Last day of Covid isolation and another hot day outside. High temps going up to 95 degrees. I started at 9:00 and it was already 85 degrees outside. My main project today was to install the Thunderbolt deadbolt lock in the passenger side cab door. I had watched some videos yesterday on how to perform this process. I found some good videos on how to remove the door panel, and then I watched several videos from Thunderbolt on the installation process. A couple of months back, I had installed Thunderbolt locks into my rear and sliding doors, so I had some experience.
I started out by removing the door panel and then the plastic sheeting that is glued to the sheetmetal in the door. It was pretty easy, once you knew how to do it. The biggest struggle was figuring out how to disconnect the three wire harnesses that connect the panel to the door. Here is a couple of pictures of the door with the panel removed.
Before I continued with the lock installation, I took some time to apply sound deadening to the outside sheet metal in the door. This should help the speaker in the door work better, give me a more solid sound when closing the door, and serve as a little bit of insulation. I have lots of extra sound deadening material. I was glad to use some more of it, so I went heavy on it. Here is what it looked like.
I then installed the Thunderbolt lock module in the large square opening in the lower right hand side of the door. This is where Thunderbolt recommends it be installed. I had to drill a couple of holes in the sheet metal to secure the module with all four bolts.
Then I drilled a 3/4″ hole in the side of the door for the strike bolt. I attached the cable to the bolt, and it worked well. I used the bolt to identify the spot to drill the hole in the B-pillar for where the bolt will extend into. Then my progress came to a halt. The steel in the B-pillar is hardened steel and my drill bit would not cut into it. I tried for a good 5 minutes with a small bit, just to put a pilot hole into it, but it wouldn’t cut through it. So, I had to stop there for the day. It was already super hot outside, and the passenger side of the van was in the sun all morning, so I was cooked.
I’ll research how to make this hole this afternoon. I assume that I’ll have to buy some better drill bits. I’ll also call Thunderbolt tomorrow and get some advice from them. They are super helpful with advice for DIY’ers. For now, the door remains in pieces pending a resolution on how to drill this important hole.