I had the same problem with my van and with my long lost GTI. Try pushing in
the key until it stops, then pull back a millimeter or two and try turning
the cylinder. Also, it seems like one side of the key seems to work better
than the other. I just live with mine like it is, as long as I know how to
open it.

Daniel Snow
PhD Student
UC Berkeley

'82 Vanagon Diesel
'78 Puch Maxi Luxe Moped
'72 Motobecane Mobylette Moped
'01 Xootr Scooter

>From: David O'Shea <DOShea@GEOMATRIX.COM>
>Reply-To: David O'Shea <DOShea@GEOMATRIX.COM>
>To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>Subject: Removing Rear Hatch Lock
>Date: Mon, 12 Nov 2001 15:33:40 -0800
>
>I can no longer rotate the key in the lock of the rear hatch of my '83
>Vanagon. Luckily it's stuck in the unlocked position. Lubricating it in
>place was no help. I thought I'd try removing it from the van, flushing it
>with brake cleaner, lubing it with teflon spray lubricant in order to free
>it up. If that fails, I'll take it to the locksmith for a little
>professional TLC.
>
>Questions:
>How does one remove the rear lock cylinder from the hatch? ..does the
>entire
>latch mechanism need to come out of the door? None of this is clear from a
>quick review of my Bentley.
>
>My typical M.O. is to just dive right in and start taking things apart.
>Half
>the time I end up creating more work than necessary. This time I thought
>I'd
>check with y'all first.
>
>Any bright ideas appreciated.
>
>-Dave O'Shea

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