Last night I found the passenger side door lock would not budge.
There was no warning. No stiff or slow response.
Now the door is locked shut.

I have taken off the drivers side inside trim panel before but that was with the door open. I am not seeing that I could pop the pins and move the inside panel with the door closed.

The Green Book schematic shows the motor at the bottom of the door and I am not seeing a clear way to manually reach down through the window slot to pull up on the latch rod.

Thanks
--
1988 244 DL; B230F; LH-2.2; Manual 5-speed (M47)

Hi,

I may not be understanding exactly what the problem is with the door latch either.
Being confusing to myself, is a trait I can do well.
So, I will ask,Is it the lock for the key or the latch component itself that you think has seized?

Art’s pictures of a rusty motor case in the housing shouldn’t keep you from physically moving the knob up and down.
The key cylinder should be able to lift it all up or down.
It would not be safe to design the system any other way.
Since this is the passenger side door, the latch lever, for the actual locking mechanism, doesn’t get assistance from the solenoid motor unless the drivers side key or knob is used.
The drivers side of the car uses a central relay to operate all the doors simultaneously.

What can happen is the outside handle “lifting linkage” gets out of adjustment and will not quite pop open the door latch completely. What ever a human touches can be breaking first.
So consequently, it won’t rotate the claw and gets hung up into a “limbo” mode and cannot rotate backwards to reset.
Just enough, to screw it all up.

The inside handle is not so critical as the PULL
direction IS different and simpler.
It is not subject to being snatched on.
The Outside handles get to pull on the whole door just before it opens!
A person may lift it by using a thumb to assist lifting the handle but that can present a wear pattern on the paint finish above the handle. It’s also a sign of things going south.
Once a person feels that happening they go to using the thumbs more elsewhere.
Gripped the chrome harder and yanking.
The pot metal joints, of the handle itself, is going to give out prematurely.
All of this happens so slowly but then suddenly, it’s in there or broke!

There is a specification called out in the manuals for it.
The outside handle is allowed just so much free play, as it has to have a full stroking length to work right.
I suggested earlier, to work both the inside and outside handles at the same time can get it to go far enough to open the latch most of the time.
It’s a heavy warning to heed!
Of course, you have to have, the window down to work both sides or have the door open to observe or assist the latch lever claw.

This probably stems from the latch mechanism itself is really dirty or gummy or in the case of electric unlocked they are dragging excessively.
I think Art has zeroed in with his pictures that the gearing should move the armature slide or vice versa otherwise.
So it his idea or mine is the outside handle adjustment or a plain out right gummed up latch.

It hard for me to imagine the passenger side latch being worn out at any years of age, but I haven’t seen everything that can happen .
You might study the latch and strikes holding tightness.
With that statement I will add that the Chevy Camaros had major problems with the door strike adjustments .
The hinges were too lightweight (cheap) to hold out or on to such a long door heavy door with its electric motors and glass length.

Sometime the looks of a car comes with a price to pay.
Probably explains why I look the way I do!
I must owe something?
(:-)

Phil

I've never done this ... but ... I'd probably remove the plastic lock knob and clamp on the steel stem with a pair of vise-grip pliers, attempting to work the lock mechanism up and down.

A hail Mary might be letting penetrant run down that rod hoping it will find its way past the plastic link and boot of the lock actuator, but that's a 99-yard hail Mary play. This assumes the boot has ripped allowing water into the actuator.

The lock knob rod is the most direct mechanical connection to the lock itself which is, of course, between the knob and the frozen actuator.







--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

"Middle age is when a narrow waist and a broad mind begin to change places." -E. Joseph Cossman

Well, as reluctant as I was to damage the threads holding the plastic lock button in place, I finally decided pulling on the rod with pliers was a good first thing to try. I did though use channel lock pliers instead of vise grips. The channel lock allowing me to have better control over the pressure on the threads.

As easily as the button rod came up I am perplexed why I couldn't move it by hand. It operates by hand now without issue.
--
1988 244 DL; B230F; LH-2.2; Manual 5-speed (M47)

Hi,

Maybe the problem is not with the door locking rod at all.
Would the parts move with the key? I’m sure you tried that, just had to ask.

I’m curious as well that the door handle linkage itself is too loose and wouldn’t pick up the latch arm far enough. This usually get whacked out on the drivers door due to lots more of use.

On other types of vehicles I have had to roll down the window and work both the inside lever and the outside door handle, at the same time, to get them open.

I would say it’s either a lever issue or the latch itself is not totally engaging the the door strike completely.
If a door is not shut all the way in, this will jammed the latch mechanism.

Then there is always a dirt accumulation game to play out it best efforts.

Nice pictures Art. That was a bad news day.

Phil

I had the door open without effort with intention to 'get around to it'.

Now the door lock has seized again and no little pull with pliers is going to cut it.

Phil - I have tried the key and your inside and outside door handle approach with no success.

--
1988 244 DL; B230F; LH-2.2; Manual 5-speed (M47)

The key won't help if the lock motor is seized. Operating the lock rod from the key is mechanically indirect compared with using the lock knob so if something breaks it will be the key lock and with it your happiness.

Using pliers on the lock knob rod is the most direct and strongest way to move the lock mechanism. This has nothing to do with the latch movement either by inside door latch or outside handle. I would not be too concerned with marring the "threads" holding the lock knob -- they are coarse and bite into the plastic knob, but once you get it to move, you'd better get the door card off and take care of the problem; either replacing the lock motor (actuator) or disconnecting it, if that is the cause.

Doors equipped with electric lock motors are more sluggish to lock and unlock manually, because the mechanism has to spin the unpowered motor through the rack gear every time. This drag is barely noticeable when the actuator is undamaged by water.


--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

At my funeral take the bouquet off my coffin and throw it into the crowd to see who is next

Okay ... I clamped vise grips to the top 1/4" of the threaded button pull rod. Using a pry bar under the tip of the vise grips and some blocks of wood to protect the door I levered the button pull rod up.

The door is open, the panel removed and motor disconnected.
I'm going to leave it apart for a while to confirm there is nothing else jamming the lock operation.

Maybe then I will look more closely at the motor
--
1988 244 DL; B230F; LH-2.2; Manual 5-speed (M47)