door locked !

Mike Boyer

Mike Boyer

ok my 1987 Eureka funeral coach has a small problem

on the drivers side door my power window fell out of its track... no big deal there can fix that.....the problem is now the door will not open, the locks work, I can see them move but the door will not open

how can I get the door open so I can take off the door panel so I can fix the window ???????????????????????


help !
 
Cadillac door locked

I've had this problem many times over the years with 80's and 90's big-body Cadillacs. The lock mechanism sticks up inside the door. The solution is easy and takes 5 minutes:
1. Take penetrating oil /WD-40, push the door handle button in, and spray into the handle as you hold the button in.
2. Take a large rubber hammer, and hit the door fairly hard between the handle and the lock repeatedly. Sometimes a whack on the door between the handle and the opening edge will help. After a dozen or so solid hits, it should free up. Pressing the button too often will only jam it up again; it's the button-into-locking mechanism that causes the problem, so once the door is open, lock and unlock the door a few times until the mechanism frees up completely. Spraying more oil into the door is always good. Had this happen a week ago with my 90 Brougham.
 
The door on my Chevy did the same thing, and someone else suggested exactly what you have suggested. Hit it with a rubber mallet. I even put a towel on the paint to soften the blows. As a result of the "shock", the paint cracked, and now the whole door needs to be repainted.
 
Door sticking

I said hit it Paul, not smash it.:clubem:
Lighter taps would work, it would just take longer. I think it's a plunger inside a sleeve, but I could be wrong because it's been years since I've had one of that type of Caddy doors apart, that gets stuck after a while. Some sort of shaking action is the only way to get it apart really. Using penetrating oil daily for a week would help if you have that kind of time though.
 
of the glass fell out of the track it my be binding one of the rods. I would slide the glass back in place them attempt to open the door first. if you can get the glass up, a little duck tape on the edge will hold the glass in place for long enough to get it open and apart.
 
Thanks guys
I think I'll try hitting the lock first...the window is commercial glass...really don't want to break it..... by trying to put it back in right now.......... with my luck !!!!
 
ok I just spend 1 hour beating the Sh*t out of the door handle and lock....nothing ! the motor on the power window still goes up and down fine nothing is hitting the cables
and I have sprayed enough WD40 to sink a boat.

is there anyway to take the inside door panel off with the door closed ???
or does it come off in pieces ??
 
The only way to take the door panel off with the door closed is to first remove the seat, so you can get to everything. Give it a try without removing the seat and see how far you get. Usually there are screws at the bottom that you just can see or reach because the seat is blocking them. I have done it on some cars, but it isn't an easy job.
 
you of course have reached in an pulled up the inside lock and tried the inside remote to open the door??? if I'm think right on that one it's a tape that moves the plastic clip up and down. they either broke off were they fastened to the glass or the bolts came loose and let the glass drop. it will still be in the track. if it's down then it's possible to trip the door threw the top. but if you don't have the tools you had best call a locksmith and they will drop in and have it open right away. you going to mess up more then you'll spend getting someone to open the door for you. might as will bite the bullet.
 
ok the latest....is I still haven't open the dam thing... got my Bodyman friend to look at it, he spent over 2 hours trying to open it.

he says the little spring for the lock is broken but he can't seem to "fiddle" with the lock

and I can't take the door panel off without taking the seats out !!

I wonder if a locksmith could do it ? or a really good car thief ????
 
If it were me, I would get my hands on a "slim Jim" essentially a tool used by auto thieves to open a vehicle without keys. While working at an Olds / Isuzu car dealership there were times when we would unload cars off a transport and have to do the drivability check list on each car. The sales men would show off to the customers by bringing them around while we rolling them off before would get our jobs done and seperate the keys off. Turned out to be one of those tools I had to keep in the tool box at work after being locked out by either the customers or the dealership staff. Still have mine and have not used it for 15 years now. Many squad cars have them in the trunks of their vehicles, although not many cops know how to use them.
 
ok maybe I'll put an ad out in the paper looking for car thieves lol maybe I'll check out the locksmiths first and see if they know anyone

thanks
 
that one should work with the inside handle. so it still has to be that the lock leaver is stuck half way, in between locked and off. this is the normal this that happens to them and it always just stuck from being gummed up with dirt. I don't have one here in front of me so I'm not sure does yours have the inside lock with a knob by the pillar? or the slide up by the inside handle? I would guess the electric lock also.

you can squirt all the lube you want if you can't get it on the latch mechanism is does no good. with a pillar knob one can remove it and use that hole to put the spray tube on to direct the stream. with the slide lock you have to slip the tube between the glass and the fuzzy strip as far to the back as you can either on the inside or the out or both. then work the inside lock to reposition the lock leaver. work both the electric and the manual one. the little spring being talked about is used on some to help kick it past center. the out side key has a built in slip to keep you from damaging it if it sticks. so it is no good. you must use the inside too reset it. as that is the only true connection. roll the window down makes it a lot easier to work the thing standing up and out side. good luck
sorry I can't reach threw the computer to do it for you. but I can offer you this little clip on the latch on the 63 I was playing with it as I cleaned it up. yours looks nothing like this but it works the same way. all the lock does it kick the trip leaver off the sear. it has to be all the way to let the door handle rod trip the sear.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjK-mNV-fhY[/ame]
 
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