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6K views 4 replies 2 participants last post by  thedopefishlives 
#1 ·
So I've been working down from the major problems to the minor problems lately. Today's project was one of the front door handles, which I happened to have on hand; I'll replace the other one when I can get out to pick one up. Doing this got me thinking about the left rear door. It has never opened since I have owned the car. It is unlocked, and indeed, I don't believe the lock actually works. The exterior door trigger is frozen and will not pull, and I know from firsthand experience what happens if you pull too hard. Pulling the inside handle does not release the door. Any ideas what could be wrong and how to get the door open to fix it?
 
#2 ·
The rear doors are "child-proofed" that is a little lever on the bottom of the lock assembly.
The only way I know of is to remove the door card and pick the lock from the inside, then change the lever
 
#3 · (Edited)
Okay, now, how does one get in there? I got the door trim off, but all I can see inside is the lever that the inside door handle is moving. It is moving, at least, but I can't for the life of me figure out how to get to the actual release mechanism open to open the door.

Edit: Never mind, I was able to find the latch and pop it to get the door open. Now, however, I have another problem. It appears that the inner handle isn't engaging the door latch. I already moved the child safety lever and that only caused the inside handle to freeze, which I assume means that that is the engaged position. Or is the door mechanism just that frozen up? From my attempts to get the outer handle off, I can tell that it's in pretty sorry shape.

Edit 2: Previous problem also solved, with liberal use of WD-40. I love that stuff.
 
#4 ·
#5 ·
Yeah, I haven't thought to do that yet, especially since the other three doors actually operate fairly well. (Well, the right front one will after I replace the busted door handle - the cheap pot metal part where it screws into the inside of the door broke off.) I actually think the outer handle on the left rear is more the culprit, as the door works smoothly now from the inside, but the outside requires considerable pressure on the trigger and it sticks, requiring a manual reset.
 
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