Fixing my Lancer's Broken Door Pin/Locks

Sharing with everyone one of the issues I've had with Mitsi. The door lock pin (or whatever you call it) broke and it was very difficult (or next to impossible) to unlock the doors from the inside. I had to have to either roll down the window and unlock it from the outside with the keys( or have someone else do it for me.)

As it turns out, this tiny bit right here is difficult to find. I visited several auto stores and went through numerous surplus shops in our area and found none. Some stores have generic ones but they don't quite fit.

I figured that due to it's rareness - this small piece of plastic could be quite expensive. Fortunately, I was able to keep the part that broke off - so I decided to try my luck in fixing it.

To get to the other part that was left behind - I have to remove the side door panel. First, I have to remove the latch cover here ( which reminds me that I need to work on these soon - they could definitely use a bit of TLC).

Next, remove the screw that holds this in place - it's a good time to replace this screw as it's head tends to rust and chip off.

Then remove the rest of the screws that hold the panel in place.

Now comes the tricky and what could be the most difficult part when removing door panels - the window riser. Using a flat head screwdriver, pry off the lock that holds it in place.

Dealing with this clip becomes easier over time (you'd eventually get used to it :-D)

Here's a close up of what we're dealing with.

Once the riser is out of the way, it's just a matter of carefully lifting and pulling away the door panel. There are a lot of clips inside so you have to be very careful. I was not able to take pictures of the clips (sorry) but in case you break some of them - don't worry - they are available on most auto shops (around 10-15 pesos each :))

Finally, we get to what we're after. It screws out so removing it is fairly easy.

I don't think Mighty Bond, Super Glue or other similar products can handle the kind of force this little pin gets (from all that pulling and pushing) so I decided to use something much stronger - epoxy. Notice that I bought the quick drying type - it dries clear and is very easy to use.

I noticed that there are two small holes in the pin so to reinforce my repair, I decided to use a couple of nails to act as supports - kind of like how they use round bars to strengthen cement columns and pillars.

Even though this stuff dries in just a couple of minutes, full strength is achieved after 24 hours.

After putting everything back in place - everything is as it should be.

Yes! You Can Fix Your Car's Door Lock! :)

P.S. This was done a couple of months ago and I'm happy to share with everyone that the pin is still intact until today! :) I would like to believe that the nails did the trick!