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Can't open door

772 views 10 replies 3 participants last post by  gen2steve 
#1 ·
Yikes, I can't open my back driver side door. It hasn't been opening from the outside for awhile, but opened easily from the inside. Then my boo, boo. I tried the little lever on the door, which appears to be a child type lockout feature. Now I can't open the open at all. :mad::(:eek:

Any tips, tricks, magic ways of getting the door open? My only thought at this time is to unbolt the hinges> I'm hoping for a magic bullet.
Thanks
 
#2 ·
The repair for the outside handle doesn't work symptom would have involved taking the inner door panel off, and getting at what was amiss. Your best solution now is... taking the inner door panel off and getting at what is amiss. It's just more difficult with the door closed. This will be less difficult with the rear seat bottom removed.

Unbolting the rear hinges might be tempting ("look, I can see the bolts with the front door open!"), but won't resolve your issue. You would still have the limit bar to contend with, and the core problem will remain, in that the latch is firmly gripped around the hoop of metal around which it was designed to stay. Doors aren't supposed to be easy to open unless properly unlatched. Sorry.
 
#4 ·
Yes, take the seat bottom cushion and other interior parts that might be inhibiting the removal of the door panel with the door closed. At a glance, I did not think that the side bolster would be enough in the way to warrant removing, but if it helps your case, by all means remove it. You are the one having to take off the door panel with the door closed, not me.
 
#5 ·
I have had to do that, opening a door whose outside handle didnt work, and the child safety lever was in the "dont open" position. It didnt go quickly, and I got tired of sitting inside holding a light to shine into the inside of the door, but I finally got it to open. The actuating bar from the outdoor door handle had come loose, and needed a new plastic clip; which I got in a box from rockauto(dot)com.
While I had the door opened, I took out the three phillips head screws holding the latch into the door, and cleaned off the old grease and regreased the latch mechanism.
 
#8 · (Edited)
They are called "door lock rod clips". I went looking for them at the rockauto site, but didnt find them. Maybe they dropped the link or I just forgot where it was. If you do a google search for "door lock rod clips" or "door lock rod clips ford" or "door lock rod clips ford escort" you should find a few sources. Dorman has them in small variety packs, but somewhere I got a dozen or more for passenger side door; just the right shape for my escorts.
 
#9 ·
Ran-D: I found the little box that had 25 of those 'door lock rod clips' in it, but I cant recall where I bought it. Its been a couple of years. It could have been a NAPA dealer or one of the independent auto parts places in northern VA.
The info on the box is that its a product of Auveco, (Auto Vehicle Parts Co.), and is their part # 15675, also having a Ford part number on the lid, of E6AZ-5421952-A. The company has a web site, of www(dot)auveco(dot)com. On that site there is contact info to find a distributor in your area.
I am going to contact them to ask for a hard copy of their catalog, which they say is also online, and you can download it in a pdf file. But they may only sell via distributors/retailers. I am hoping I can find & buy the various panel fasteners used in my Escorts, my Mazda, my Comanche, etc.
 
#11 ·
Phoenix-like, this thread has been dredged up from the ashes of yesteryear.

Changes in my life, family's health, and the count of 2nd gen Escorts in the fleet has kept me from these pages recently. Nevertheless, I just handled this situation for someone who purchased from me one of the fleet. It is to these pages I briefly return, so as to update this thread for the future reference of others.

Customer states: Unable to open LR door from either the inside or outside door handles. When asked if she perhaps had the child lock engaged on that door, the response is "child lock?" and a blank stare.

As was suggested earlier in this thread way back, the solution here is to first remove the inner door panel. This is a slight challenge with the door shut, but can be made less difficult with the removal of the seat bottom cushion and side bolster. I then removed the armrest, the window crank, and the screw mounting the inside door handle (but I did NOT remove the inner handle from the rod. Continue reading for another tip on this point.)

I was then able to pop the inside panel off of the door, albeit without using a panel tool or putty knife. Instead, I used my bare fingers and brute strength. Yes, this was at the expense of a few of the plastic retainers (I have spares), and some of the retainers were left behind in the door instead of coming with the panel. Those I later removed from the door using my panel tool. Perhaps someone more responsible might use a putty knife bent at a right angle to be more gentle in this step, but not me. Oh well.

I mentioned above another tip. Here it is: If you are removing the door panel from the car, there is no reason to mess with separating the actuating rod from the inner door handle, and worry about "door rod clips". Once the door panel is loose, it is easy to manipulate the inner handle assembly with rod still attached through the hole in the door panel. Reverse this procedure when re-installing the panel to the door. Now, back to the project at hand.

I separated just enough of the vapor barrier from the door to get access to the latching mechanism and the two nuts retaining the outer handle to the door. I did this using a razor blade to cut the black goo, rather than tearing the barrier and/or making big tendrils of stretching goo as I pulled at the barrier. Once I had access, I pressed down on the flat lever that the outer handle is supposed to press down on, and opened the door. I then removed the two nuts retaining the outer door handle, and removed the door handle.

After noting that the child lock had been engaged (what a a surprise... not), I laid out the broken handle to snap a photo:
Wood Plant Grass Motor vehicle Automotive exterior


The separate white plastic bit is supposed to be attached to the handle lever at the upper right. Instead, it was found down inside the door shell.

For comparison sake, here is what a good handle looks like (bottom, red) compared to a broken one (top, white):

Plant Green Wood Grass Tree


Without that plastic piece, there is nothing to press down on the flat lever in the latch assembly. Although it is not necessary to remove the latch assembly from the door to perform this project, I did in my case so as to get a photo for you. I have placed a small piece of blue painter's tape on the flat lever about which I write:

Wood Working animal Sculpture Tints and shades Art


I had the luxury of a spare [red] outer handle. With the application of some white rattle can, I was good to go. Had I not possessed the spare part, I would have probably tried using a bolt & nut pair to hold to the door handle a stack of washers approximating the dimensions of the broken plastic piece. I bet that would work.

Speaking of that broken plastic piece, I was briefly tempted to see if a Phillips screwdriver might somehow unscrew it from the door handle. Take my word for it - this is just how the part is made, and there are no threads involved.
Wood Gas Hardwood Close-up Auto part

After seeing how wimpy this piece is, and how much inherent leverage the mechanism has to pop the plastic piece loose, I am amazed that more Escort door handles aren't broken in this manner. Perhaps as they age, this issue will become more commonplace. The morals to this story are:

1. Don't yank on the door handle of a locked door.

2. If you are not trying to restrain a young child in the backseat of your Escort Cop Car, keep the child locks disengaged.

To finish out my posting, after the paint dried, I put everything back together. The End.
 

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