Door stuck. Ideas?

Joseph James

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Passenger door wasn’t closing well. It flew open when my daughter was riding so I wanted to fix ASAP. The outside handle button was staying in.

This morning, I greased everything with lithium grease and the button seemed smooth. Lightly closing, it wouldn’t close all the way. Slamming got it closed. Now it won’t open at all. From inside or outside. The lock is pulled up.

Going to look at FSM, but I am hoping someone else has solved this already.

Thanks.
 
Next time this happens don’t close the door at all. Remove the door panel. Then clean and lubricate the mechanisms inside the door.

In my experience white lithium grease is not the best product for this job. don’t use WD-40 either. Use a liquid lubricant that can penetrate into all the pivot shafts and sliding linkage.

I Like tri-flow

Tri-Flow Superior Lubricant Aerosol – Triflow Lubricants

I bought a desert car and the doors and windows were not working Well at all, binding and popping, etc. Removed panels and rinsed out the inside of the doors with the garden hose with hot water in it from the sun. Then dried and lubed everything and all Is working great now.

5D4F9C18-98C5-40DB-8300-E44B73633D5A.jpeg
 
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I concur with getting the door open and then removing the trim panel, replacing the water shield as necesseary, and inspecting what you can of the latch mechanism and related actuating rods/clips. I suspect you'll find that one of the moving latch parts has some wear on it, which might be what is causing the issues you describe. Hopefully, getting everything well-lubed will be all you might need. Might start searching for a good rh latch assy, though, for good measure.

Just some thoughts,
CBODY67
 
I concur with getting the door open and then removing the trim panel, replacing the water shield as necesseary, and inspecting what you can of the latch mechanism and related actuating rods/clips. I suspect you'll find that one of the moving latch parts has some wear on it, which might be what is causing the issues you describe. Hopefully, getting everything well-lubed will be all you might need. Might start searching for a good rh latch assy, though, for good measure.

Just some thoughts,
CBODY67
I actually had the panel off lubed everything and then put it back together. I only tried the outside handle that had been sticking but did not try closing the door. Now, I guess I will remove the panel again and see if I can get it open. Bummer.
 
If the door striker is improperly adjusted it will bind against the mechanism and make the door hard to open and close. Try getting inside the car, pull the release handle back and bump the door with your shoulder. Sometimes that will open the door if the latch mechanism has not failed. Once you get the door open, check the hinge pins for excessive wear. Worn pins will cause a door to sag and not open/close properly. Open the door about half way and lift up on the base of the door, if it has more that about 1/16" play, the pins are worn.

Dave
 
is there resistance when you pull the lock knob up or does it just flop around ? is there a place to put a key in and try that?
 
Dr Dave is correct pull the inside handle and bump or kick the door open at the same time. 413 is correct, WD40 is NOT a lubricant. Probably the most misunderstood and misused product ever sold. Anyways also check to see if the plunger rod came off the in the door. If you’ve ever seen an old car in a body shop with no door handles get opened by sticking your finger in that door handle hole you know which rod I’m talking about. You kinda reach in with your finger and push it down to pop the door. Weird both handles would die together. That leads me to think it’s stuck on the striker like Dave said.
 
I actually had the panel off lubed everything and then put it back together. I only tried the outside handle that had been sticking but did not try closing the door. Now, I guess I will remove the panel again and see if I can get it open. Bummer.
On the worn hinge pins, sometimes if you lift up hard on the outside handle while pushing in the button, the door will release. If you've already done that, I agree with something broken in the latch itself. Unfortunately, the only way to see is to pull the door panel and see what happens when you move the rods from the door handles.
 
Where the rods attach to the latch mechanism, they are held in with either a "push-in" plastic retainer or a "slide-over" metal clip. With time, BOTH styles can deteriorate and fall out at an inopportune time. Just some thing to look for while you're in there.

Keep us posted on what you find,
CBODY67
 
Dr Dave is correct pull the inside handle and bump or kick the door open at the same time. 413 is correct, WD40 is NOT a lubricant. Probably the most misunderstood and misused product ever sold. Anyways also check to see if the plunger rod came off the in the door. If you’ve ever seen an old car in a body shop with no door handles get opened by sticking your finger in that door handle hole you know which rod I’m talking about. You kinda reach in with your finger and push it down to pop the door. Weird both handles would die together. That leads me to think it’s stuck on the striker like Dave said.

Alternatively, have someone stand outside and push the door handle in while you lay across the front seat with clean showes and kick the door hard, sometimes it takes using both feet. Good Luck!
 
Gave it a swift kick and it opened. I pulled panel off first to look for anything broken or loose.

One pic is gently pushing and letting go. It doesn’t close completely. Closing harder or keeping my hand on the handle seems to close well.

Original problem was the outside button not releasing after opening that resulted in the door flying open in a curve. My teen daughter didn’t appreciate it. Just one more time I have embarrassed her.

4D0748E0-5528-4209-B873-2EED061148A7.jpeg


1587729E-3317-4806-9322-C4972548998F.jpeg
 
Hi Joe. So are the latch and striker OK?
I have used the innards from 1972 4-door handle to repair a 2-door handle
Center rod off button and broken thru back of hinge.
20180326_172816 72.jpg

4-door handle before disassemble
20180327_113959 4d be4 disassemble.jpg

Needed parts for 2-door handle repair
20180327_114401 4 door parts.jpg

Parts installed
20180327_125406 assembled.jpg

20180327_125440 assembled.jpg

Good as new
20180327_164245 good as new.jpg
 
Hi Joe. So are the latch and striker OK?
I have used the innards from 1972 4-door handle to repair a 2-door handle
Center rod off button and broken thru back of hinge.
View attachment 402432
4-door handle before disassemble
View attachment 402433
Needed parts for 2-door handle repair
View attachment 402434
Parts installed
View attachment 402435
View attachment 402436
Good as new
View attachment 402437
Thanks for those photos.

It seems to be working fine now. It requires a more firm closing than the driver side but ok otherwise.
 
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