Interesting to see the two sides alongside each other and the differences.
I took one of mine out of the project S3 today and partially dismantled it. Oh dear, so many problems (aka, so much fun ahead). Someone had forced the interior handle so hard that the sliding plate (which I don't think can be removed without some fairly major surgery, though Nigel Trow's photo shows that this is probably the way to go) is bent and doesn't make contact with the lock's detent springs. Other problems:
- brass latch has big flats on it where it's struck the striker plate (clue in the name) and should ideally be built up before re-chroming, or replaced
- the spring-loaded ball bearing under the latch (neat bit of what I assume is anti-rattle technology) has worn flat on one side and chewed up the main plate
- the square operating rod from the outer handle had been packed out with thin sheets of metal to compensate, rather unsuccessfully, for wear
Anyway, back to David's issue. Below is some annotation of one of the photos Geoff supplied. Please excuse me if my labelling and naming isn't clear.
David, I wonder if 4. and 1. might have somehow slipped out of alignment, allowing the outer door handle to rotate without them (4. and 1.) engaging with each other.
If this isn't the problem, then perhaps some packing pieces between the square rod and the brass rotating mechanism in the lock have come adrift and a more permanent repair is needed (see above).
Best of luck and let us know how it goes. W
