do this day im sure they are still working. but my 1st gen 7 had worn locks my 240sx had worn locks, and now my 2nd gen has worn locks (ie. the key doesnt open the door anymore)
so i call the dealer
$70
per side.
ouch.
so i call autozone. no go. vans, nogo. MZM, nogo etc.
so it occurs to me. if i have to buy locks per side at the dealer, they have different keys. so if i want the same key i have to get them rekeyed. *lightbulb*

so i call mr locksmith he says "yeah 90% of the time its not even the lock thats worn.. .what do you have... mazda? yeah 90% of the time its not the lock its the key itself is worn, the points fall, and the grooves wear. cheap metal, ya know?"

so im having him work on them now, ill let you guys know if it works (ive never heard of this being done myself, but for all you guys not wanting to shell out 140 bucks at the dealer...)

Yeah, I've had to have new keys cut for my Accord before. It's not that big of a deal, I just keep a good spare one in my wallet now. :D

good idea, my passenger lock hasn't worked since I've had the car, and it seemed like my driver door and hatch failed together (yeah, that wasn't a fun day).

Many times when the key doesn't work well you just need to re-lubricate the lock. Get some graphite lubricant, spray it in the lock, pump the key in and out a few times then turn the key a few times. Pretty much every 2nd gen that I've worked on had awesome locks with just a little graphite.

Next step is getting the lock rebuilt by a locksmith. I've got an '87 base that I'm fixing up right now, and the driver's side lock used a different key than everything else. Took the cylinder in to them - they put all new tumblers in the lock to match the correct key, put a new face and "door" on the lock, EVERYTHING for $12.50. Did it while I waited, too. Check your phonebook for a GOOD local locksmith, not just a hardware store that copies keys. They had all the parts right there, did everything while I waited.

Dale

i have to push the key downward slightly before turning it. then it will unlock.

Well, i had the same problem and since I didn't have my 2nd car yet (GVR4) I couldn't drive around for a day or so without a lock so I got a new set from the dealer for the drivers side and it was only $52.00 brand new with 2 new Mazda keys.

Awesome advice, thank you!

"runs to the phonebook."

good news for all you 1st and 2nd gen guys
i just got my locks back from the smith and holy crap, they are awesome. no stops, no nothing. not even any clicks when i hold the cylinders up to my ears, just fliud motion.
and pricing? 100 bucks less than if i had gotten new ones.
next itll be the hatch =D

Humm.. Mine feals almost the opposite. I feal like i can use just about any key in it. Really "loose"..

Got any suggestions for me?

id suggest the same, try to call a smith. those guys work wonders on their stuff

Hey uh....

My car key will open AND start 3 of my friends other FC's.... Just takes a little wiggle of the key and vrooooom.

Call it strange but crazy shit eh'?

-Markus

Thats not really all that strange, im not sure how many master keys there were for our cars but I do know my friends 3rd gen supra (86-91) only had 7 master keys so if you see another supra on the street there is a one in seven chance that your key will work in there car. Although those would be some pretty amazing coincidences if you had the same key as three of your friends. :)

It's also called Jiggling.

Pretty much any key can do it.

My friend has used my FC key to open a Ford escort one time by jiggling.

you said "jiggling"...........:)

Good suggestions, I am about to test the Graphite theory..