- Mon Feb 20, 2017 5:29 am
#361280
So here's what's been going on with the car over the last week.
I painted the roll bar machine gray
I finished up my rear strut/ c pillar brace and also painted that machine gray
I removed both doors to finish riveting the door openings that I couldn't get to with the doors in the way. While the doors were off the sanded down the surface rust that was under the door hinges and treated it with rust reformer on both the hinge and chassis. Then added a coat of black paint.
Since I was messing with the doors I wanted to get rid of the key hole on the passenger side, so I ordered a rear door handle for a 4dr civic from advance which was only $15. Only the mounting hole towards the front of the car lined up, so you have to make a small bracket for it as shown below.
But I didn't get to install the handle fully because the latch assembly took a shit on me. When I removed the rod that went to the key lock something became loose inside the mechanism and wouldn't allow the door to unlock from the inside. When I went inside to get a light to see better the wind blew the door shut and it was pretty much down hill from there. I tried to do the trick where you use a pick and pull the little gold pin down to release the lock for at least 3hrs straight. I would get the pick hooked on but something was preventing it from moving down. So I found a video on YouTube where the guy say to drill it out so I gave that a try and i dint have any luck there. So at this point I got my dremel tool with a cut wheel and went to town. I had to destroy the the latch assembly, deconstructing it layer by layer. After about 2 1/2 hours later I had the door open, I hope I never have to do this again.
On the last picture you can see the little gold pin on the white plastic towards the right you have to pull to release the lock. When I got this off there was a broken bit of plastic in there that must have chipped off from some where, that prevented me from unlocking it.
Now the problem I'm having is finding one to replace it with. I looked around on the Internet and only been able to find them for 6th gen civics. I went to a local junkyard and pulled 3 of them. One from a Del sol, one from a 6th gen civic and one from a 5th gen 4dr because these where the only older Hondas they had. But with the luck I've been having with this latch none of them fit 100%. The Delsol rod that goes to the door handle was to shot and the inside lock rod didn't line up. The 2 civic ones didn't work because the way the lock was set up since they come out the top of the door panel.
So I'm hoping tomorrow I have time to go to a few different junkyards, get lucky and find a fifth gen hatch or coupe to get the latch assembly from.
If anyone is selling a passenger side latch assembly from a 2dr non ex I will buy it.
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