Squarebody door stuck shut ??? The remedy.

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sirweesarunch

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John
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1980
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K30
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454
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Crew cab rear drivers side door. I put it all together , new door panel the whole 9 yards , I close the door and now its stuck shut. MF’er [emoji2959]!!! Now the remedy and cause . Upper photo^ you see that red pen pointing to that rubber bumper ? The pin in that verticle spring rests on that bumper which in turn guages how far over the latch travels to the right ( 2nd picture down my pen is on the latch ). That latch grabs around the latch bolt on the door jamb. If that latch moves to the right too far it interferes with the lock on lock off mechanism seen in the 3rd photo down. The 3rd photo shows the door in its locked state so neither the pull on the inside nor the button on the outside can open the door. The door is locked. The fourth and last photo shows the door lock in the open position. The little tang where my pen is can now with the pulling of the handle or pushing of the button push the latch to the left and open the door. You following me ??? Now the problem , If that little rubber bumper is gone it allows the latch to travel too far to the right and the little Tang in foto 4 sits right on top of the latch instead of engaging it on its right side and pushing it to the left to unlock. When this happens the whole mechanism is completely incompassitated / jammed. If this happens you need to remove the door panel , insert a long rod or screwdriver into the mechanism on the right side of the latch in figure 2 right below that horizontal spring and pull to the left as far as possible unlatching the door !!!! Voila. The lock mechanism can now be opened as well with the key or pulling up on the button. If you do not lock the door it will function properly , if you lock the door you will be back to a jammed door requiring the latch be pulled to the left again with the rod or screw driver manually. The missing rubber bumper is the cause here but a gummed up latch can produce the same effect. In the case dousing in penetrant and pulling the lever or buttoning from outside can get the latch to unjam the locking mechanism. CAPISH MY FRIENDS [emoji2533]? I googled this topic for 2 days and never found a cojent explanation. Now you have one.


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sirweesarunch

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K30
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I have to add more to this story/ mystery . I bought a brand new lock mechanism. I could see and understand where the lock was hanging up in the door on the original mechanism . I could un stick the lock and open the door at will. I could cause the lock to jam again and repeat it as well as unstick it again , in other words I can repeat the problem at will. So I remove all the actuator rods , unscrew the old lock mechanisms 3 screws on the side of the door and scurry the whole thing out a speaker hole that was cut in the lower door. Now I have the old mechanism in my hand and cannot get it to jam again out of the vehicle. The rubber bumper I mentioned above is not there .. Now I install the new lock mechanism , ( $58 @ Classic Industries in case you’re wondering ) I re attach all the actuator levers from the outside button , inner door pull and interior lock pull. Now I activate the door with my finger and unlock it flawlessly , now I close the door and everything functions flawlessly. I cannot force it to jam. Done deal. The mystery being why I was unable to jam the old lock after it was removed from the vehicle ? Was it a wormhole of bad karma from a parallel Universe ? I’ll have to consult with Rod Serling when we meet.


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RecklessWOT

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Both of my front door locks on Suburban like to get stuck shut sometimes (manual locks for what it's worth). I have been both locked out of and inside the truck! Usually just banging on the door while ******* with the lock and or door handle seems to work eventually, but sometimes it takes a loooooong time to get it open and then I'm afraid to lock it for a few weeks after that lol. Plus if I'm in a hurry when it happens, there has been one or two occasions where I've had to climb into the truck through my tailgate window.

Good info, thanks! Now I know what to look for
 

bucket

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Pull the inside handle (if you are inside of course) several times, letting it fling back into place. This will usually get the outside button back into it's proper place and the latch can then unlock.
 

SquareRoot

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Crew cab rear drivers side door. I put it all together , new door panel the whole 9 yards , I close the door and now its stuck shut. MF’er [emoji2959]!!! Now the remedy and cause . Upper photo^ you see that red pen pointing to that rubber bumper ? The pin in that verticle spring rests on that bumper which in turn guages how far over the latch travels to the right ( 2nd picture down my pen is on the latch ). That latch grabs around the latch bolt on the door jamb. If that latch moves to the right too far it interferes with the lock on lock off mechanism seen in the 3rd photo down. The 3rd photo shows the door in its locked state so neither the pull on the inside nor the button on the outside can open the door. The door is locked. The fourth and last photo shows the door lock in the open position. The little tang where my pen is can now with the pulling of the handle or pushing of the button push the latch to the left and open the door. You following me ??? Now the problem , If that little rubber bumper is gone it allows the latch to travel too far to the right and the little Tang in foto 4 sits right on top of the latch instead of engaging it on its right side and pushing it to the left to unlock. When this happens the whole mechanism is completely incompassitated / jammed. If this happens you need to remove the door panel , insert a long rod or screwdriver into the mechanism on the right side of the latch in figure 2 right below that horizontal spring and pull to the left as far as possible unlatching the door !!!! Voila. The lock mechanism can now be opened as well with the key or pulling up on the button. If you do not lock the door it will function properly , if you lock the door you will be back to a jammed door requiring the latch be pulled to the left again with the rod or screw driver manually. The missing rubber bumper is the cause here but a gummed up latch can produce the same effect. In the case dousing in penetrant and pulling the lever or buttoning from outside can get the latch to unjam the locking mechanism. CAPISH MY FRIENDS [emoji2533]? I googled this topic for 2 days and never found a cojent explanation. Now you have one.


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Excellent report and write up. Thanks for posting.
 

NOPHO84K30

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Thank you brother I am stuck with a driver door that will not unlock took it apart from inside. Fun times. My lock tumbler may be messed up to I'm not sure yet it will turn like there's no resistance one way then feel normal the other way ill try this remedy asap
 

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