Lock tumblers interchangeable?

[impster]

The left side door lock tumbler on my wife's '95 touring has begun to show signs of wear to the point where it now takes a bit key wiggling to get it to engage. I would think that I have two options. The first (if it can even be done) would be to purchase a new tumbler and have it rekeyed. But with the type of key that the car uses, I have my doubts (and my wallet begins to quiver and shake in fright at just the thought of it). And the option that strikes me as most logical is to swap the tumbler from the wagon's rear hatch with the one in the driver's door. We never use the key on the rear hatch anyway (we always unlock one of the front doors and then open the hatch with its latch mechanism), so why not just swap the left door tumbler with the one in the hatch?

Before I start removing interior panels (always seem to break a few of the plastic clips when doing this!), I wondered if anyone knew whether the tumblers can be interchanged? I've done this with some of my older English cars and hope that it can be done with the bimmer. Any thoughts or experiences?

Thanks,
Tony Fontaine

[Tiger]

No, not possible... sealed unit... I know... unless you actually know how to release the tumbler from the door unit... Dealer can order the same lock with same key as long as you provided them your VIN number...

To be safe, order a spare key from dealer before you buy the lock... this way... you know the lock is the one that was originally on the car. Unless you are the original owner... then don't worry. Locks are non-refundable when ordered.