Repairing A Central Locking Motor

[jim21070 2]

Whilst the Gti is up on stands patiently awaiting the supply of a refurbished rear beam, I have taken an opportunity to do all those little jobs that normally need a "roundtuit". One being a dodgy central locking motor.

 

I had a brand new one so I swapped it over. The shock at the cost of a new OE motor was enough to make me look into repairing the old one. It was making loud whirring noises and only occasionally actually unlocking or locking the door.

 

Getting it apart was the first trick. They are glued and not indended to be opened. I opened it by sawing all around the top of the body on the joint line to a depth of about 5mm using a sharp junior hacksaw and then carefully prising off the lid.

 

The problem was the clutch. To get this out it was a matter of carefully drilling a hole opposite its shaft so that the shaft could be drifted out. Once out, the cause of the failure became obvious, the spigot on the end of the mazak clutch gear had disintegrated.

 

I thought about it for a bit and decided I could fabricate a new spigot out of brass and tap it into a suitable threaded hole in the mazak gear. A hour of work on the lathe, a bit of filing and tapping and I had a functional motor once again.

 

If anyone is interested, I'll be happy to do a full write-up with pictures. Considering a new motor is getting on for £60, if you have access to a small lathe (and perferebly a small milling machine too) it is well worth a go.

[Guest LCR]

if you ask nicely you can have one of mine as i am just about to pull them all out on my track car as they are far too heavy