A customer in Weybridge got in touch because the front-door multipoint lock had become awkward and unreliable to operate.
Once on site, I removed the mechanism, cleaned it and lubricated it thoroughly, but the gearbox still would not operate correctly.
Opening a gearbox is always a last resort because there are springs, small moving parts and ball bearings sitting in exactly the sort of places that make you regret touching them when something escapes across the workshop.
With enough patience, I managed to open the centre case and find the actual fault. One of the spindles had broken.
Normally that would mean replacing the gearbox, but this particular door was not using the latch-mode spindle. That meant I could swap the spindle positions and reuse the serviceable component instead of replacing the whole unit.
I rebuilt the gearbox, refitted the multipoint mechanism and tested the handles and locking points repeatedly.
The original mechanism was back in working order and the customer avoided an unnecessary gearbox replacement.
