UPVC door lock barrel removal

[gordon34]

I want to replace the door lock barrel on my uPVC front door but the screw holding the lock won't budge. I am gradually wrecking the head(Philips or crosshead) of the screw. Has anyone had this problem and solved it please?
I could drill out the screw head but I guess the lock barrel would still be captive by the remainder of the screw.

 

[God]

Take the handles off and get a pair of grips and snap the euro( if it is not anti snap) once in 2 halves the screw will fall out

 

[s60tsy]

i would open the door, take off handles, put a block of wood under the door and whack the barrel with a hammer and bolster, it shouls snap and fall out

 

[gordon34]

Question is, will I be brave (or foolhardy) enough to dry the drastic methods suggested for fear of permanently damaging the door. But maybe I have no choice if I want to change the existing barrel for one with a thumb turn.
I am quite surprised that the machine screw I have to remove is so unmoveable. When I look on You Tube to see how to change this type of lock barrel the machine screws always seem to undo with minimum effort. Why should my one be so difficult?

 

[mointainwalker]

Well, when I needed to remove an interior- body panel on my car, my Haynes manual also said ".. remove the 16 securing plugs as well as the centre-pins of the four fixings..."

Bastards. Not nearly as easy as they want to make believe.

 

[gordon34]

I had another try today. Well what else is there to do on a Sunday afternoon?
I took the handles off and the covers that are about 12mm deep which cover up the drilled holes in the uPVC and through which the handle spindles and the lock barrel pass. This left the lock barrel protuding about 12mm on both faces of the door. I was able to jiggle the barrel up and down a little and expected to see some movement on the head of the retaining screw which I am trying to remove. No movement was visible. I squirted WD40 around the screw head and around the barrel itself hoping some would find its way onto the screw. All my efforts were in vain as the screw would still not budge. I belive the screw is made of steel rather than brass and will therefore be more difficult to drill out.

 

[crank39]

So now with the handles off get a pair of mole grips or a big adjustable spanner and clamp it around the lower half of the barrel, 2 good sharp jolts side to side and it'll snap down the middle of the screw hole remove both halves as well as the cam that gets left behind in the lock mech, put both halves together on floor and measure in from each end to the centre hole, this is the size of the new barrel which you will be requiring now