Nick, there's a discussion of this/your problem, on our
forwardlook.net website, on the last (or 2nd-to-last) page
on the What-did-you-do-to-your car-today thread, on its General
Discussion message board.
As I wrote/showed on that thread, the door latch's lower set of gear teeth
(which are not visible, due to their relatively hidden location inside
the latch's interior---see my pics on that thread), may have had a tooth
break
off or jam-up the release mechanism, so that the door will not open.
In my car's instance, a lower-gear tooth broke off & fell into the interior
of the door cavity, but I was able to have the door continue to open & close
(as you can see/read in that thread), so, I was able to get direct
access to the
door latch and to replace it, relatively easily.
Recently, a man with a 57 PLY, on that thread, has reported that his
car's door
has jammed up to the extent that it, too, will not open, at all.
Before an air-chisel might have to be used on the stuck-latch, to
remove/release it from the
door jamb, and allow the door to open, I suggested that the owner create
a sort
of lever that might be lowered into the door interior (as he had not,
yet, removed
the trim panel from the stuck-shut door--a not pleasant protocol, for sure).
I also suggested that a replacement latch be obtained before that
latch-surgery be
performed.
I further recommended that any replacement latch have its lower gear
teeth be
inspected, for deterioration, as the lower gears are not visible unless
a latch is
removed from a car, and their condition is MUCH more subject to wear-out
than are the upper, visible gear teeth---which gives 'everyone' a false
sense of
security, regarding the general condition of their door latches.
To date, that man with the stuck-door has not posted any further
results of
his efforts to open that door.
I've got a good condition spare passenger side door latch, but, the
driver's side latch
is the one that is really vulnerable to catastrophic failure, and,
no matter how nice
your car may look, its (driver's side, anyway) door latch has a very
serious potential
failure prospect in it, in its "hidden-from-view" lower gear teeth
mechanism.
This long message is a caveat to all of us....
Neil Vedder
Neil Vedder
Nick Sperduto wrote:
I went to get into my 56 Plymouth today and the door wouldn't open.
After I got home, I was able to get the door panel off and the outer door handle.
Something is broken in the latch assembly so when you pull on the outer handle or the inner handle, the mechanism moves, but whatever piece inside that mechanism that unlocks the star wheel doesn't move, so the door won't open.
I have another mechanism to put in which is how I figured out something inside that mechanism is broke.
Any ideas? I've been messing with it for almost 2 hours now.
While climbing in and out like Bo Duke would be fun, I'm sure it would lose it's appeal quite soon.
Nick
*************************************************************
To unsubscribe or set your subscription options, please go to
http://lists.psu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=l-forwardlook&A=1
*************************************************************
To unsubscribe or set your subscription options, please go to
http://lists.psu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=l-forwardlook&A=1
|
|
Back to the Home of the Forward Look Network