Hi, my rear door seems to be inoperable. Specifically, the exterior door handle/opening mechanism does not allow me to pull the handle far enough, to the point where the door latch is released thus allowing the door to pop open. Just prior to the complete failure, when I went to open the door, it seemed as though there was a point at which the opening mechanism started to bind up but with a little additional force I could get it to move beyong that point of seizure and the door latching mechanism would release the door and allow it to open. I meant to take the interior panel off to see if there was something to lubricate but now I can't do that because I can't open the rear door.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I had this same problem. It ended up being a build-up of debris on the catch that the door latch locks on when ot closes. I sprayed some WD40 in the area of the latch fron the exterior, let it sit for a bit, then yanked on the handle hard while pulling up at the same time. I cleaned all of the door catchs and have not had the problem since. Hopes this helps.

It is possible to remove a rear door panel with the door shut. It isn't easy, but I've done it, and I have to assume a number of others have as well. Beyond the normal steps to remove a rear door panel, you'll have to:

Take rear seat bench out
Remove the rubberized door trim
Carefully work off the plastic trim at the bottom of the door threshold
Work through the door handle rectangular hole to loosen off the plastic clips

It's a bit of a pain, but it can be done. Best of luck!

Zach Zaletel
Anchorage, Alaska
1990 245 w/276k mi, ecodes, etc...

Can you unbolt the door and remove the whole thing that way?

Welcome to one of the weak links in 240 Volvodom. I was able to remove the inner door panel with the rear door closed, (not fun at all!) and then the linkage is accessible. There may be other (and better, hopefully!) suggestions forthcoming. Maybe a "slim jim" would do the trick so you could at least have an open door to work with. The repair itself is fairly simple when you do get inside to change out (or repair) your door latch.

I made a cranked puller with a loop on the end and managed to pull the lug sticking out from the activating lever behind the latch, sticking the puller down the window slot.
You really need to look inside the other or a spare door to get the picture, so you can identify what you are trying to catch hold of.

It may be the locking motor partially seized. Can you get in through the speaker opening and release the clip on the actuator?