Re: Stuck Door

["twinenginedmc12" <twinenginedmc12@xxxx>]

--- In dmcnews@xxxx, wmack <wmack@xxxx> wrote:
> I still can't get my driver's door open. I have tried messing with 
the rods 
> and everything, and nothing works. I'm at the point now where I am 
thinking 
> of drilling out the old latch assembly from the inside. Has anyone 
tried this 
> before?
> 
> Thanks
> Willie
> Vin 5043

Hi Willie.

It sounds frustrating. I'd be eyeballing my hammer as the tool of 
choice by now, I'm sure (just kidding). If you can wait a day, 
before drilling, I'll root around inside my door to come up with a 
troubleshooting sequence. If it were my car, I would not drill out 
the latch or use force unless there were no alternatives. You 
mentioned in your first post that the rear latch works okay, and that 
the door clears the rear pin. How did you determine that the door 
clears the pin? Did you pull on the door with the front latch stuck 
closed? 

What have you removed so far from the inside of the door to get at 
the linkage?

It's easy to tell whether the door is just a little jammed. I doubt 
it is. To test the theory that the door is just jammed, you can 
manipulate the latch rods inside the car, while having someone else 
gently lift the door from the outside, from the bottom of the door, 
not the handle, which breaks off easily. You can also do this alone 
by reaching in the open window to manipulate the rods, while 
simultaneously lifting the door.

I suspect that the latch is still in fact closed, as if it were 
locked ,and that we haven't figured out yet exactly what is wrong 
with the linkage.

Rick Gendreau