TheSamba.com :: View topic - Mechanic Forced My Door Closed... Can't open for life of me.

Fri Jun 22, 2012 11:06 am

Alright pretty simple problem or so I thought. Just had clutch put in my 85 transporter and the mechanic said he had trouble closing the door. Now it won't open at all. Cable is attached nicely and pulls with both handles. But on the actual door pin/catch system the bottom arm is moving with the cable but the top arm that is holding the pin is stuck tight. How does the door latch system work? I have a breakdown in my Vanagon Bible, but not sure what mechanism causes the upper arm to pop off the pin. Tried wiggling pushing on door pulling on it. Lubed up the assembly. Pretty new to the Vanagon scene so not sure of the tricks yet. Any help would be amazing feel pretty silly having a van and not being able to open the friggin door, I mean whats the point?

Fri Jun 22, 2012 11:16 am

well you cant get to the locking mechanisms if door is shut completely so ..... :-k do you have power door locks? if so i would see if you can open slider or drivers and unlock / lock doors but you prob would have done that so im assuming no power locks.... i would start with removing the door card from the inside or door affected, get that puppy off maybe the locking rod came off and you can manual it? i would start there

Fri Jun 22, 2012 1:55 pm

No power locks... took the door panel off. I can see the latch and the pin just cant figure out a way to make it loose enough to pop off. maybe if someone outside pushes really hard inward it will give me some wiggle room. Don't think it is the locking pin. Doors aren't locked and I can manually grab the cable that runs from handle to latch and even with manually pulling on it still nothing...

Its my sliding door. The bearings on the rollers went out and it had trouble closing before, Mechanic didn't know the trick of putting pressure on the rear of the door to help it slide into the latch so guessing he just slammed it until it went...

Fri Jun 22, 2012 2:51 pm

You should change the title of your thread...mechanic didn't break your door...failure to perform proactive maintenance/repair caused your door to stop working.

Edit: OK that is more accurate description.

Fri Jun 22, 2012 3:27 pm

why not tell him to fix it or to pay a body shop you choose to fix it

Fri Jun 22, 2012 3:41 pm

ok mechanic didn't "break" my door. Mechanic Forced a less than perfect door assembly closed thus jamming it making it inoperable.

The door closes just fine when you slide it smoothly and put a little bit of pressure on the back end of the door.

Mechanic said he had trouble closing it. He should have called the owner or inspected the door latch assembly more closely to asses why it would not close.

Figured out what is wrong with it, the crab claw shaped latch that is supposed to cradle the door pin doesnt have the door pin in it. Instead somehow the door shut PAST the latch and the pin is behind the assembly. So I have no wiggle room because the door is actually shut much tighter than it usually shuts. Not sure how it got slammed past the latch.

Fri Jun 22, 2012 5:50 pm

question now is, how are you going to get it apart ?

a warning to your mechanic would have been a good idea

Fri Jun 22, 2012 7:09 pm

yeah hindsight 20/20. Didnt figure he would need in the cargo area at all. Yeah its going to be rough business. So no one have an idea as to how to open it back up?

Unfortunately prying seems like the only option ATM

Fri Jun 22, 2012 7:32 pm

NeoMishMoo wrote:
Figured out what is wrong with it, the crab claw shaped latch that is supposed to cradle the door pin doesnt have the door pin in it. Instead somehow the door shut PAST the latch and the pin is behind the assembly. So I have no wiggle room because the door is actually shut much tighter than it usually shuts. Not sure how it got slammed past the latch.

I presume you're referring to the front door; if not, disregard all of the following.

Kind of sounds like the latch, for whatever reason, was in the down position and when the mechanic tried closing the door it, of course, wouldn't. Keeping pressure against the latch while pressing the handle's lever would shut the door, but it wouldn't be closed all the way. At this point, most folks press the lever, open the door back up, then slam it shut; your mechanic, on the other hand, may have instead given the door a good shove (or initially gave it good slam), which then forced the latch all the way back.

This happened on my Cabriolet years back when I was lubing the latches, locks, etc. and got distracted in the process (latch was left in the down "locked" position). Went to shut the door and #-o . Thankfully, it didn't shut all the way so it was easily corrected. With yours, I'd try the following (at your own risk, of course): Spray a generous amount of lube, if you can, into the door jamb where the latch pin is. With one person inside pushing on the door, another person outside pulls on the door while keeping the handle's lever pressed in and it may pop loose (lift up on the door while pushing/pulling too to try to relieve some of the pressure on the door pin).

If you open the other door, you can fiddle with the latch and see how the mechanism works. You can manually shove that "claw" back and see what I'm referring to.

Fri Jun 22, 2012 9:06 pm

The rear door latching mechanism is jammed between the outside of the latch & catches and the outside pin.

Ok--try this--and it's gonna take 2 of you.
you are going to force the door & the closed claws of the latch past the pin--& open.

One guy put his back to the rear portion of the door, the other is going to be on the outside & operate the door handle & pull forward.

You have to force the door back out past that rear catch pin, and while your heave hoeing with your back--out--- the other guy is going to try and pull it out in the front & forward.
Might have to blast it with your shoulder, but this would be the most painless way to get it open--without prying on the door edge & sheet metal.

Keep slamming it out on the back edge of the inside, while your helper operates the front latch --it'll pop open.

Then just as an after thought you may consider fixing the roller's & hinge assembly.

Fri Jun 22, 2012 9:48 pm

Rollers are ok, problem is that the actual guide has a crack in it. The curved metal the rollers roll across. Not sure how this can be fixed... Little weld but think out would get in the way of the roller.

Fri Jun 22, 2012 10:33 pm

Sounds like he shoved the door closed way too hard. Probably because it wouldn't stay shut. Terry has the best solution. Not going to be easy though.

Thank you,

David

Fri Jun 22, 2012 10:42 pm

From the inside, you may have to pry to generate enough force. That door weighs a surprising amount and the force of it being slammed forward such that it went forward during the closing far enough to go around the pin will be hard to duplicate with muscle strength from a dead stop. If you have to pry, a wooden wedge would be ideal since it's generating forward (to get back around the pin) and outward (from pounding it in) forces. Several wedges at once would spread the load and you can gently go from one to the other tapping them in. This would be a controlled way to do it, vs a couple of increasingly frustrated guys crashing and kicking at the door. I'm also envisioning someone snapping off the handle or bending the handle's shaft while trying to help add force. Use the force, Luke! Heh - wedges built the pyramids, but not in a day. How's that for mixing metaphors??

DougM

Sat Jun 23, 2012 6:39 am

Here's another answer to get the door open, and this one would be pretty simple, still requires an inside & outside man.

If you have access to a porta power, run it from the L/H side inside sill, to the middle of the back end of the door--about where the latch & pin are.

Use a 2x4 on both sides to back up the cylinder ram ends so nothing gets bent--and jack it out.

The guy on the outside is still the handle & yank man--somebody has to release the front & rear latch as the hydraulic cylinder shoves the door out & away from the latch & pin.

This would be the easiest--
If you have access to a porta power.

Tue Jun 26, 2012 4:51 pm

Working up a sweat out here... Not going yet

So two questions. Looks like there is a hex head for a wrench on the door pin? If I could get a thin wrench around the base of the door pin would it screw all the way out?

Just for clarification on Terry's two man no tool approach

Outside man. Holds latch in open position while trying to pull door out away from the frame and toward the back of the vehicle or the front of the vehicle?

Inside man: Pushes on the rear part of the door where the latch is located. He only puts outward force on the door correct?

Tue Jul 03, 2012 11:17 am

So after trying to "pop" it out I got to looking and the door pin has a hex head. 15mm wrench and a lot of turns later the door popped right off. Was able to free the door pin then just put it back in.

:idea: The lightbulb should have went off much earlier..

Tue Jul 03, 2012 11:39 am

How in the heck did you get to the head of the latch pin from inside of the door and through the latch?