Glove Box Latch Replacement

Not sure how many of you SquareBody owners have had your glovebox just pop open while driving down the road.  Super fun right?  nope.

Here are some handy dandy instructions on how to make that issue just go away by replacing the latch.  Now they aren't as simple as they may appear but it will get ya going.

Step #1

Open the Glove Compartment Door, if not already opened from a broken latch, and then move the latch itself to the closed position by pushing it upward into the assembly as pictured below.  note: some have a key slot and actually lock

Step #2

Now that the latch is in the CLOSED latched position, using a pick or small screwdriver, push down on the locking tab inside the mechanism through the hole closest to the glove compartment door on the passenger side of the assembly picture below. Keep in mind, if you can not see the tab to be depressed, it's because you don't have the latch in the closed position. This is why you close the latch so the tab is exposed thru the small hole.

This is what the actual tab you are looking for to depress will look like inside the assembly.

Step #3

Now put the paperclip into the hole in the front of the knob. This holds the tab in the depressed position and you should be able to now remove the pick form the assembly. Check to be sure though. This is why the bigger paper clip works better. REMEMBER, DO NOT PRY ON THE GLOVE BOX KNOB !!!

NOTE: the locks with a key slot, you actually use the key instead of the paperclip.

Step #4

Once the paperclip is in place to hold the tab, you can pull the pick out and in the larger rectangular hole toward the end of the latch assembly, insert the pick and gently pry the tumbler piece outward. The knob at this point will start coming out of the glove box door, but then you feel another stop and you will stop. DO NOT PRY any further at that point. You have hit the 2nd Tab.

Here is what the 2nd tab will look like inside the assembly.

Step #5

Now that the 2nd Tab is the same location as the first tab you depressed, go back to the same hole with the pick and push in the 2nd tab with the pick.

Step #6

You should now be able to pull the tumbler completely out of the cylinder and latch mechanism.

Step #7

Spin the cylinder and latch assembly counter clockwise to remove the assembly form the glove box door. And here is what you should now have after spinning the cylinder and latch assembly off of the threaded retainer. IF BY CHANCE, your latch is OK, but the mechanism is just loose, here is where you can simply tighen the mechanisn to the threaded retainer, then reinstall the tumbler and you're good to go.

Here is what the front of the threaded retainer will look like. If you will need to remove that too, I'd probably use a ratchet extension or large allen wrench to extract this part for the door, but usually not necessary since you are likely replacing the broken latch part itself.

And there you go !!! It's that simple once you know the little secrets of how it's done. I fought with one for hours til I finally just broke it to figure out how it worked.