How to re-key half-door lock cylinders

Same as many...wanting to key my half-door locks to my original jeep TJ keys. Is there a way to Re-key the lock WITHOUT removing one of the original lock cylinders? By using the key itself and working backwards to figure out the tumbler/wafer sequence? OR is there anywhere on the vehicle that tells you the tumbler/wafer code?
thanks
j

You don't need to remove one of the original lock cylinders. You can use the key that you want to change to and a tumbler wafer spring kit. I was able to use the ebay link provided by OP and the seller sent me trim rings as well. The trim rings come in two sizes.
I used my key and installed one tumbler wafer at a time followed by putting the key in to make sure it was flush with lock cylinder exterior. I then put the cylinder in the cylinder housing to confirm it was correct by pulling the key and inserting the key and turning. It should lock and unlock as normal. Make sure to write your code down when you're finished. The tumbler wafers will be numbered one to four. Your sequence ends up being for example 4212331.

It's actually not a bad job with exception of the new trim ring install, as they're easily dented.
 
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Same as many...wanting to key my half-door locks to my original jeep TJ keys. Is there a way to Re-key the lock WITHOUT removing one of the original lock cylinders? By using the key itself and working backwards to figure out the tumbler/wafer sequence? OR is there anywhere on the vehicle that tells you the tumbler/wafer code?
thanks
j
I did mine with just the key. It might take a little longer, but it is certainly doable. I also reused the wafers in the half door locks, just rearranged them to work with the original key. Now I was lucky that most of the wafers worked by rearranging them, but, I did have to leave one wafer out because it wasn't the correct number. In all honesty, you would only need 1 wafer in the lock to keep it from turning. They use several to make it much harder to pick.
Good luck.
 
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So I’d like to add my experience rekeying my half doors. Thanks to @MountaineerTom for this great how-to write up as it was extremely helpful and, in fact, it was quite simple.

I’ve owned my half doors for almost two years now and although the previous owner gave me the key for them, I promptly lost them shortly after purchasing them. Like most others, locking half doors is as useful as locking your front door but leaving the garage door open.

Well , winter boredom hit and since the half doors are sitting in my basement, I figured I’d 1. Fix the loose outside driver side door handle and 2. Rekey the locks to work with my ignition and full door key.

Off the bat, I noticed my half door locks were the same size as my full door locks, not smaller as shown in the pictures from @MountaineerTom. No matter. I proceeded with the rekey.

Following the instructions in this thread, I rekeyed my door locks. One thing I did differently was I did NOT purchase the wafer and spring kit from eBay. It was $35. I was able to reuse 5 of the 7 wafers in my locks to match my keys. I left the remaining two out. I was comfortable with that as it still did the job. Saved me $35.

Put everything back together, my key worked perfectly on the rekeyed lock, and this is where it all went downhill. In taking the lock apart, the cylinder cap has the be destroyed to remove it. Quadratec sells the caps for $5 for 97-02 locks which are the smaller caps. As I mentioned earlier, mine is the larger cap that matches the full doors.

Long story short, I was unable to find the larger replacement caps anywhere online. I would have to purchase new door lock cylinder kits just to get the caps, which weren’t cheap. I called a dozen locksmiths in my area to which no one had (not to mention not many locksmiths do automotive locks....who knew). I ended up purchasing new locks for $35 from amazon and I’ll live with having a different key for my half doors.

My guess is my half doors are of the 03-06 variety. So it would seem that the 97-02 and worth it to rekey as it wouldn’t cost much. But if you plan to rekey 03-06 half doors OR full doors with the larger silver lock caps, plan on buying new lock sets. Mopar charges $75 per lock I believe.

Hopefully this helps someone down the line that might come across a similar situation.
39DC065F-3753-427E-98F9-28E5759BC131.jpeg
9D3454A1-9976-4E93-ACD9-B4FBBD5B71C3.jpeg
696CA3B9-A969-4FF6-9E4D-4738318A40CE.jpeg
 
So I’d like to add my experience rekeying my half doors. Thanks to @MountaineerTom for this great how-to write up as it was extremely helpful and, in fact, it was quite simple.

I’ve owned my half doors for almost two years now and although the previous owner gave me the key for them, I promptly lost them shortly after purchasing them. Like most others, locking half doors is as useful as locking your front door but leaving the garage door open.

Well , winter boredom hit and since the half doors are sitting in my basement, I figured I’d 1. Fix the loose outside driver side door handle and 2. Rekey the locks to work with my ignition and full door key.

Off the bat, I noticed my half door locks were the same size as my full door locks, not smaller as shown in the pictures from @MountaineerTom. No matter. I proceeded with the rekey.

Following the instructions in this thread, I rekeyed my door locks. One thing I did differently was I did NOT purchase the wafer and spring kit from eBay. It was $35. I was able to reuse 5 of the 7 wafers in my locks to match my keys. I left the remaining two out. I was comfortable with that as it still did the job. Saved me $35.

Put everything back together, my key worked perfectly on the rekeyed lock, and this is where it all went downhill. In taking the lock apart, the cylinder cap has the be destroyed to remove it. Quadratec sells the caps for $5 for 97-02 locks which are the smaller caps. As I mentioned earlier, mine is the larger cap that matches the full doors.

Long story short, I was unable to find the larger replacement caps anywhere online. I would have to purchase new door lock cylinder kits just to get the caps, which weren’t cheap. I called a dozen locksmiths in my area to which no one had (not to mention not many locksmiths do automotive locks....who knew). I ended up purchasing new locks for $35 from amazon and I’ll live with having a different key for my half doors.

My guess is my half doors are of the 03-06 variety. So it would seem that the 97-02 and worth it to rekey as it wouldn’t cost much. But if you plan to rekey 03-06 half doors OR full doors with the larger silver lock caps, plan on buying new lock sets. Mopar charges $75 per lock I believe.

Hopefully this helps someone down the line that might come across a similar situation.
View attachment 220690View attachment 220691View attachment 220692
Great info, thanks for sharing. My half doors are still sitting with no lock cylinders at all. I gave up on finding the right cylinders and hardware for the time being.
 
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So I’d like to add my experience rekeying my half doors. Thanks to @MountaineerTom for this great how-to write up as it was extremely helpful and, in fact, it was quite simple.

I’ve owned my half doors for almost two years now and although the previous owner gave me the key for them, I promptly lost them shortly after purchasing them. Like most others, locking half doors is as useful as locking your front door but leaving the garage door open.

Well , winter boredom hit and since the half doors are sitting in my basement, I figured I’d 1. Fix the loose outside driver side door handle and 2. Rekey the locks to work with my ignition and full door key.

Off the bat, I noticed my half door locks were the same size as my full door locks, not smaller as shown in the pictures from @MountaineerTom. No matter. I proceeded with the rekey.

Following the instructions in this thread, I rekeyed my door locks. One thing I did differently was I did NOT purchase the wafer and spring kit from eBay. It was $35. I was able to reuse 5 of the 7 wafers in my locks to match my keys. I left the remaining two out. I was comfortable with that as it still did the job. Saved me $35.

Put everything back together, my key worked perfectly on the rekeyed lock, and this is where it all went downhill. In taking the lock apart, the cylinder cap has the be destroyed to remove it. Quadratec sells the caps for $5 for 97-02 locks which are the smaller caps. As I mentioned earlier, mine is the larger cap that matches the full doors.

Long story short, I was unable to find the larger replacement caps anywhere online. I would have to purchase new door lock cylinder kits just to get the caps, which weren’t cheap. I called a dozen locksmiths in my area to which no one had (not to mention not many locksmiths do automotive locks....who knew). I ended up purchasing new locks for $35 from amazon and I’ll live with having a different key for my half doors.

My guess is my half doors are of the 03-06 variety. So it would seem that the 97-02 and worth it to rekey as it wouldn’t cost much. But if you plan to rekey 03-06 half doors OR full doors with the larger silver lock caps, plan on buying new lock sets. Mopar charges $75 per lock I believe.

Hopefully this helps someone down the line that might come across a similar situation.
View attachment 220690View attachment 220691View attachment 220692
I have 2004 half doors and was able to get the large trim caps from the ebay seller that MountaineerTom listed. I just asked him if he could include two with my order and he charged me a couple bucks for them. They were good quality as well.
 
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I have 2004 half doors and was able to get the large trim caps from the ebay seller that MountaineerTom listed. I just asked him if he could include two with my order and he charged me a couple bucks for them. They were good quality as well.
Interesting. I’ll send him a message.
 
These are the locks that I bought. Same size as the larger silver cap locks. You do need to reuse the rubber gasket, spring, plastic retaining clip part to clip onto the rod, and the tiny C-clip from the old locks.

Standard Motor Products DL-127 Door Lock Set https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000JKBV5Y/?tag=wranglerorg-20
Thanks for the lead. Part of my predicament was that I bought the half doors without anything in them, so I’ll need to gather all the parts from scratch
 
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I have 2004 half doors and was able to get the large trim caps from the ebay seller that MountaineerTom listed. I just asked him if he could include two with my order and he charged me a couple bucks for them. They were good quality as well.
So he messaged me back and said he doesn’t have the exact cap but has caps that would work but the hole in the middle is slightly larger. How did those caps work out for you? Do you have any pictures?
 
So he messaged me back and said he doesn’t have the exact cap but has caps that would work but the hole in the middle is slightly larger. How did those caps work out for you? Do you have any pictures?
I went back and looked at my correspondence with him and it was on March 31st last year. The size was all he wanted clarification on large 1-1/4" face and small 1-1/8" face.

Here's a picture of mine after installation:
Lock trim cap.jpg
 
So I’d like to add my experience rekeying my half doors. Thanks to @MountaineerTom for this great how-to write up as it was extremely helpful and, in fact, it was quite simple.

I’ve owned my half doors for almost two years now and although the previous owner gave me the key for them, I promptly lost them shortly after purchasing them. Like most others, locking half doors is as useful as locking your front door but leaving the garage door open.

Well , winter boredom hit and since the half doors are sitting in my basement, I figured I’d 1. Fix the loose outside driver side door handle and 2. Rekey the locks to work with my ignition and full door key.

Off the bat, I noticed my half door locks were the same size as my full door locks, not smaller as shown in the pictures from @MountaineerTom. No matter. I proceeded with the rekey.

Following the instructions in this thread, I rekeyed my door locks. One thing I did differently was I did NOT purchase the wafer and spring kit from eBay. It was $35. I was able to reuse 5 of the 7 wafers in my locks to match my keys. I left the remaining two out. I was comfortable with that as it still did the job. Saved me $35.

Put everything back together, my key worked perfectly on the rekeyed lock, and this is where it all went downhill. In taking the lock apart, the cylinder cap has the be destroyed to remove it. Quadratec sells the caps for $5 for 97-02 locks which are the smaller caps. As I mentioned earlier, mine is the larger cap that matches the full doors.

Long story short, I was unable to find the larger replacement caps anywhere online. I would have to purchase new door lock cylinder kits just to get the caps, which weren’t cheap. I called a dozen locksmiths in my area to which no one had (not to mention not many locksmiths do automotive locks....who knew). I ended up purchasing new locks for $35 from amazon and I’ll live with having a different key for my half doors.

My guess is my half doors are of the 03-06 variety. So it would seem that the 97-02 and worth it to rekey as it wouldn’t cost much. But if you plan to rekey 03-06 half doors OR full doors with the larger silver lock caps, plan on buying new lock sets. Mopar charges $75 per lock I believe.

Hopefully this helps someone down the line that might come across a similar situation.
View attachment 220690View attachment 220691View attachment 220692

Glad you got it done. It sucks that those larger cylinder bezels aren't easily available. Hopefully the eBay guy's bezels work out.
 
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