Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Hi all,

Anyone ever had a problem with their door locks falling out?

I have had a clunk in the front passenger door for about a week. Whenever you used the central locking (remote) the passenger front door made a loud clunk.
I stripped the door today assuming the locking motor had come loose somehow. I soon realised that the clunk was the door lock barrel hitting the door skin and not the motor at all.
The barrel is held to the door handle by bolting into a piece of threaded metal that is a very tight push fit into the handle plastic. It has been a very long time since a key has been in that lock so that wasn't the cause.
I assumed that this piece of metal just fell out so I tried to put it back in (was going to glue it in) but it took a screwdriver (used as a punch), a hammer and my knee on the outer part of the door handle (so it didn't shatter) to get it back in.
I am assuming someone punched it in from the other side but there is no visible damage whatsoever and once reassembled it all works fine.

I don't actually know when it happened as I only realised this afternoon that it even had! It has been making the knocking noise for about a week though.
My ute got egged when sitting at the dock when I was watching the start of the Brisbane to Gladstone yacht race at Manly though so maybe connected? That was Good Friday.

I'm sort of surprised I never noticed the hole in the door where the lock used to be

Just in case it did fall out though, has anyone elses fallen out?

well i dunno about locks falling out, but they are next to useless on a rodeo anyway, they are the easiest cars around to get into if you have to. i used to lock the keys in the rodeo work ute all the time, i actually timed it once and it took 3 seconds to break in. so easy its almost funny.

its worth making up some sheet metal plates to go behind the door handle while you have the door apart.

I know how easy they are. I am embarrassed to admit this but I locked my keys in the car with the engine running and packed to come home after a weekend on the Sunshine Coast I couldn't break into it myself but when the RACQ came it took him about 3 secs if not leven less.
I had stopped the engine by unplugging the fuel pump though

I fitted an alarm and central locking when I got home from that trip.

I thought about folding up some plates but then I thought...........what happens then when I lock the keys in the car