The driver side door lock on my XJ had been “jimmied” by someone attempting to break in. The metal surrounding the lock is totally chewed up and destroyed, and the lock cylinder just just sort of rattling around in there now. It doesn’t lock, and it leaks water.

How would one of you go about repairing this?

I was considering making a small repair panel out of sheet, with a hole cut in it to take a lock. Then I was thinking of cutting the bent metal out of the door and spot/plug welding the repair panel in place inside the door. Fill with body filler and paint.

Is this how a repair of this type should be done? Is there a better way?

Also, there is a rust hole in the back seat area. The hole itself is only a pinhole, but there’s about a 12-inch circle of deep and extremely crusty rust surrounding it. It’s under where the bunch “butt” normally goes, but the interior is stripped so that’s no longer an issue. :-)

To repair it, I was considering cutting out the 12” rusted area from my Jeep, finding a suitable panel in a junkyard donor and cutting it out, then welding in place. I don’t really know how the panels should be fixtured or prepped for this. Should I just lay the new panel over the old and weld it in??

 

It depends on how fussy you want to be and and what kind of welding equipment and skills you have. Just replaced the rusty rocker panel on my 99 last weekend, my son and I put an entire rear clip on his 2000 that was almost new at the time (no rust). The Cherokee sheet metal is probably on of the most miserable to weld that I have ever played with.
Good luck

 

Yes, that is the correct way to fix the lock.

And don't let the sheet metal scare you. I've been working on my floors for awhile, and they've turned out beautifully. My passanger side is done (except for a few filler patches), my driver's side is untouched.

I haven't gotten to the driver's side yet, its cold out.

I haven't done floors before this, and mine are turning out just fine.

If you can't find donor panels, find some plain 16 gauge sheet metal and cut to fit.

 

You could put in a patch panel but I would think it would be simpler to just replace the whole door. You will have to paint the whole thing anyway.

As far as the other repair, cutting and welding in a piece sounds like the way to go.

 

Thanks boys, for the advice and anecdotes. I guess that beefs up my confidence to do this job. My welder is a Lincoln WeldPak 125 and I’ll probably be using InnerShield wire but can switch to bottled shielding gas if necessary. Cutting up a donor vehicle to repair sheet metal of another vehicle is something I haven’t done before. And the Jeep’s floor feels pretty thick according to the thumb-indentation-micrometer.

BTW, I would definitely prefer to replace both front doors. OMIX offers NOS doors and I’ve seen them online for around $200. The repair panel is just a temporary measure to hold things together while I sort out the numerous other issues with the Jeep that require me to siphon funds out of the bodywork account temporarily. ;-)

I bought the Jeep a few weeks ago and it’s still not driveable for more than a few minutes due to a head gasket issue. Hopefully not a cracked head but I’m steeling myself for it anyway.

 

You've got a great welder to do the job.

I'd hit up some junk yards and the classified here on the forum. Doors go for $75 or less, even with power windows.