Jim Bryant wrote about problems with the vanagon door handles.  My 
experience was simillarly bad.  The lock on the driver's door of  my '84 
didn't work.  My friend the locksmith took all the locks apart and sprayed 
the wafers with a lubricant and corrosion remover.  We weren't able to break 
the oxidation of the wafers on this lock.  In failure, we just switched it 
with the passenger side handle (allowing me to lock the driver side door).

Good luck anyway Jim....