door handle locks up
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 832
Likes: 0
From: Sarasota Florida
door handle locks up
sometime when i go to open my car, the door handle will barely squeeze in at all. what i've found that sometimes works is to stick the key in the whole and turn it left and right then try it again. it all at once started doing this. actually, both doors all at once started. i thought maybe it has to do with lubrication.
any ideas?!?
any ideas?!?
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 24,125
Likes: 15
From: Columbia Missouri
The door latch assemblies get gummed up from dirt and grease and the metal parts and linkages wear.
Pull off your door panels, and see if a simple adjustment of some of the linkages will fix things. If not, pull the assemblies out and clean and inspect them. If they don't seem to operate 100% after you clean then, plan on replacing them.
Don't buy the cheap ones either, spend the money and get some good ones.
Pull off your door panels, and see if a simple adjustment of some of the linkages will fix things. If not, pull the assemblies out and clean and inspect them. If they don't seem to operate 100% after you clean then, plan on replacing them.
Don't buy the cheap ones either, spend the money and get some good ones.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 2,008
Likes: 38
From: Space Coast Gator Territory
Lubrication might work, but you will have to experiment. A work of caution about the lubricant you use. The PO of my 69 used some kind of lubricant in the area of the door lock. After I stripped the car of paint, I could see a large area of the fiberglass had absorbed the lubricant. It appeared as a wet looking area in the fiberglass. With that info, I'd recommend using a dry lubricant.
That said, I had a problem with my 79 driverside door latch not opening with the latch fully depressed. Our latch problem may not be related, but my solution was to adjust the linkage attached to the latch mechanism. It is easy to do once you have the door panel off, but removing the linkage rod clip is tricky. It slides straight off the end of the rod enabling you to remove the threaded adjuster end from the latch. The clip doesn't need to come off, just back far enough so the adjuster can be lifted from the latch. With this done, you can turn the threaded lug up or down the linkage for adjustment. If the clip falls down into the door, you could be in for a search. I tied a piece of dental floss to mine before pushing it back and freeing the rod lug. Good luck fixing your door latch.
That said, I had a problem with my 79 driverside door latch not opening with the latch fully depressed. Our latch problem may not be related, but my solution was to adjust the linkage attached to the latch mechanism. It is easy to do once you have the door panel off, but removing the linkage rod clip is tricky. It slides straight off the end of the rod enabling you to remove the threaded adjuster end from the latch. The clip doesn't need to come off, just back far enough so the adjuster can be lifted from the latch. With this done, you can turn the threaded lug up or down the linkage for adjustment. If the clip falls down into the door, you could be in for a search. I tied a piece of dental floss to mine before pushing it back and freeing the rod lug. Good luck fixing your door latch.
Safety Car
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 4,652
Likes: 80
From: Lakeland Florida
I had similar problems with my 72.
I ended up taking the door latch assembly out to clean and lubricate it. After removing all the built up grease, and applying new lubrication, it works great without sticking anymore.
Before
After
kdf
I ended up taking the door latch assembly out to clean and lubricate it. After removing all the built up grease, and applying new lubrication, it works great without sticking anymore.
Before
After
kdf
