My hatchlock cylinder is completely busted and has part of a broken key stuck in it. I defineintly need to get this fixed asap. Please look at the pics below and guide me through on how to replace it from the inside. And if you can, use the pics I provided below and put arrows on the bolts or screws I need to remove. Thanks!! -Matt

 

You can't replace it from the inside.

But based on the pix you posted, with the interior panel removed already, you're only one, very simple step away from opening the hatch, as things are.

Just pull on that cable, and it'll "pop." Then just push open the hatch. NOW you'll be able to replace the lock.

Remove the three bolts that hold the hatch mechanism to the body, and lay the whole mechanism back.

You'll have to carefully pry off the white connector from the back of the lock. It "snaps" on both sides, and it's freakin' hard to get it off without breaking it. But if you do break one side, it'll still hold ok when you put everything back together.

Next remove all the plastic "wingnuts" that hold the taillights in place, then remove the taillights(because you'll need to remove the center section to get to the lock, and the center section is held in place by the taillights).

Then from outside the car, with full access to the lock, with a hammer and punch(or something similar), punch out that little center post in the heads of the rivets, then drill out the rivets using a 1/4" drill bit. When the heads pop-off, remove the lock, and you're done with the removal process.

Then, as a Haynes manual would say, "installation is the reverse of removal."

 

Sounds simple, thanks for the help!

 

You're welcome. It is simple. Have fun!

About pulling the cable, you'll be pulling on the upper part of that "loop," where it goes behind the hatch mechanism assembly. That's where it's attached to the back of the lock. That might be obvious, but I thought it might be worth mentioning anyway.

As for securing the new lock, if you won't be able to rivet it in, then that means 1/4" nuts & bolts(and thin lock washers for insurance against vibration). So I'd suggest a type of bolt with a head that's a little more "secure" than a regular hex bolt: torx, 12-point, allen, etc. In other words, a type of head that a would-be vandal probably would not carry the proper tool to remove.

 

Changing hatch locks has been a very hot topic during the last couple of months. So for any future searchers on this topic, I should probably clarify my above statement.

The car in this topic is a Firebird. And on Firebirds, you cannot change the hatch lock from inside the car, as I said above. But you CAN on Camaros.

Firebird locks are secured by rivets that must be drilled out, and the best way to do that is from outside the car, though the steps in my earlier post. But Camaro locks are secured by a clip on the inside of the vehicle, just like door locks are. So they can be removed from inside the car, simply by popping-off the clip. And another distinct difference for a Camaro, you don't have to remove the taillights, like you do on a Firebird.

On the otherhand, given the easy of popping open the hatch by pulling the cable, there would be no need even for a Camaro owner to have to change the lock from inside the car. Because, obviously, if he can get to the lock, then he can reach the release cable to pull it and open his hatch first.

86TransAm350's pictures in this thread are excellent for letting people see what they'll be looking for behind the rear panel(if they don't already know). But for those of you trying to do this where the rear panel is still in place(and that's probably most of the people needing to do this), pulling back the passenger side of that rear panel to reach the cable won't damage the rear panel like you'd think it would, believe it or not.

Remember, that rear panel is attached by two screws on top, so you won't be able to remove it. And because of that, it's not easy to pull back the side of the panel. In fact, it's darn hard! And you'll think it'll be totally trashed by the time you get it back far enough to reach the cable behind it. But the panel, when released, will pop right back and retake its shape without any bends or creases left in it. The little "male" thingies at the bottom of the panel that slide into the "female" slots in the body(minds out of the gutter!) might snap off from pulling the panel out, but that won't hurt the "look" of the panel in anyway. Seriously, nobody but you would ever know that the rear panel had once been so "traumatized." So no fear...

 

I hate to revive a dead post, but I found this in the search and i'm sort of in the same situation. Could someone please mark the cable you have to pull? Are there any other steps to pulling the cable besides just tugging on it? thanks!