Josh-the-Locksmith
25 Years Experience
Austin, TX
Male, 46
I've been a locksmith since 1998. I did automotive residential & commercial work from 1998 to 2008. From 2008 to 2018, I did some residential, but mostly commercial work. I have been project managing & estimating since 2018. I used to locksmith in the Chicago area, now the Austin area.
Model-specific automotive questions because I haven’t done automotive work in 12 years. My answer will usually be the same. Call a local locksmith or go to the dealer. There’s not much people can do on their own when it comes to car locks. It’s complicated and requires a lot of specialty tools and information.
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Thankfully no not me; however my previous boss had a situation where a customer called him out to open a business and after he left they robbed it. We are required to collect driver license, customer information, etc, so cops had no problem catching them. Dumb criminals.
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You should have just purchased a new deadbolt, it’s much easier for a homeowner rather than trying to replace the cylinder. It sounds like you purchased a rim cylinder. The tailpieces on rim cylinders only turn when the key is turned. Tubular deadbolts, such as residential, use what’s called a “lazy tailpiece”. It turns 180 degrees, or so, independently of the key. Depending on which brand and model your deadbolt is, chances are more than likely you can’t just replace the cylinder like you’re thinking anyway. I would highly recommend returning or discarding the cylinder, and just purchasing a replacement deadbolt instead.
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You say it’s too big for the door. How so? Is your door too thin? If so, you need adapter plates. That’s going to be the case for any equivalent. If your door has a different backset, say 2-3/8” instead of 2-3/4”, you either need to adjust the deadbolt latch, or purchase the correct backset. Depends on brand. If the hole in your door is 1-1/2” in cross bore, you need to get it drilled out to a 2-1/8”. Those high security deadbolts have some flexibility, but not a ton. They are pretty particular as to how they fit, and they’re all pretty similar.
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NHL Team Marketer
Is fighting in hockey good or bad for the game?
Fashion Model
How prevalent are eating disorders in modeling?
TV Meteorologist
Is having a weatherman really better than just throwing to a 5-day forecast screen?
Nope, it’s all just proper management and mental hurdles.
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You didn’t mention the brand, but it sounds like a common Kwikset problem. Usually just replacing the latch will fix it. Kwikset also has a common problem where the screws back out on the inside of the handleset. Take it apart very slowly. Buy a replacement latch, and put it all back together. Should be good to go.
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Usually those door knobs are screwed onto the spindle. Once you take out the setscrew on the edge of the knob, you should just be able to unscrew the whole door knob. The square shaft that goes through the door is actually threaded like a giant screw.
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