Front Door Lock

[adamdegraff]

I've been hanging out here a good bit lately. Thanks for all the good advice y'all.

New issue. Not a major one, but a nagging one.

My keyless entry works great to unlock the front door (and disarm the alarm). It works great to lock all the bay doors (and arm the alarm) except the front door won't lock. Actually, if I put the key in the front door and press the keyless entry, and then give it just the slightest bit of help, then the front door lock (deadbolt) will lock just fine. (It does all the work, I just give it a VERY LITTLE help.) Kind of a pain. Is there something I can do (or lube) to fix this? Prevost wanted me to buy a new part. They said the old one (forget what it was called) was probably tired. Tired? I'm tired. This, I thinks, probably just needs some WD40. But, I'll admit that I have never taken off my door panel and am a little afraid. Any step by step instructions in the POG archives? Do I need the part?

Much appreciated.

Adam

[jello_jeep]

I am sure the maintenance militia will chime in on the door, I have not gotten around to mine yet. From you description, it need a little graphite in the right spot.

Mine will operate fine with the keyless, but the key itself feels a little gummy in operation, so it is on my list for sooner or later.

Some folk have Marathon cut a little access hole in the door, and make a little upholstered cover for it and all so you can get to it without messing with the whole door.

Another tidbit, if you want to arm or disarm your bus, but don't want the annoying little "chirp" to disturb neighbors, push button #2 first, then release and press #1. You get "chirpless" operation (legal in most states) :)

[tdelorme]

Adam, get some of this stuff and lub the lock. Just squirt some in and then work the key in and out a bunch of times. It's for fixin things that are "tired".


http://stringitup.stores.yahoo.net/ghsgrwhgrgel.html

Also, just plain ole white graphite from the hardware store works just about as well.

[0533]

I've been hanging out here a good bit lately. Thanks for all the good advice y'all.

New issue. Not a major one, but a nagging one.

My keyless entry works great to unlock the front door (and disarm the alarm). It works great to lock all the bay doors (and arm the alarm) except the front door won't lock. Actually, if I put the key in the front door and press the keyless entry, and then give it just the slightest bit of help, then the front door lock (deadbolt) will lock just fine. (It does all the work, I just give it a VERY LITTLE help.) Kind of a pain. Is there something I can do (or lube) to fix this? Prevost wanted me to buy a new part. They said the old one (forget what it was called) was probably tired. Tired? I'm tired. This, I thinks, probably just needs some WD40. But, I'll admit that I have never taken off my door panel and am a little afraid. Any step by step instructions in the POG archives? Do I need the part?

Much appreciated.

Adam
Hello Adam,

I would not be too concerned about getting inside the door and inspecting the locking and door mechanisms.

I had two issues recently that caused me to take the door panel off and make some repairs.

First it is a good idea to see what is behind the door panel and have some way to open the door from both inside and out in the event of a failure. ( In recent posts others have noted that it is possible to get stuck inside the bus when the door handle comes apart)

Here is what I did. You will need a phillips screw driver and 2 allen wrenches, one for the upper door pull and one for the actual door handle. I would keep these items in the bus nearby at all times in case of a door handle failure. Without the allen wrenches and the screw driver you are SOL. or at least it will require leaning out the window and opening the door from outside if it is not broken too badly.

I do not mean to digress from your question but there are a few issues with the doors that should be considered and watched carefully.

I am convinced that the more you open and close your door the sooner you will experience a failure of some type.

Anyway behind the door panel there is a series of "Rube Goldberg" style mechanisms that in my opinion is a problem waiting to happen.

The inside door handle attaches to a metal spindle (swivel arm) and spring that attaches to a rod that goes down to another metal spindle, and spring that has another Fork style part that has a metal striker through it from the outside door handle. When one pulls the outside door handle up and away from the door it moves a metal (Striker) from left to right across a metal fork that when struck by the striker then pulls down the metal rod that opens the door.

At both the upper and lower spindles (metal rocker arms) there are weld points that Prevost placed there to secure the Spindle, Rocker arms in place. This weld is very poor way to secure these important moving parts.

Also its important to inspect the adjustable metal rod and make sure it does not have too much slack, and not too tight, its any easy adjustment.

The actual deadbolt can move in and out but can also move sideways, this is where the problem occurs in my opinion. When you apply pressure to the deadbolt it can be torked sideways and get pinched on the edge of the locking runway at the door lip. wiggling the deadbolt will help pass the deadbolt by the outside edge.

There is another future problem that is worth watching as well. I have probably opened my door more times in six months than the previous owner did in 9 years.

Here is what can happen. When one pulls the outside door handle you are moving the outside door striker from left to right across the forked finger like device about 3 inches long facing downward toward the street. It is attached to one of those wonderful Prevost welded movable studs that will swivel when one pulls on the outside handle. Unfortunately it is possible for this forked finger like part to get loose or even bent so that it will be possible to pull the outside door handle striker all the way out and have the striker actually pass over the front side of the Forked finger like device and the door will not open. You can try this several times and nothing. You will think the door is locked and will wonder what has happened.

I decided to create a buildup on the face of the "Forked Finger Like swivel Device" using a two part metal epoxy and a plastic wire tie and stainless nut. I mixed the epoxy up, let it setup and placed a good amount on a small stainless nut. I attached the nut to the backside of the "forked Finger like swivel device, ( make sure to clean and sand all surfaces before applying epoxy) carefully placed the wire tie around both the left fork of the swivel device and the stainless nut, carefully pulled the wire tie as tight as possible, making sure that it all will line up when the striker is moved across the surface. Let the metal weld cure for at least 2 hours without any contact. Check to make sure it is really well cured and secure and make sure that the striker is lined up with the nut and the plastic wire tie. Once completed the striker when moved will first make contact with the plastic wire tie leading edge and the nut underneath that are all attached to the fork. This surface buildup will insure that the striker can no longer pass by the fork and cause a possible door opening failure. It sounds complicated but it is not. make sure to test the repair several times before reassembly of the door panel.

My fix appears to be working well, and have had no problems since.

I am not impressed with the Prevost door mechanisms, as they look like they were invented from day one and never updated. I am convinced that everyone will experience a failure of some type based on the door construction.

[garyde]

Here is an thread regarding replacement parts for XLII handles.
http://forum.prevostownersgroup.com/showthread.php?t=2125&highlight=Broken+door+handle