Pop-N-Lock 8520 Review

www.myspace.com/dunnyt

http://s110.photobucket.com/albums/n114/DONNYT99/

 

Bump for the Pop-n-lock!!!

My husband were out playing airsoft yesterday and got home and we were dead tired....went out to eat in another car, came home by 8:30pm and went straight to bed. All our gear was still in the truck. We were just too damn tired and would unpack in the morning.

Someone broke into the truck (cab) and stole my ipod and part of (mech box & rails) of an airsoft gun (high-end $350 worth). The weird thing is, they didn't take the camera or the GPS. In the confusion of the evening, we may have left the truck unlocked

However, we did manage to lock the tailgate. The bed was covered (tonneau cover) and full of airsoft equipment. So - although I don't know if they even tried to open the tailgate, I'm pretty sure the pop-n-lock prevented them from getting in there.

My husbands car was also broken into but there was nothing to take in there.

Never under-estimate the pop-n-lock!!

 

Sorry to hear that you got robbed. At least it wasn't all gone. Still stinks. Did the police have anything helpful to add (like they think they know who it is.)?

 

Great write up and I hope this fills in a couple of blanks...

I JUST INSTALLED MINE:

The only things I would add is:

1. The blue/black connects to the green wire and the blue/pink connects to the brown wire



2. Take care to carefully secure the Black Corrugated Tubing with zip ties to the large Black Corrugated Tubing that travels next to the driver's side frame rail and ends up going through the large rubber grommet that passes from under the truck to the interior (under the front of the driver's seat).


tied to major bundle under truck on driver's side frame rail


above the pass thru (see below)


pass thru to cab

3. I chose to tap into the wire bundle that is under the driver's side thresh hold (for those Canadian's that still put thresh in their cabs).



wiring under thresh hold


after I tied into wire bundle


wire bundle secured and re-wrapped


4. My actuater is rather noisy too. I'm going to lather it up with some grease - I think the WD40 may dry out sooner.

Hope this helps to shave off some time for the next guy.

 

Here's a video of the actuator noise and the baaaarang! noise when I close the gate. I like the idea of the foam fill. Thanks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elz_v8tEcdU

 

After a couple of months, my Pop N Lock stopped working. It would still make a noise but wouldn't lock the gate. So I opened the tailgate open and did some lubing.... Packed as much white lube in there as I could get (behind and front). I also rolled up some closed cell foam and put it behind the unit to keep it from TWANGing. Every thing seems to be working fine now (still a bit noisy for my liking but all-in-all, I am still pretty satisfied. I guess if I would like to see anything it would be some type of nylon bushing or a nylon button in each of the guides to limit the actuator noise.

Here's a video post lube job.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jz2Cd1sbDjo

 

Yeah so far mine is working fine. I will probably open it up again and relube everything in there.

 

Are you getting the gate closing thwang?

 

not since i put that foam in

 

Is the 8520 available? - can't seem to find it on the usual sites like autoanything.

 

should be.

 

It looks like the lock graduated to an 8521. Does anyone know what they updated from the 8520?

 

No idea. Mine is still running strong. Havent had to relube it or anything yet.

 

I wonder if they got rid of the twang? I was a beta tester and that and the fact that I had to open 'er up and white lube it within the first few weeks. I put a small piece of closed cell foam behind it and it has worked flawlessly and quietly ever since!

 

I will be picking one up soon so I can post a pictures of the new model.

 

I have the keyed version, and I love it. No noise and easier install than the elec version. Unfortunately, you can't use it with the backup camera.
Make sure you lube the lock, though, or the tumbler won't last very long. Blaster's graphite lube works well. It's the same company that makes PB Blaster penetrating oil.

 

I also have the keyed version, and it works great with the factory backup camera. Part number is PL5300.

 

Just a quick update.
Over the weekend I installed the power Pop-N-Lock in our '06. The instructions still haven't updated, they still say to tap the blue/white wire when it should be the blue/black wire... and the gate closing thwang noise is still there. So I will be taking the tailgate apart to install something. It looks like the only update is that there now are "suitcase" taps that allow you to plug in the wires and the plug that connects the long wires to the short wires.
Now I can't wait untill the cap shows up and we'll have a secure place for bigger toys....

 

Ever since I packed the white lube in there and placed the foam behind the unit, I have never had another issue with the unit. I love it.

 

I just installed the same lock and so far it works great! The only thing I can say about it is, the finish of the handle is not asthetically pleasing. The one I bought is a duller black than OEM, but hey! it saves me from buying a new tailgate and/or whatever else I keep stored in there....
I can live with it.

takes about 25-30 mins to install.