Of course it is my driver's side door. Last night, at the same time i unlocked my doors with my electric door thingie, i was opening the handle and something screwed up. The locks will go up and down still, but pulling on my door handle does nothin. I believe something inside the door came unhooked. I can unscrew it where the handle comes off, but I need to get to the inside of the door over by where the lock is. How do I do this when I can't open the door? If I could open the door, then I could take the door panel off, but if i could open the damn door, i would have no need to take the panel off. One day and it is already a pain in the ***.
Po, do you live in Austin? I have a door pulling tool you can borrow if needed. I have the same issue with my '99 Chev. 3500. I have to roll down the window to open the door. It's going to cost me around $ 150.00 to get a body shop to adjust the door on the hinges (which is what caused my latching issue to begin with) & correct the latch.
Had this happen to one of our vehicles earlier this year. It was extremely difficult to fix. I was eventually able to pull the interior door panel enough to get my arm behind the panel. From there I was able to reach inside and find a very small spot to push (after maybe an hour or more of feeling and probing) with an awl to release the latch. I had to replace the latching mechanism with one I pulled from a junked car. Works fine now, but it was one of the most difficult and frustrating repairs I've ever had to do. I did talk to a dealer mechanic before attempting it to get some clues and he said they could do the fix, but it was pricey. After doing it, I can see why.
If you want to stick a tool down Jimmy's crack... well, not that there's anything wrong with that (I guess). Might wanna check with Jimmy first, though. Don't ask, don't tell. Flat, about 2" wide or so, has a bunch of indentations for the various breeds of auto out there. It fits between the door panel & the frame, mates up with the plastic tabs that lock into the frame & allow you to work the panel off. Cost is about $ 15.00 or so from O'Reilly's, IIRC.
Since neither handle opens the door then the problem is in a common mechanism--the actual latch. Typically unaccessible with a slim jim. For the one I fixed, no tool in the world would open it without removing the door panel. Well, that is no tool other than the Jaws of Life.
This can be a fairly simple job, or a real nightmare, depending on what happened. The first step is to use slim jim tools to see if one of the rods can be grabbed and pulled on to open the door, or if the latch mechanism can be pulled or prodded with one of the tools to get the door open. If it opens, you can remove the door panel and repair the rod or rod retainer or whatever broke in there. But if it cannot be opened that way, due to an actual broken latch mechanism, or security features built into the door to prevent thieves from opening the door with slimjim tools, it gets more complicated. You start by removing the door panel with the door shut, not an easy task. You might have to remove the seat first to do this. The door panel could be damaged removing it, because part of it may be clamped between the door and the car. Then there may be enough room to get at whatever is broken through the holes in the inner door skin. However, if the latch is broken, you still may not be able to get it open, and the bolts for the latch may come into the latch in the rear of the door that is between the door and the rear of the car, the part still inaccessible. The only way to get it out is to drill holes through the inner door metal, through the latch into the bolts to destroy them, then the latch falls off, and the door is open. Not a fun job. Then the latch, if it is an electric door lock latch, may cost over $200 just for the part.
it's called a 'Slim-Jim" most tow truck operators carry them and sometimes the cops have them as well.
Po, I think he parked in front of a Schlotzky's with a Wi-Fi hotspot & someone handed in his notebook through the sun roof.
I was going to drop off my truck today (earlier AM) however I had two last minute inspections to tackle & it got to be around 2p; I called the shop & he said it wouldn't be ready in teime due to the rain & limited interior shop space to pull in vehicles that might get leaked on. I did stop by yesterday to get a quickie look-see & make sure it was exactly as quoted; he said I have brass bushings that are probably worn a bit & it's the latch mechanism directly inside the jamb (not hinge) end of the door. I'll let you know how it goes after that. Price quoted for both doors & replacing the handle assembly (mine has a cracked trim piece that's been a problem for me for around 1 year now) is $ 150.00. Unsure if that's all inclusive or + tax. I already have the handle ***'y from Capitol Chevrolet... $ fitty bucks $ !!
