Help!Door stuck

[steve6864]

My driver`s side door has been getting increasingly hard to open.Slight pressure has been needed under the side view mirror to get a smooth release.Last week I was pinned inside as the interior handle did not "pop" the door.Got out by using the outside door handle.That prompted me to order a new inside rod that goes forward to the front left latch and a new drivers front left latch as well.Strolled outside today to install and the door will "pop"but not release off the pin at the front.I cannot get it open!!It is not locked and the old rod activation seems to be able to get it open,but,just a half inch or so.I have an even gap all the way around the door and it is definately off the rear pin.I have used extreme force with a person on the inside as well as me pulling on the outside to no avail.Is there a way to get to that pin and loosen it from the wheel well or if I take off the stainless front fender is there a window or something?It is really not coming off any other way.I have loosened that pin before for adjustment purposes and felt like there was a captured nut or something inside the jamb.There must be a way to get to it,right?Thanks,6864.Steve.

[Rich]

Are you absolutely sure that neither of the latches are locked? Your symptoms are typical of a door that is almost, but not quite, unlocked. It might even be unlocked for a moment, allowing it to come off the striker and then re-"locking" before it comes loose.

Recommending that you study this video showing the simple but important linkage adjustments that will assure proper locking and unlocking from the mechanism side. The demo is done with regard to the rear latch/lock but it applies equally to both. At the very end there is also an important lock lever lube reference.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92JJQG57t1s

Trying to remove the front striker pin with the door latched? Sounds difficult. This is an inside the door job somehow.

[DMCMW Dave]

.There must be a way to get to it,right?Thanks,6864.Steve.

No. The door has to be open.

You may need to take the inside panel off an pull the linkages manually. Sounds to me like either the lock rod or latch rod is out of adjustment, when the lock rod is out the front latch is still locked when you think it isn't. If the linkage rod is too long, it just isn't pulling far enough when you pull the handle.

[steve6864]

All of the mentioned issues have been addressed.The length of travel for the rod is the most it can be.The rods have been disconnected so I can pull on them independant of the lever.Lock rod is fully back.Sorry to hear there is no passage to the back side of the pin.I can`t see where taking the latch end of the rods off will help anything.How was the nut that the door jamp pin attaches to installed? I was afraid to loosen it completely during my last adjustment trial for fear it would fall down into the abyss somewhere.6864.steve.

[Rich]

Dave is right. First, the lock for that front latch has to really be released/open - all the way - so that the latch can move. Second, the latch has to be retracted. If you have access to the ends of both the front lock rod and the front latch rod then you have what you need to get it open in the normal fashion.

You may want to close/latch the door again to free everything up and take a clean shot. The half-unlatched hardware may be jamming the lock as you try to force the door off the pin. As you already report, more force isn't the answer.

There are two or three downstream reasons that the striker pin-removal approach isn't the way to go whether you manage to access that pin nut or not.

You are going to want that latch-lock to work correctly at some point so this doesn't happen again. Now would be a good time to figure that out.

[DMCMW Dave]

All of the mentioned issues have been addressed.The length of travel for the rod is the most it can be.The rods have been disconnected so I can pull on them independant of the lever.Lock rod is fully back.Sorry to hear there is no passage to the back side of the pin.I can`t see where taking the latch end of the rods off will help anything.How was the nut that the door jamp pin attaches to installed? I was afraid to loosen it completely during my last adjustment trial for fear it would fall down into the abyss somewhere.6864.steve.

The nut is captive behind the filller plate. If you remove the striker pin the nut will not fall off. The only way get to it from the back would be to remove the fender. That will still not get it out because you can't turn the captive nut and the striker will still be captive in the door latch anyway if you were to try and remove the entire striker bracket. But to remove the fender the door must be open. Therefore, you must get the door open.

We see a lot of jammed doors and have never found one that we could not unlock by, worst case, disconnecting the lock rods from the bellcrank and pulling on them manually. You may want to try focing the door closed all the way (both latches latched), pushing the front rods toward the front of the car (i.e. locking the door and making sure the latch is really engaged correctly), THEN manually unlock the latch, make sure the rear latch is unlocked, then pulling on the front latch while unlatching the rear latch at the same time. You may need a pliers to pull the latch rod to release it, it is not something you can usually do bare-handed especially if there is tension on the latch from the rear of the door being partially open. Also with the door panels off there is quite a bit of tension on the latch just from the strut/torsion bar.

While trying to pull the latch rod have an assistant outide the car pushing on the door to make sure it is closed all the way and the tension is off the latches.

[steve6864]

I finally got it!!I had all the rods pulled and held in place with vice grips,the lock was metal to metal,so could go no further.Damage to the latch was not a concern since,like I said,I have a new latch and rod to go back in.So ,with that in mind and getting the door to the point that I had an inch of clearance all the way around the door,I felt for the pin and took a small pry bar and pried it apart.No damage to the pin and the slightest of mark on the jamb that I have already repaired.I think the problem all in all was the lock even though it was at full travel was defective and not actuating.I have already installed the new latch and rod and it works well.I still have the slightest drag on the pin,but,will not adjust until I rebuild the fiberglass "T".For those of you who have seen my car,I had to replicate the curve of the fiberglass area with a metal plate where the door struts attach as within a year of each other the mounting hardware broke out of weakened fiberglass.Of course as my usually dependable D has become a money pit of late it will have to wait until I can get to the valve rockers and my current project of replacing the clutch line and resorvoir,as replacing the slave cylinder did not solve my problem.Thanks everyone who responded.6864.Steve.

[Rich]

Great! Thanks for reporting the happy ending. Glad it worked out. Good job.

Note to others to keep an eye out for the initial symptom that was listed here, "Door getting increasingly hard to open [unlatch]". Nip it in the bud.

[TTait]

Okay, my turn.

I've done this before and labored through and succeeded, this time I'm stuck. (Last time was on the other car).

The door locks are mere months old. Passenger side jammed. The front lock is okay - the jam is at the rear.

The door was fine yesterday, then it just jammed up unexpectedly last night. No warning.

I've pulled the upper and lower panels and unhooked the 4 key linkages - lock and release - on each latch assembly. Again, the front is okay. With the rear I can lock and unlock the unit and get a good click each time I push and pull the lock rod. The release rod is under no tension. The release rod won't budge at all. Its jammed - can't tell if its jammed extended or retracted, but it does not budge. Pliers, fitting a screwdriver around the end of the hook on the rod and prying against the door - nothing. I'd guess 20+ pounds of force and it won't budge. I've tried to bump the door closed more. When I pop the front and push on the door will flex just enough to make me believe the front is releasing, but the rear is stubborn.

I can see back in there with my phone camera, the release rod is free all the way back and not binding. When I lock and unlock the lateral arm on the lock pointing toward out to the side of the car does toggle up and down - but the release rod/assembly is just jammed...

I'm assuming the next step is to get a wooden dowel or similar and start tapping on the latch casing? Anybody got a suggestion? I recently had knee surgery and climbing over the center console is unpleasant to say the least - but I'm doing it. Would love to get the door open next time I crawl in so I can just get out on the passenger side. Help?

Tom

[DMCMW Dave]

--- The release rod won't budge at all. Its jammed - can't tell if its jammed extended or retracted, but it does not budge. Pliers, fitting a screwdriver around the end of the hook on the rod and prying against the door - nothing. I'd guess 20+ pounds of force and it won't budge. I've tried to bump the door closed more. When I pop the front and push on the door will flex just enough to make me believe the front is releasing, but the rear is stubborn.
Tom


Have you tried having your assistant lean forcefully on the door from the outside at the back (i.e. pressing it more closed) at the same time you try to pull the release rod?

[TTait]

Usually my assistants find other things to do - but we'll try that tonight!

T

[TTait]

Sadly that did not work. Tried from inside the car with my wife pushing from outside, then later I worked the rods from outside while I pushed in with my hip and one foot on the garage wall. I'd guess I put about 100# of force on it - but no luck. The release rod does not move in or out.

Again - the locking rod actuates well - but I'm not sure if my release rod is jammed at extended or retracted, or in the middle. Two pix attached, one of the latch locked and one with the latch set to unlock, in case that leads to any more observations.

3126931270

I'm thinking I can try to get some white lithium grease onto/in the lock inside the door and maybe some around the pin, and tap the housing with a dowel and mallet - but if pushing on the door did not work I'm betting this would have little effect.

Any other advice?

Tom

[TTait]

So I got my phone in there and played for a while and finally saw what was going on. The release rod attaches to a white nylon lever, and that lever pushes on a tab on another nylon component which I'll call the latch release plate. My lever had pulled past the tab on the latch release plate and jammed.

As luck would have it this latch/lock unit has a number of arms that come off the release plate. When picturing this understand that the release plate is basically parallel to the water pump pulley or the AC compressor pulley and rotates around its center much as either of these pulleys do. (Does that make sense?) When the release plate is rotated about 15 degrees with the top of the plate rotating toward the outside of the door, the latch (if unlocked) releases and the door pops open.

I tried for quite a while to fish a spare linkage rod into one of the other release levers on the lock, but that proved difficult. In the end I jammed my left hand into the door and found I could reach the latch itself. There is a arm off the release plate that is close to straight up, on top of the latch. I got a finger on that and pushed the arm toward the outside of the car and the door popped open.

A word of caution here. There are lots of sharp edges in the door and by the time you have both panels removed etc. it can leap up a bit when released. Be careful and make sure you don't hurt yourself if the door pops open - likely you hand will be wedged in there pretty good and there is some potential to get hurt.

I removed the lock and was able to get the lever behind the tab again - but I don't think I'm going to trust it. there may be a small tear in the nylon or something that let it get past the tab - or maybe I pulled the release bar hard enough to pop it over? At this point I'll spend the $35 for a new one. Friends love getting a ride in the car - so far I have never had to ask one to crawl across the center console to get out though.

One other tip - it is a lot easier to figure out what is going on with your latches if you keep your old ones after a swap. I was able to sit in the car and cogitate on what was going on and look at the latch in my hand for reference. Its hard to see in there and even with a camera its not easy. Save at least a pair of your latches when you replace all 4.

Thanks for the advice guys.

Tom