Passenger font door lock stuck? (1 Viewer)

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Joined
May 24, 2016
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158
Location
Arkansas
My 97 LC front passenger door is stuck locked. When unlocked, the handle only moves half the distance necessary to open the door.
• I can fully lock and unlock the door with the key and the manual lock/unlock lever on the inside door handle.
• When locked, the exterior handle moves it's full range of motion but is obviously locked and wont open
• When unlocked, the exterior handle only moves half its range of motion and therefore won't open the door.
• I've tried pushing a metal ruler down into the lock mechanism to push it down far enough to open the door, but it stops at the same point that using the door handle stops at. (I can open the driver door this way with no problem, so the method works... just something is jammed up on the passenger side)

I believe something must be blocking its range of motion when in the unlocked position. Would appreciate any help in figuring this out!

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Anyone run into this before? I’ve got the door panel peeled back as much as possible but still can’t get the door to open.

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Just can’t tell what to push or pull on..
 
Bump. Anyone have a video or any tips on this? I’ve read every thread on this and everyone else has been able to open the door once prying the door panel off by pulling or pushing on the lock mechanism. I’ve tried every variation and nothing seems to match the issue I’m having. If there is a thread in this specific issue please share a link if you can?
 
Sorry you aren't getting any breakthrough responses on this. It's been four years since I had the spring break off of my passenger lock so I don't recall what it looked like in there or the symptoms all that well but I'll share a few thoughts in case they are helpful.

When the little lock spring end broke off on my passenger front door I'm pretty sure that the door just acted like it was locked, meaning the handle traveled it's full range without pressure or stopping. You can compare this to the drivers door and if your passenger door handle is only partially moving when you try to unlock the door then your issue may be somewhat different than the more common broken spring.

I don't recall having much trouble figuring out how to get the door unlocked and opened once I got the door panel off. It was tricky getting the door panel off with a closed door, but not too bad as I recall.

At this point it could make sense for you to pull your driver door panel off so that you can observe what does what on the lock mechanism. That may be a good way to get a better sense of what where to focus getting your passenger door open. Once your passenger door is open you can pull the mechanism out pretty easily and then it should be much clearer what's wrong and needs to be fixed. If the lock spring is broken you can just bend the last intact loop of the spring up to make a new hook.

Hope that's at least a little helpful. Nice work on the details and video, that usually get's a good responses here but even with that information it doesn't seem obvious what's going on with your door lock. Maybe my throwing out some random thoughts gets the conversation flowing though, if only to correct where I'm off course :)
 
Thanks so much. Yes I’ve got normal tension on the outside and inside door handles, identical to the driver side, but only 50% travel. It just binds up and won’t move anymore. I’ve got the driver door panel off and all the parts move identically and all seem to be working correctly except the passenger door handle and the mechanism inside only move about half the distance as the driver door. It’s as if something is blocking the downward movement of the lock inside the door.

I’ve reached inside the door and moved the rods manually and they still hit resistance at the same spot as when using the handles. It feels like whatever is blocking it has some give to it like trying to press the lock but a piece of rubber or cork is in the way. It's not a hard stop like metal would be. I've also tried heat, and silicon to try and loosen things up with zero improvement.

Here is a better video of the lock mechanism. This video shows me using the outside handle, inside handle, and then manually pulling and pushing on the rods inside the door to attempt to get it to open.
 
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might you try pulling the passenger side front seat out to give you better access. I think it's just 2 bolts in front and 2 in back. Just an idea to get the door panel off maybe, but it doesn't solve the problem.
Thanks - yep pulling the seat out was the first thing I did. Thats out and the door panel is pulled out as far as possible with the door still closed. If anyone has any pictures of the door locks outside of a car or even video of it moving outside where I can really see what's going on... that would be so helpful!
 
You can remove the doorpanel completely with the door closed. I roughly recall that after all screws are out and all clips undone that you can gently but firmly wiggle the door card/panel up while simultaneously pushing it up off of the upper lip on the door. Since you have the seat out, also getting the door panel out of the way is only going to help.

I couldn't quite tell but how is the lock actuator working on this mechanism? Are you getting full travel at the mech. as far as you can tell? Have you reached in with long/extended needle nose pliers and/or your hand to move the lock and door opening parts of the mech in different ways to try something different?

Nice work on the videos and info, you are obviously good at this type of troubleshooting so your question isn't an easy. Hopefully you are close to getting the door open as it's going to be easier from there even if you have to buy a new mech.
 
yes removing the door card might help you get better access to the inside to see better what you're doing. Maybe like a little antenna mirror might also help you see how it functions. I just had my door open to remove the lock but I honestly didn't see exactly what you're looking for and how it works.
 
You can remove the doorpanel completely with the door closed. I roughly recall that after all screws are out and all clips undone that you can gently but firmly wiggle the door card/panel up while simultaneously pushing it up off of the upper lip on the door. Since you have the seat out, also getting the door panel out of the way is only going to help.

I couldn't quite tell but how is the lock actuator working on this mechanism? Are you getting full travel at the mech. as far as you can tell? Have you reached in with long/extended needle nose pliers and/or your hand to move the lock and door opening parts of the mech in different ways to try something different?

Nice work on the videos and info, you are obviously good at this type of troubleshooting so your question isn't an easy. Hopefully you are close to getting the door open as it's going to be easier from there even if you have to buy a new mech.
Thanks - I could not see a way to fully get the door panel removed because I could not pop the clips on the side of the door near the hinge without risking ripping the door panel.

I've tried moving the mechanism manually with pliers, my hand, a screwdriver and it only has 50% travel. Basically it moves with the exact same range of motion that the inside and outside door handles move it. On the driver door, I can easily open the door by pushing down on the mechanism with pliers. I need to be able to see what is under that mechanism that moves up and down to determine if something could have fallen underneath it and blocked it's pathway, but i can't seem to find any pictures or video of this mechanism working outside of the car where I can see all the parts moving.
 
Unless someone has one on the bench already you may have to pull your driver door mech as a reference.

Trim removal tools can help you get the clips off. I've definitely removed the front, passenger door panel on my '97 with the door closed. Sounds like you have achieved pretty good access with the panel flipped so removal may be irrelevant at this point. Keep in mind that the white plastic around the top of the door panel (hidden below the top pad) is likely somewhat brittle and can be cracked/broken, esp. on the front edge, if you flex on it too much.
 
It looks to me like one of the rods between the door card and the door panel is flexing as if it is bent. You get so far with travel, then the rod starts bending.

Does it help to have slight pressure pushing in on the door frame (towards the body of the truck) while doing this to take pressure off the latch assembly?

I am assuming the handle mechanism on the left side of the screen in the last video is of the INTERIOR handle actuating it rather than the exterior handle.

That slotted piece kind of looks like the end may be broken out of it, as there is a huge range of travel and nothing to stop it. I wonder if that's what it is? I do not see the slotted piece in this diagram.

Don't know if this helps, but:

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Seems like you're getting it figured out. I wanted to share a similar experience I had on my 1986

The door lock mechanism was gummed up and crusty over time. My solution was to roll the window down and, using a 36-in flat head screwdriver with a right angle bent in the tip about 1.5 in from the end into kind of an L-shape. This is my special tool I use to open MINI Cooper hoods when the cable breaks. I used the screwdriver to push down the lock the rest of the way and get it out of the proverbial limbo and allow the door to be opened. Once I got the door unlocked and opened I removed the panel and lubed up the operating rods with some cheetah grease. It hasn't had an issue since.
 

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