Great.

I locked my car at the gym this morning and heard a snap, something fall inside the door, and felt the lock cylinder turning freely. Great. Cool. Awesome. When I got home, I pulled the door card to see what fell.

No surprise, shit’s broken. Note the little hook bit that’s missing from the springless one.

I went over to the junk yard (only like a 15 minute drive, I’ve been there twice since I’ve been home from school) and pulled the same part off a 98 TDI. I also pulled off two black window cranks and mirror adjuster knobs so I can change the color to suit my mood. I should have gotten two more for the back seats but forgot to. Oh well, I don’t go back there often.

I trimmed back the remains of the vapor shield (that’s what VW calls it) so I could poke around more effectively. Weight reduction, bro.

Then I started pulling the handle off to pull the replacement on, and either because the mechanism was in the lock position or because I’m inept, more brittle metal bits broke. Cool.

I also found parts for three other locks that had fallen inside the door. I guess this has happened before.

I said fuck it and put it all back together. I’m going to order a new handle/lock/key assembly from 1A Auto. Should be here the 14th. Until then, I can lock the car from the passenger side lock like I used to do, but this sometimes doesn’t disarm the security system, which then starts honking the horn when I try to start the car. I’ve only ever disarmed it by putting the key in the driver’s side lock. I might be able to disarm it with either the passenger’s side lock or the hatch lock (which was broken when I got the car), but I don’t feel like experimenting to find out.

I like the new 20 year old trim bits better than the 22 year old ones at least.

Fun fact: Mk3 VWs had optional central locking, as this one does. Instead of a system with electric motors like modern cars, the entire system is pump driven. There are pneumatic (or hydraulic, I hope to never have to find out) lines running to all four doors and the hatch. The pump is located in the trunk area right next to the rear passenger headlight.