How to re-key half-door lock cylinders

[SAWB]

A couple years ago I bought a set of half-doors that needed a little TLC off of a guy in Georgia as a project for the future. I'm finally getting around to working on them. I don't know exactly what year they were from but know they are the earlier year TJ's because of the plastic track with door seals that slide into them. I think '97-'02 are those years, but not positive. One of the things I wanted to do was get the lock cylinders to match my keys. I know some think it's a waste to make sure the lock cylinders on half-door, or even full doors, are keyed properly on a Wrangler, especially when you run a soft top. I somewhat agree, but I just want them to match, that's really the only reason. My wife says it's my OCD.

I couldn't find a suitable locksmith in my somewhat rural area of SC, so off to the internet I went. I found the Tumbler Kit on E-bay for $23 dollars. I also bought two black Lock Cylinder Caps form Quadratec. The caps are crimped on and not salvageable. The paint quality on them isn't great so I sprayed a few light coats of Satin Black on them. There are different sized caps. I don't know the specifics of which years/style doors use what, but I know the full doors on my '06 have a bigger cap.
View attachment 113903



Here we go...
View attachment 113855



Remove the seal. I couldn't find anywhere that sold a replacement that looked like this one. Luckily mine were in good shape.
View attachment 113856



Remove the E-clip.
View attachment 113859



Remove the arm with the clip that attached to the rod in the door.
View attachment 113860



Remove the spring.
View attachment 113862



Pry the cylinder cap off. I got it started with a screw driver and then used pliers to peel it off.
View attachment 113865

View attachment 113868

View attachment 113869



Slide the inner cylinder out.
View attachment 113870



Push the tumbler/wafer piece towards the tiny spring and lift up. The springs are very small so look closely and don't loose them. This cylinder was gummed up pretty good with lube, so I had to move the tumbler/wafer towards the spring and lift with a pair of needle nose pliers. The other cylinder wasn't like that. Look at the tumbler/wafers as you remove them; they have a number on them. I made a little drawing on which number was in which position as I removed them.
View attachment 113871

View attachment 113872

View attachment 113876



Remove the springs and tumbler/wafers and set them to the side in a safe place.
View attachment 113877

View attachment 113878



I soaked the inner cylinders in some WD-40 for 15 minutes or so then scrubbed the inner and outer pieces with a small brush and finished up cleaning with some isopropyl alcohol.
View attachment 113879



I used all new tumbler/wafers but did clean up and reuse the original springs. The originals felt more springy than the ones in the kit. The ones in the kit were kind of weak feeling.
View attachment 113880

View attachment 113881

View attachment 113882



What you want to do is install the springs, then install the correct numbered tumbler/wafer so that they are flush with the inner cylinder when the key is installed. I started with the farthest one and just worked my way back towards the key. Installing one at a time and checking them after each one.
View attachment 113883

View attachment 113884

View attachment 113885



I put a light coat of white lithium grease on the areas of the inner cylinder that rotates in the outer cylinder.
View attachment 113886



Reinstall the inner cylinder into the outer cylinder.
View attachment 113887



Reinstall the spring.
View attachment 113888

View attachment 113889



Reinstall the arm with the clip for the rod that's in the door. I put a light layer of white lithium grease on both sides of the plate on the arm.
View attachment 113890



Snap the E-clip on.
View attachment 113891

View attachment 113892

View attachment 113893



Insert your key and turn it each way. Make sure the tumbler/wafers slide under the outer housing. If you can't turn the key, you've got an incorrect numbered tumbler/wafer installed somewhere.
View attachment 113894

View attachment 113895



Install the seal.
View attachment 113900



Install your cylinder cap. Line the 4 tabs up with open areas of the cylinder. Press the cap down tight on the cylinder and then bend the 4 tabs down onto the cylinder to hold it on. Make sure your seal is up out of the way before you crimp the caps down. Don't crimp the caps onto the seals.
View attachment 113901

View attachment 113902



I don't have the cylinder cap on in the video. I put a few coats of paint on them and waiting for them to dry.

Now everyone knows how to make a key for your jeep !

 

[97TJNM]

@MountaineerTom thanks for the writeup! I used this guide to rekey a set of half doors I recently picked up, as well as the rear hatch on my son's XJ that had been swapped with one from a junkyard at some point before we bought it.

You saved me some cash, and gave me a fun afternoon project to work on with my boy. I appreciate it!

 

[sab]

You know, I used this guide a while back to re-key my half doors, and I just realized I never thanked MountaineerTom - so, thanks, Tom! This thread was very helpful!

 

[sab]

Also, I found this tool helpful for both removing and installing the face caps:

https://www.locksmithkeyless.com/products/multi-purpose-face-car-tool

It didn’t come with instructions, but I found this YouTube video:

 

[MountaineerTom]

@MountaineerTom thanks for the writeup! I used this guide to rekey a set of half doors I recently picked up, as well as the rear hatch on my son's XJ that had been swapped with one from a junkyard at some point before we bought it.

You saved me some cash, and gave me a fun afternoon project to work on with my boy. I appreciate it!

You know, I used this guide a while back to re-key my half doors, and I just realized I never thanked MountaineerTom - so, thanks, Tom! This thread was very helpful!

Great! Glad it was able to help.

 

[MountaineerTom]

Also, I found this tool helpful for both removing and installing the face caps:

https://www.locksmithkeyless.com/products/multi-purpose-face-car-tool

It didn’t come with instructions, but I found this YouTube video:

That would have been handy to have.

 

[Apparition]

Also, I found this tool helpful for both removing and installing the face caps:

https://www.locksmithkeyless.com/products/multi-purpose-face-car-tool

It didn’t come with instructions, but I found this YouTube video:

I need to do this. Guess I’m buying a new tool first.

 

[jrfuda]

Just rekeyed my doors this morning. Thank you for this tutorial!

 

[Mogul345]

Ok, do you or don't you need that crimp tool for replacing the face caps on the full doors/tailgate?

I'm basically restoring the exterior of my TJ right now. My body shop guy was telling me that I should replace the door/tailgate locks so the caps look all new. I found this thread on replacing just the caps, but my body shop guy doesn't have the crimp tool.

Other posts in this thread mentioned locksmiths have the tool. I'm having no such luck finding one. Only one guy was willing to even entertain the idea. Finally got the new Mopar face caps in the mail today. Went down to see him to get it quoted and he was like "well I don't have the crimp too either, we just fold the legs over".

So can we just get away with using like a pick to unfold the original legs and something like a flat head screwdriver to fold them back over? I'm headed back to the body shop tomorrow to get some last bits of work done on the job.

Also hilarious is the locksmith tried to tell me I had aftermarket caps. The bag literally says Mopar on them and I told him I ordered them from a dealer and he was like "nope you should return those". The caps look like the caps in the picture in the parts catalog, I think they're quite OEM lol.

 

[chili_pepper]

My body shop guy was telling me that I should replace the door/tailgate locks so the caps look all new.

The body tech suggesting you replace the locks, in their entirety, for looks is a bit absurd. I can't imagine they look that bad and I suspect they all still work just fine. Unless they're painted, you can polish up what you have without much effort (stainless caps).

do you or don't you need that crimp tool for replacing the face caps on the full doors/tailgate?

So can we just get away with using like a pick to unfold the original legs and something like a flat head screwdriver to fold them back over?

Suppose that depends on who's doing the work, what their hourly rate is and how long you want it to take.

You can pull and install the caps without the tool, but you probably run a higher risk of damaging the cap and I suspect it will take longer to do as well. The $20 tool might prove to be worth more in the end.

So can we just get away with using like a pick to unfold the original legs

Not all caps have "legs" or tabs and need to be crimped around the entire circumference.

 

[jrfuda]

Ok, do you or don't you need that crimp tool for replacing the face caps on the full doors/tailgate?

I did not need a special tool using the caps the OP posted, the metal is very thin and you bend it back with a flathead screwdriver or something similar.

 

[Mogul345]

The body tech suggesting you replace the locks, in their entirety, for looks is a bit absurd. I can't imagine they look that bad and I suspect they all still work just fine. Unless they're painted, you can polish up what you have without much effort (stainless caps).





Suppose that depends on who's doing the work, what their hourly rate is and how long you want it to take.

You can pull and install the caps without the tool, but you probably run a higher risk of damaging the cap and I suspect it will take longer to do as well. The $20 tool might prove to be worth more in the end.



Not all caps have "legs" or tabs and need to be crimped around the entire circumference.

I feel really dumb asking this, but my body shop guy has me spooked. He ultimately didn't want to touch it when I went back to get the final work done.

I definitely got the Mopar caps like in the very last picture of the first post w/ the 4 "legs" from my order (see pictures). And my original caps are also like the first pictures in the first post, where it doesn't have any legs.

What's got me spooked is if you zoom in on the last pic in the first post, it looks like the depth of the new cap is such that even if you fold over the 4 legs, the rest of the cap needs crimped over, otherwise you'll have the cap edge rubbing straight into the seal? And the legs might not be tight against it unless you have the crimp tool?

I really wish there was a final result pic using the caps with legs installed so I knew what to expect...

 

[jrfuda]

...I really wish there was a final result pic using the caps with legs installed so I knew what to expect...

Here is a picture I took this rainy morning of one of mine so you can see what the final product is. The rubber gasket that goes between the cap and the door hides any imperfections from folding over the tabs.

Mine is a little nasty looking because I had to peel off a failed 2k clear coat and then wet sanded and buffed the heck out of the doors, which is why you see a little primer (whiter than the stone white rattle can paint), some compound in the gasket, and most of the black buffed off of my cap which gives it more of a gunmetal appearance now. When I first installed it, it was much cleaner looking and looked close to factory. I reused the hold gaskets from when the doors had been painted red and then bed-lined by the doors' many POs, which is why there is a little red on the gasket still.