uPVC gearbox difficulty locking

[Lee]

Usual type gearbox, lift handle to throw bolts and lock. Lifting the handle works fine and all the bolts engage freely without binding but the lock cylinder is starting to get difficult to turn to lock the door. If I pull the handle up sharply (but not with any further travel) the cylinder turns easily.

I'm assuming that there are no adjustments* possible to the actual gearbox and it's just a case of replacing it?

*Does the same thing if the door is open, so I don't think it's the door alignment.

[Bob Eager]

I found that lubrication made a big difference. I Googled until I found tips on lubricating windows similar to ours.

[Roger Hayter]

I fixed a similar problem with a door by taking all the moving strips off and cleaning off hardened gum (?from grease) before lubricating with silicone grease and reassembling. Considerable scraping and use of solvents was needed.

[Lee]

Thanks both, will have a go at that. Worth a try at least.

[Brian Gaff]

I found that some also seem only to work if you lift the actual key, as if the key is too narrow or the lock has become worn. Don't make stuff like they used to, do they? Brian

[newshound]

+1 for cleaning and lubrication

[DerbyBorn]

Remove the cylinder and lubricate its cam.

[DerbyBorn]

"Brian Gaff" wrote in news:oeei3k$vpn$ [e-mail]:

I had a similar problem One of the locking pres /rollers was hitting the bottom of the cast slot and preventing the mechanism from travelling as far as it should. A bit of adjustment sorted it - ir I could have Dremelled the bottom of the slot. Check if this is your prblem - look for shiney wear marks.

[DerbyBorn]

DerbyBorn wrote in news:XnsA76B94BCE2ADCTrainJPlantntlworldc@81.171.92.222:

Does it lock easily if the door is open? If so it points to the problem of the rollers bottoming in the slots.

[Lee]

Aha! Now, it did lock easily when it was open, I tried it multiple times but it might have been trolling me:) There are indeed "catch" marks on the bottom of the rollers and further investigation revealed that there was 3mm of vertical movement in the hinges. It's a heavy door and it didn't appear to be binding anywhere so I hadn't noticed this before. Turns out these are not the common type of hinges, I had to do a bit of Googling to find out how to adjust them but it all seems just fine now :)

[Lee]

And that of course should have read did NOT lock easily when open

[Dave W]

Of course if you hadn't written that I would have replied exactly as DerbyBorn did. I had the same problem.