Sliding Door stuck locked

[BC Westie]

Hey guys,
My 82's sliding door is locked. Something has come loose. From the inside the lock knob is loose and flops up and down so it is disconnected.

The handle on the inside does not want to open the door as it is locked.

The handle on the outside does nothing either.

Something has come loose. I have taken the inside panel off and I can sitck my fingers around the lock but I am not sure what to press to unlock the door. Is there a magic pin or something?
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1980 Vanagon Cali Import 86,000Miles
1981 Vanagon (Auto) 219,000kms
1981 Westfalia (Auto) Cali Import 169,000Miles
1981 Westfalia 300,000kms
1982 Westfalia Cali Import 193,000Miles
1982 Westfalia (Auto) 205,000Kms
1984 Vanagon 306,000kms
1987 Vanagon GL 300,000Kms

[?Waldo?]

There should be a cable running from the front lock mechanism to the rear latch. Pull on the cable and the door will open.

[ragnarhairybreeks]

the locking knob uses a spring to keep it in either locked or unlocked position. this spring sometimes breaks. I don't know if this is the reason your door is locked but try holding knob in unlocked position and see if door opens.

the spring is pretty well un-fixable, but if you unscrew the knob you can slip a small section of rubber hose over the threaded boss of the knob, that will, when the knob is screwed back in, provide enough friction to hold the knob in locked or unlocked mode.

alistair
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'86 7 passenger syncro, converted to westy pop top, project still in progress
'82 westy, diesel converted to gas in '94, now gone...
https://shufti.blog/
Old address still works...
http://shufti.wordpress.com

[RCB]

BC Westie....your 82 and mine must be related somehow. Just yesterday after 8 years my sliding door just wouldnt open.

The lock wouldnt work the small black knob wouldnt go up or down and the inside handle was swinging in the breeze.The door wouldnt budge.

I have no idea what went wrong but this is how I fixed it.

First I pushed down on the out side handle. Making sure the handle was still in the downward position I took my left hand and placed it on the very bottom of the door and pulled it straight outward.

Door popped right open. I greased the swing latch and the rails (inside and outside) shot a bit of LockEase in both the inside and outside lock mechanisms and opened and closed the door a couple times to get the grease spread evenly.

This is the first time in hundreds and hundreds of times of opening the door that I ever had a problem with it. Sure had me stumped for a minute, but alls well now.

[camerahunter]

What about unlocking it with the key?

Thank you,

David
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1984 - Daily driver

[BC Westie]

Well pull the cable worked!!!

The funny thing is when the door is open the inner lock button is engaged. When I close it up again same thing. At least I have that cable to pull it open and I can unbolt the lock now and check it all out.

The key does nothing. Does not lock or open the door. Something is loose just hard to see it.
_________________
1980 Vanagon Cali Import 86,000Miles
1981 Vanagon (Auto) 219,000kms
1981 Westfalia (Auto) Cali Import 169,000Miles
1981 Westfalia 300,000kms
1982 Westfalia Cali Import 193,000Miles
1982 Westfalia (Auto) 205,000Kms
1984 Vanagon 306,000kms
1987 Vanagon GL 300,000Kms

[Emeritusx]

What is this? These things all happening at the same time...
As of today our 82's sliding door wont open.. The lock still works and the handle opens the rear a little, but the front (by the handle) is stuck tight....

Crap...
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82 Westy ☢, 66 Splitty ☮, 73 Type 181 ✠

[RCB]

[BC Westie]

I have since figured out that on mine at least the inside lock knob will not stay up in the unlocked position.

It seems disconnected yet when I am inside, hold the lock switch up in the unlocked position, I can open the door from the inside.

Something has come loose on the back side at least I have figured out the work around and do not have to pull the cable each time.
_________________
1980 Vanagon Cali Import 86,000Miles
1981 Vanagon (Auto) 219,000kms
1981 Westfalia (Auto) Cali Import 169,000Miles
1981 Westfalia 300,000kms
1982 Westfalia Cali Import 193,000Miles
1982 Westfalia (Auto) 205,000Kms
1984 Vanagon 306,000kms
1987 Vanagon GL 300,000Kms

[Home Team Van]

[BC Westie]

Still think it is funny it happened to all our 82's in such a close time frame
_________________
1980 Vanagon Cali Import 86,000Miles
1981 Vanagon (Auto) 219,000kms
1981 Westfalia (Auto) Cali Import 169,000Miles
1981 Westfalia 300,000kms
1982 Westfalia Cali Import 193,000Miles
1982 Westfalia (Auto) 205,000Kms
1984 Vanagon 306,000kms
1987 Vanagon GL 300,000Kms

[cboggs10]

my 82' hasn't opened from the outside since I have had it about a year. I have to hold up the inside black lock switch (reaching through the passenger door) and it opens. I'll fix it eventually but kinda think of it as an added security measure. Funny how many 82's... Aircooled rules!

[Emeritusx]

Its like they're all connected in the ether... Dang door, mine wont open, the cable unhooks the rear latch but the front latch is stuck tight.. I gotta operate... Damn, pass the anesthetics..
_________________
82 Westy ☢, 66 Splitty ☮, 73 Type 181 ✠

[akyrie]

[nemobuscaptain]

[adamant78]

My locking knob drops every time you shut the door too. Any suggestions on repairing the spring that is rumored to fail on the mechanism? It seems the consensus is unrepairable.

[Wasted youth]

1981 Vanagon...

I pulled the badly dented door off and replaced it with a same year door. I did not swap hardware.

I made the mistake of forgetting to clean and lubricate the donor door's locking mechanism prior to install.

Door shut and remains locked. Interior cable is pulled all the way back, and remains there. I can't get it to return forward like the old door does.

I went back to the old door and learned what I could about how it unlatches, but am mystified how pulling back on the cable actually releases the locking pawl. All that does is kick out a small steel slide block in the forward direction. The locking pawl remains down.

I shot some lube down in the mechanism, and I can jiggle the cable mechanism a bit now, but not enough to accomplish anything.

The body latch has no moving parts.

By pulling back on the interior cable, what is actually being done to lift the locking pawl?

What should I do? I was thinking about removing the door entirely, but with it locked to the body latch, I am not sure which way to proceed.

[Wasted youth]

I was able to remove the cable from its slot on the rear mechanism. By pulling the cable out of its slot back there, it gave me more control over how much slack and tension I could work in the forward mechanism.

That is the best explanation I can give. Ultimately, I was able to work the slide free inside the forward mechanism, and shove the door out from the inside.

I had a damaged spare door that I wanted to salvage all the parts off, so it was a nice learning piece having all those parts free of the door where I can get a better idea of 'what makes it tick.'

I did take a bunch of pictures, and as time permits, I will add them here.

[Syncronoid]

I used a leftover piece of rubber connector from a solar install I did a while back (much like a piece of surgical tubing) and it worked like a charm. Amazing!
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'90 Syncro Westy w/GW2.5L

[Maine_farm_guy]

I'm having a similar problem with an air cooled '82 Westy. Door is stuck shut, cable is broken... and I should mention that the bus has been left unattended in our garage for 8 year (I've been busy...). I can manually release the rear latch with a large screwdriver (see photo), but cannot get the door to budge when manipulating the front latch. I've gotten it apart as far as I can go... suggestions?