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How to rekey your 2g door/trunk/glove box lock

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Ok, so I know that this has been covered before in different tech articles, but I recently rekeyed my 2g to match an OE key that I had laying around. I took pictures of the process, and figured 'why not?"

So, here we go
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Here are the tools that I used. Slip-joint pliers, needle-nosed pliers, and a pocket screwdriver.

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Here we have a trunk lock cylinder, as well as a door lock cylinder. There are a few differences, that we will cover later, but for the most part, it's the same procedure to do both, so we will only be covering the trunk cylinder.


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On the end, you will find an e-clip holding everything together.

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Use the pocket screwdriver to remove it.
Tip: cover it with your other hand or a towel to keep it from becoming a projectile.

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Set the clip aside.

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Remove the metal shim located behind the clip.

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Now, it's time to remove the return spring. I like to slip my screwdriver between the spring and cylinder...

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and walk it around until it releases.

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...like this. A little bit of careful wiggling will get it the rest of the way off.

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And set it aside.

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Next, you will need to remove the metal collar from the front side. There are 2 areas where the collar is staked down. You can pry those up with a pocket screwdriver to make this step easier, but it isn't entirely necessary. With your pliers, squeeze the collar and GENTLY wiggle it off. Less is more here. The harder you squeeze, the tighter it will get.

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Once the collar is off. there is nothing holding it together anymore. You can remove the cover over the key hole, but it isn't mandatory.

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A light shimmy, and the tumbler will come out of the housing.

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The pins will release as you are pulling. These are what determines which key will work for this lock.

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Here you can see all 9 pins. 5 sticking out of the top, 4 sticking out of the bottom. This is where the main difference is between a door lock and a trunk lock. The door and ignition locks only have 8 pins. Ever wonder how valet keys will unlock and start the car, but won't open the trunk or glove box? Well, it's because they are only cut for the first 8 pins.

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Carefully remove the pins, one at a time.

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...and lay them out on the paper in the same order you took them out. There are little springs in there, too. Do not lose them.
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Now, here's where things get tricky. Mitsubishi used 4 different pins in their locks. There are only 3 pictured here because my car only uses 3. The difference lies in the offset of the square hole in the middle. These pins will be moved by the ridges on the key. The larger the space at the top of the pin, the wider the key is in that area. I decided to number these pins, since I was going to be rekeying 5 locks. Lets call them 3, 2, and 1, from left to right.

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Here you can see where the pins will engage the key. We can then number the key in the same fashion. So this key's identity would be 2-2-3-3-2-2-3-1-3

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Reassemble, remembering that the pins alternate top to bottom. Don't forget to reinstall the springs.

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When you're done, all of the pins should sit flush with the key inserted. If they are a tiny bit off because of a worn key, you can hit them with a die grinder to even it out. I did not have to do this.

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Reassemble, making sure to align the tab in the collar, and restake the sides.

If you are doing what I did, and changing keys, it would be a good idea to visit local pull yards and scavenge pins from cars there. You'd be amazed how quickly you can collect 40 or 50 of them.
 
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