five-boy-mom

My dear '78...driver door won't open. I can get into the passenger side but the driver side mechanism is stuck in lock and won't budge. Sometimes when I open the door I can tell it will be trouble because the resistance behind the push plate doesn't return. I can usually get it back by popping the inside release handle several times but she ain't moving today. Some idiot Bubba got to it before I owned the car and heaven only knows what's inside the door panel. Any suggestions? Beverly 6:50pm EST :banghead: :banghead:

MotorHead

Normally your gonna have to get the inside of the door off and fix the linkage down to the lock mechanism. You want to fix it right or you will be doing it again in a couple of months. I had to take the drivers seat out one time, some others here have different ways. Good luck :D

wombvette

Roll the window down. Go between the door panel and the window. With a very long lender screwdriver or rod, you can push down on a little tab on the lock. It will pop right open.


[Modified by wombvette, 10:24 PM 3/24/2003]

cheese

He's right. Been there, done that. Spent hours one night trying to get door open & I even had the interior panel off. The tab he is talking about is small & difficult to see. I discovered this method by accident. Don't give up, it can be done.

battsup

Is your door handle sagging on the outside though? Cause if it is, all you need to do is quickly depress and release it. If the handle is depressed half way the door will not open. I learned this the hard way, was trying to get the door panel off but couldn't. I called my dad and he just pressed and released the handle and voila :eek:

CHEESERAL

I had this problem too. The fix for me was after you get the door opened and the panel off you'll see an adjustable rod comming off the outside door handle. If this rod is putting any presure on the lock mech it won't unlock. All I had to do was loosen the set screw back it off a little and reset the set screw and the door and lock worked like a charm.

Good luck, I ,hope yours is as easy.

five-boy-mom

Thanks for all the replys and the variety of methods to get into the car. I did get back in without taking the interior panel off but broke the arm rest in the process. Now it matches the one my 15 yr. old accidentally broke! I appreciate all the info for the next time this happens or for whenever I get the chance to get in there and fix it properly, without Bubba! ;) Beverly

radwebster

a mom of five children with a vette!! sweet!! :thumbs: wanna adopt me?? my mom drives a lumina mini-van. :auto: :cheers: :lol: