Back doors stuck shut

[Chris96XLT]

My 1996 XLT has both back doors stuck shut. The car is new to me, so I don't know any symptoms that lead up to this. My kids think climbing in and out the back is awesome, but one of the seat belts is stuck in a closed door, so I need to fix this post haste.

I'm assuming step one is getting the door panels off. A local junk yard quoted $10 each for new ones, so I'm OK with chopping them up if it'll save a lot of time and headache. Any other advice on how to proceed?

 

[Flash]

More fibre in your diet.

 

[1997XLTRollover]

STOP! Don't cut break or chop anything, I had this exact problem with my 96. The latches are rusted shut because they haven't been used often.

Step 1 unlock doors. Step 2 get a friend willing to sacrifice their life. The fatter of the two of you needs to slither into the back seat. The other will stand outside the door with the exterior door handle held up in the released position. Have fatso ram his full weight against the door from the inside, while the person outside holds the handle open and gets ready for the door to come flying toward their face.

Do this repeated times until the door latch rust breaks free and the door flys open. Once open, spray the hell out of it with PB Blaster and or Fluid Film. Then shut the door again and repeat until they work properly. My 180lb buddy slammed himself against the insides of my rear doors probably 5-10 times before they budged. You'll then have to work on the interior handles because they are harder to get operating than outside. Mine still don't work so great but they do actually open the doors now, you just have to pull them pretty hard and hope they don't break. Two of mine snapped and I had to replace them.

Good luck and try not to dislocate your shoulder.

 

[rwcfrank]

Mine wouldn't open from the inside or out, had to remove the rear seats which then allowed me to pop the door panel off and open the door. Its probably the return spring for the latch 5 cents spring but you have to change the latch, the spring cant be replaced.

 

[Flash]

The latches are rusted shut because they haven't been used often.

I'm betting on the latch spring thing.

 

[Chris96XLT]

I'm gonna try the slamming into the door thing first. If that doesn't do it, I guess the back seats are coming out. If it wasn't so cold (I'm in Ohio), I'd leave the windows down and make the kids Dukes of Hazard in and out.

One of the acounts at work (I manage an auto parts store) said the same thing about the latches sticking shut from going unused. Hopefully that does it, but I have new exterior handles for all 4 doors, so they'll be getting opened up regardless.

 

[Robman]

More fibre in your diet.

... I laughed.

I had a rear door handle stop working and for some reason I opened it from the inside and then fiddled with the child lock and then closed it with the lock on. That door hasn't opened since

Good thing it's retired to being a farm truck now.

Moral of the story: Never set the child lock on a door with a broken outer handle.
Which should be obvious, I was at a party at the time so critical thinking was at a minimum.

 

[Flash]

... I laughed.

It's nice to be appreciated.

 

[1997XLTRollover]

I'm gonna try the slamming into the door thing first. If that doesn't do it, I guess the back seats are coming out. If it wasn't so cold (I'm in Ohio), I'd leave the windows down and make the kids Dukes of Hazard in and out.

One of the acounts at work (I manage an auto parts store) said the same thing about the latches sticking shut from going unused. Hopefully that does it, but I have new exterior handles for all 4 doors, so they'll be getting opened up regardless.

Get it fixed. Especially if you have kids back there. Those doors need to open. God forbid you get in an accident that involves water and they have to get out fast.

I'm betting on the latch spring thing.

I'd bet on the rust because that's what was wrong with both my doors





BTW OP, make a video for us. I wish I did on mine. My buddy damn near took my head off when he finally flew through the door and then fell outta my truck onto the ground.

 

[Junkmann2]

Get it fixed. Especially if you have kids back there. Those doors need to open. God forbid you get in an accident that involves water and they have to get out fast..

Hopefully you will never need this advise, however, if a car goes into water, it is extremely difficult, if not impossible to open the doors, because the water pressure is pushing against them. The proper thing to do is to open all the windows, and allow the water to slowly fill the car interior until the water inside gets up to the bottom of the window opening. Then you can safely open the car door, without fear that the inrush of water will flip the car onto its side or roof. The best way is to swim out the window to safety. If the car sinks to the bottom of the water, and the windows are closed, there is an air pocket inside the car, but you are effectively locked into the car, and you will eventually suffocate if you don't get out. If the car has power windows, there is a good chance that they will not work, so you are left with busting the glass, which isn't going to be easy, unless you just happen to have a tire iron or hammer inside. When the window breaks, the car will fill with water quickly, and the inrush of water might be enough to overwhelm you. Most times that cars go into water, it goes unnoticed for a very long time, and that is why so many people die in cars going into water, unless they know how to survive the incident.

This webpage explains this in more detail.

 

[Chris96XLT]

Well, some "progress" was made.

I was preparing to try the slam into the door thing. I shut the front door while my dad had the handle pulled on one of the stuck doors, and it popped open. We sprayed the latch, tried working it to get it more lubed, and it's now stuck shut. So apparently the return spring is broken.

Picking up a new latch tomorrow, then hoping like crazy I can get it all back together. So, halfway there I guess?

 

[1998Exp]

Is the driver (front) door stuck now? Because it's the most used one, failure of that little spring inside the latch mechanism is quite common. However, when mine failed that way, I could still open the door from the inside. In any case, I would not replace it with a junkyard latch, because the same is apt to happen. Hope this helps some.

I was preparing to try the slam into the door thing. I shut the front door while my dad had the handle pulled on one of the stuck doors, and it popped open. We sprayed the latch, tried working it to get it more lubed, and it's now stuck shut. So apparently the return spring is broken.

 

[Flash]

Hopefully you will never need this advise, ..... [/URL]

Absolutely.

I saw that on Mythbusters. I take everything I see on Mythbusters with a grain of salt and an analytical eye, picking out the faults and bad science but on this episode there could be no doubt that opening a window, manual or electric, would be nearly impossible under even a bit of water.

So now I keep a couple of combination flashlight/hammer/seat belt cutter tools in all my cars even the convertible.

I work on the premise that if you carry spare parts you won't need them, leave them behind and you will.

 

[Flash]

Get it fixed. Especially if you have kids back there. Those doors need to open. God forbid you get in an accident that involves water and they have to get out fast.

As mentioned above I carry a tool with window hammer and seatbelt cutter and flashlight all built in in my cars.

I'd bet on the rust because that's what was wrong with both my doors

"So apparently the return spring is broken. "


Yay! I win! What do I win?

 

[1997XLTRollover]

As mentioned above I carry a tool with window hammer and seatbelt cutter and flashlight all built in in my cars.






"So apparently the return spring is broken. "


Yay! I win! What do I win?

I missed that but yes that's something all manufacturers should include in the glove box of a new vehicle. Something like a letter opener type deal to cut belts and a small center punch to shatter the glass.

Oh and return spring broken huh? Is it broken on both sides? Hell both my doors were rusted the hell shut lol. Almost sounds like the spring broke after it opened.

Far as what you win? Bragging rights I suppose haha

 

[1997XLTRollover]

Hopefully you will never need this advise, however, if a car goes into water, it is extremely difficult, if not impossible to open the doors, because the water pressure is pushing against them. The proper thing to do is to open all the windows, and allow the water to slowly fill the car interior until the water inside gets up to the bottom of the window opening. Then you can safely open the car door, without fear that the inrush of water will flip the car onto its side or roof. The best way is to swim out the window to safety. If the car sinks to the bottom of the water, and the windows are closed, there is an air pocket inside the car, but you are effectively locked into the car, and you will eventually suffocate if you don't get out. If the car has power windows, there is a good chance that they will not work, so you are left with busting the glass, which isn't going to be easy, unless you just happen to have a tire iron or hammer inside. When the window breaks, the car will fill with water quickly, and the inrush of water might be enough to overwhelm you. Most times that cars go into water, it goes unnoticed for a very long time, and that is why so many people die in cars going into water, unless they know how to survive the incident.

This webpage explains this in more detail.

This is true, but the idea is to open the doors and jump out before the vehicle goes under. Electronics can short out and windows not open once a vehicle goes under.

 

[Flash]

I missed that but yes that's something all manufacturers should include in the glove box of a new vehicle. Something like a letter opener type deal to cut belts and a small center punch to shatter the glass.

Oh and return spring broken huh? Is it broken on both sides? Hell both my doors were rusted the hell shut lol. Almost sounds like the spring broke after it opened.

Far as what you win? Bragging rights I suppose haha

I've got one of

and one of

.

 

[Junkmann2]

This is true, but the idea is to open the doors and jump out before the vehicle goes under. Electronics can short out and windows not open once a vehicle goes under.

The problem with opening the door immediately, is that there will be an inrush of water, and the car can capsize before you even got out the door opening. The safest way to get out is through the window prior to the car sinking. One thing that we all have to be aware of is the size of the person trying to get out of the car. Some larger people would have great difficulty getting out the window, and if they open the door, between their weight and the inrush of the water, it will capsize the vehicle. All this is just "theory", unless you have actually either been involved in this catastrophic event, or have experienced the demonstrations first hand, as I had. It was a very long time ago, but the lessons are still clearly imprinted in my mind. The odds of this happening to anyone reading this, are extremely small, but just like fire drills when you were in grade school, it is better to know what to do before you ever have to do it. Hopefully, no one here will ever need to put this knowledge into practice. Today, there are trained scuba teams that specialize in this type of rescue, which wasn't the case when I learned the techniques. Fire, Rescue, EMS, etc. have come a long way.

 

[1997XLTRollover]

I've got one of

and one of

.

Pretty cool little tools and can save your life. Look very inexpensive too. Should come with every new vehicle IMO.

The problem with opening the door immediately, is that there will be an inrush of water, and the car can capsize before you even got out the door opening. The safest way to get out is through the window prior to the car sinking. One thing that we all have to be aware of is the size of the person trying to get out of the car. Some larger people would have great difficulty getting out the window, and if they open the door, between their weight and the inrush of the water, it will capsize the vehicle. All this is just "theory", unless you have actually either been involved in this catastrophic event, or have experienced the demonstrations first hand, as I had. It was a very long time ago, but the lessons are still clearly imprinted in my mind. The odds of this happening to anyone reading this, are extremely small, but just like fire drills when you were in grade school, it is better to know what to do before you ever have to do it. Hopefully, no one here will ever need to put this knowledge into practice. Today, there are trained scuba teams that specialize in this type of rescue, which wasn't the case when I learned the techniques. Fire, Rescue, EMS, etc. have come a long way.

Good point never thought about that. I can definitely see that being true.

 

[Chris96XLT]

We sell those flashlight/seatbelt cutters at my store. I think I'll get one for our cars.

Update on the doors: I got the latch unstuck and replaced the handle rod clip. It's still not working, but the door is now latched shut, and I left the panel loose to easily get back in and mess with it. Once I can find two decently priced latches I'll tear back into them.