pass door stuck closed - mucho problemo

[saylor]

well I could use a spot of advice from the crowd please -
my passenger door is stuck closed. when you press the door handle button it goes in a bit then stops pretty firmly.
the lock bar you push down feels like it is only moving about halfway then it stops.

the door looks/is closed as normal, its not like half closed ajar or anything.

I got the door skin off (kids don't try this at home) with the door closed and the seat in, it was a tight fit. so I can sort of get in there. but I don't know what I need to try to unstick.

what 'holds' the door closed? the little spinny wheel thing? what part do I need to be poking at to make the door lock let go?

1968 ply fury III,,, don't know if that matters or all the lock mechanisms are the same...

I have a parts book and FSM but it really doesn't show the lock assembly in detail, it just shows the whole thing as one part.

its the passenger-side door,, is my old lady just gonna have to dukes of hazard it?

 

[MrMoparCHP]

I went through this exact thing on my 69, I found that if i stuck a big screwdriver inbetween this lever and the frame and twisted it I was able to open the door. It wasn't easy as mine was stuck good, it didn't take much.

 

[saylor]

that looks alot like it,, ill try that tonight when the sun goes down. thanks for the pic.

 

[saylor]

. .. I still don't have it unstuck . . .this is double plus ungood.

 

[MrMoparCHP]

. .. I still don't have it unstuck . . .this is double plus ungood.

Spray the heck out of it with WD-40 and keep trying.
Or the popular50/50 mix of acetone and automatic transmission fluid.

Worse case...
Looking at mine, I'd probably cut about 3-4" (from the back edge of the door) horizontal slits above and below the assembly and go in about 1-1/2" (about as deep as the cutoff wheel will go) then cut vertically between them at the forward point of the other cuts. Then pry the flange open (with the cut piece being pushed into the door) and go in with a Sawzall, you'd then need to extract the stud.

Otherwise I see no other way.

 

[saylor]

I think that its maybe in between lock and unlock, if that makes sense.



I think the lock is in the locked position, but the lock is 'up' from the perspective of the up / down lever.

 

[saylor]

I was reading in another manuf. forum about unbolting the door handle and that unbound something and let the thing open,,, anyone ever hear that about a mopar?

 

[MrMoparCHP]

I was reading in another manuf. forum about unbolting the door handle and that unbound something and let the thing open,,, anyone ever hear that about a mopar?

It is stuck because of the mechanism not the linkage, if it is stuck disconnecting stuff will not help (might make things difficult).

 

[MrMoparCHP]

Ok, here are some pictures that might better help.

First is it locked...

If it is unlocked then you need to see if you can move the release lever...

Even if you move the release lever you may not here a click or have the door open. This doesn't mean that it will not open, (this is where having the linkage hooked up comes in) hold the handle open (you may need to do this at the mechanism first, if it is stuck the rods just bend) and try and force the door open.

Basically moving the release lever may disengage the latch but if it is stuck it will not spring freely but with the release lever open there is nothing keeping the latch from moving. The spring may be broken or it is just gunked up like mine was. At the end of the day it will open if you can move these levers.