URO Parts trunk lock repair kit review - part I Options

[Amphicar770]

Hi all,

A while back, Uro Parts contacted me and offered to send me one of their new trunk lock repair kits in exchange for reviewing it here. I did get the part for free but have no other affiliation. My own experience with them has been mixed, some junky bits but also some good ones like upper strut mount assembly for Jaguar. Anyway, I told them I will be honest in my evaluation and so I shall.

Arrived today so figure the unboxing (unbagging) will be part 1. Part 2 will be install but I can answer any questions in between. Photos are provided.

You get three parts (outer housing, inner lock barrel, and rubber seal). The chrome finish seems pretty good. Not sure what they are made of. Weight is light and a magnet does not stick. The included instructions seem well written and detailed.

Hope to install over the weekend.

[914werke]

A while back, Uro Parts contacted me and offered to send me one of their new trunk lock repair kits in exchange for reviewing it here.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/idea.gif) Following. Curious why were you contacted / singled out what is your relationship
to URO the manufacture?

[Front yard mechanic]

He has a jag and they need a lot of parts (IMG:style_emoticons/default/popcorn[1].gif)

[Mikey914]

Ok I'll spill the beans on what i see as a serious design flaw here. Mostly because im curious.
Note the inner cylinder does not have the ribs the factory has. Just some tabs towards the top. These ribs are what interact with the pins on the lock.
So at best one pin is all that is locking the trunk.
If you want to shoot a pic of the 2 you'll see what im saying. Worst case it will not lock. Best case only one pin is locking the trunk.
I guess we will see.

[UROpartsman]

Ok I'll spill the beans on what i see as a serious design flaw here. Mostly because im curious.
Note the inner cylinder does not have the ribs the factory has. Just some tabs towards the top. These ribs are what interact with the pins on the lock.
So at best one pin is all that is locking the trunk.
If you want to shoot a pic of the 2 you'll see what im saying. Worst case it will not lock. Best case only one pin is locking the trunk.
I guess we will see.

Lol, false. It's hard to see in the above photo unless you look closely, but the ribs inside the trunk lock button cylinder are full-depth, exactly like the original piece.

[UROpartsman]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/idea.gif) Following. Curious why were you contacted / singled out what is your relationship
to URO the manufacture?

Amphicar770 has no affiliation with URO and is a highly respected veteran of the forum, so we invited him to compare our trunk lock kit to a competitor's kit (if/when it becomes available). We look forward to his thorough review.

[Amphicar770]

I'll take some additional pics when I get home.

I have no affiliation with Uro, no idea if others were also contacted. If you read my older posts, you will find that I have been critical of them in the past.

[gothspeed]

It looks pretty good so far. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Amphicar770]

Here is a photo showing the inside ribs. They do extend fully.

[Mikey914]

The original pic looked like it was shinny all the way through. Pics have changed

[Amphicar770]

The original pic looked like it was shinny all the way through. Pics have changed

Same part. Reduced the lighting so you can better see the contrast.

[Firstcar]

Where is part II, has it been installed (IMG:style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif) ?

[gothspeed]

Where is part II, has it been installed (IMG:style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif) ?

+1 ... thinking to replace my powder coated one.

[Amphicar770]

Ok guys, your pressure overcame my procrastinating. Just installed it, took about 30 minutes. My original was in pretty nice shape but wanted to complete this.

Overall, the provided parts seem to be of high quality and fit well. A few bits that I think should be included in the kit are not, we will get to those in a moment.

Stand by, going to switch from my phone to a PC.

[Amphicar770]

OK, here we go.

First off, here is my original assembly. As noted, in pretty decent condition as my 914 is low mileage original in exceptionally nice shape.




I am including this picture of the original as it shows something pretty important. The position of the rear cam lock in relation to the keyway slot (the wider one is at the top). If this is not properly positioned when you reassemble do not close your trunk or you may not be getting back in!



Here is the inner lock barrel removed. Notice the small gasket. The gasket on mine is reusable but certainly fragile after 40+ years. This is one of the two bits that I think should be included in the kit. I reused this one.




This photo shows the original and new inner barrel. Both new and old parts are an excellent match. The original outer has some part number markings that the new one does not but otherwise, materials and design seem pretty much identical. The instructions not that lock barrel often has a buildup of old grease and dirt. Yes, as does almost everything else. Cleaned up all the parts and oiled / greased. Even if you are keeping your originals, this is a bit of maintenance that is likely overdue.




Here is a photo of the original inner lock barrel. In step 3 of instructions it is noted that there is a small plastic seal at the top of the lock barrel and to be careful as these seals are very fragile. That black bit at around 12 o'clock in following photo is what was left of my plastic seal, it has essentially disintegrated. At first I thought it was just old grease. If mine is this bad, I imagine many others are far worse. This is the 2nd part that I do think should be part of the kit.



When I went to put the lock cylinder into the inner barrel, I noticed that there was more play than there should be. That is when I realized the aforementioned seal was toast. My field expedient solution was to use an HNBR O-Ring (like used for air conditioning components). I put some grease on the o-ring as well. Seems to do the trick in eliminating the play. Again, wish the proper replacement part had been included.



As noted, instructions were pretty good. Here it is back on the car. Again, before you close the trunk, push the button in and out to make sure the cam is engaging the release for the trunk.



Overall, I think the final fit and finish are excellent. The instructions were easy to follow and reasonably complete. It is short of being a 10 by a gasket and a seal. I am not sure if the kit I received is final production or not, perhaps that is something Uro will address. I can not say how well the finish will hold up over time. It was only installed this evening and I only venture out with the 914 on sunny days. Still, I do not anticipate any problems.

Finally, I will reiterate that I have no affiliation with UroParts. They contacted me via the forum here and asked if I would do a review of this product which, in full transparency, they provided to me at no cost. Mostly I did it for fun and, being out of work at the moment, I have nothing better to do! I have tried to be fair and balanced in my review, highlighting both the hits and misses. Hope you all found it useful

[Bartlett 914]

Looks pretty nice.

[Tbrown4x4]

This will be tough. I'm certainly glad these parts are being made for us, and competition should improve the parts we see for sale.

However, in all honesty, I will probably continue to support Mark and his efforts. Being the "little guy", and local to me, I know how important it is to support small businesses.

I'm sure the customer base is great enough for URO and Mark to co-exist, but my money will continue to flow to Oregon.

[TheCabinetmaker]

Same here ^

[914work]

Solid review. Thank you

[ConeDodger]

This will be tough. I'm certainly glad these parts are being made for us, and competition should improve the parts we see for sale.

However, in all honesty, I will probably continue to support Mark and his efforts. Being the "little guy", and local to me, I know how important it is to support small businesses.

I'm sure the customer base is great enough for URO and Mark to co-exist, but my money will continue to flow to Oregon.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif)

reverse engineering a part without any electronics is monkey work. Mark consistently improves the parts. I'll wait for his.

Besides, I don't understand why a company that doesn't sell retail is lurking and trolling on a car forum. Seems like their customers should be the ones lurking and trolling. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif)