My Pella 15 year old sliding glass door lock mechanism does not work any more. It is not frozen. It is the kind where you turn it horizontal and close the door and it locks. I undid the locking mechanism and it does turn. It seems to be a disconnect somewhere between the locking mechanism and the part near the floor. Is this fixable? It is the slider with the blinds in between. somewhere between the lock and the part at the bottom which locks it must be disconnected. any ideas?

 

The lever that you flip engages with a pair of keepers that are attached to the jamb on the latch side. If it no longer locks, here is the most likely thing that could be happening.

First, roll the door closed... or rather, ALMOST closed. If you leave it 1/8" open at the bottom, it should also be 1/8" open in the middle and at the top- when looking at the amount of light that comes past the door. If this is not straight, it usually means the rollers need to be adjusted. The rollers are accessed from the ends of the door, in the space directly above the track. You need a VERY long phillips screwdriver to adjust these.... 10" or so in length. Turning the latch side screw clockwise will raise that side of the door and increase that 1/8" gap on top, while turning the screw on the opposite side clockwise will raise that side of the door and close any gap on top. By making that adjustment you will make sure the door is contacting the latch side jamb EVENLY, not crooked.

I have never had any other problems with this type of door, so if that doesn't help, you might need to be more descriptive with what's wrong, or include some pictures.

 

Thanks for the response. When I get home from boston I will check straightness and send pictures. The locking mechanism seems easier to turn then I remember though. My 35 pound dog does like to sometimes ram the door to try to get the squirrels so it may be slightly off. I did check to see if lock meshed sand it seemed to. I will take a closer look though. This is the second issue with the door, the first was the glaze against the window leaked so water used to come in the house.

 

Only other thing I could think of is that maybe the latch has broken inside the frame, and even though you flip the lock, its still acting as if you haven't flipped it. You'd have to take the handle apart to check that. There is a small phillips set screw on the bottom of that handle, if I recall. You take that off first to reveal the screws under the handle cover. Be careful as you remove the handle that the outer half doesn't fall off. You might want to tape it onto the door to prevent it from accidentally falling. And then take note of the position of the spring washer that goes around the lock mechanism... you need to put it back on the same way it came off, so go slow and take note of the order that things came apart.

 

I am attempting it again now. It is "pretty straight" but I don't think crooked enough to not latch. there are 2 latches one at the top and one at the bottom. The locking mechanism did seem too easy which is why I feel it isn't connected. I am trying to post pictures.

 

I enclosed some pictures and am pretty sure the locking problem is in the connection from the locking mechanism to the spring loaded latches. I took the door off to look down the top and up from the bottom but seems too hard to take apart. We put it back before my friend left. Since I cleaned the track where I couldn't previously get to and oiled the wheels, it slides easier.

 

Oiling door parts attracts dirt, so while it may help short term, it will not help long term, and since the fresh oil collects even more dirt it usually makes matters worse. Graphite is the best sort of lubricant to use.

 

oops on the oil.
Any suggestions on the lock? Does the entire inside edgeof the door have to come apart to get to the conector?

 

I've run out of suggestions. Something like that is hard to diagnose without being there. In your top picture, if you would insert a flat screwdriver into the square hole, does the mortise lock seem like it switched back and forth between locked and unlocked normally? And when you do that, in your 3rd picture, can you physically move the latches when it is locked or unlocked?

Like I said, I've never had a problem with this type of door other than maybe a keeper that was installed out of alignment from the factory on a brand new unit, or an escutcheon that wants to fall off. As far as repair/replacement, that is the sort of thing that falls into the Pella Service Department's jurisdiction. I've never removed their cladding and I don't even think it's possible without bending it.

 

Thank you for your suggestions. I adjusted the door so it is now "straight and closes evenly". It was definitely not hitting evenly. Unfortunately the locking mechanism still doesn't lock the door. I think when I manually put the screwdriver in and change the mortise lock, it seems too easy, like nothing happens internally. There is a piece of loose metal, like a half inch that looks like it could have been part of the spring, that is dangling at the bottom lock. I think I am ready for the Pella guy. Also, whether it is in the locked or unlocked position, the latches move freely (with the normal spring tension).