Rear door stuck shut, help please!

[max78]

Hi all,

I have an 09 Expedition EL that my family borrowed. Well they broke the rear door handle on it somehow. . .

Well I initially thought it was just the child safety switch that was toggled because they had small kids, so I switched it up and back down. . . Big mistake!

I can no longer open the door from the inside or the outside. . . .

Looking at it a little closer it looks tough as if the lock mechanism might be jammed. when i lock it it goes down, but when I unlock it it goes up, but not as far as the other side and it falls back down a little. The other door does not do that.

I have tried
pulling up on the lock
Pushing down on the lock
manually locking and unlocking (it seems stuck and does not feel to lock or unlock, just feels "mushy")
operated the lock electronically dozens of times.

My guess is I'm going to have to take the door panel off and get to the stuff inside there.

How hard is it and does anyone have any better suggestions? I would be working on it but its raining and muddy as hell currently. . . .


Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

 

[1955moose]

If you can't open from outside or in, using a slim Jim like locksmiths do, along with other door lock tools may be your only option. Sorry to say, unless your pretty talented, this one may have to be done by an experienced shop. You can't get inside panel off completely without opening door.

Sent from my N9131 using Tapatalk

 

[Trainmaster]

I haven't looked at mine, so I hope I'm not wasting your time with the obvious. I think your best shot is at removing the plastic trim from the inside. Hopefully you won't have to cut it out or drill holes in it as on some cars. Then you can access the mechanism.

Do an Internet search for a picture of what's in there. Some use a cable. Once you know what you've got your options will be apparent. There's an access cap under the inside handle on my '08. What's under there? Either slip a tool in somehow as Moose suggests, or, if you can't pop the interior trim, drill a hole in the plastic panel at the appropriate spot to grab, poke or pull what you need to open the latch. By drilling a 1-1/2" hole with a hole saw in the right place, you won't ruin the panel. You can always plug that.

But as I said, you may be able to snap the panel off with the door closed to access the latch.

 

[bobmbx]

I haven't looked at mine, so I hope I'm not wasting your time with the obvious. I think your best shot is at removing the plastic trim from the inside. Hopefully you won't have to cut it out or drill holes in it as on some cars. Then you can access the mechanism.

Do an Internet search for a picture of what's in there. Some use a cable. Once you know what you've got your options will be apparent. There's an access cap under the inside handle on my '08. What's under there? Either slip a tool in somehow as Moose suggests, or, if you can't pop the interior trim, drill a hole in the plastic panel at the appropriate spot to grab, poke or pull what you need to open the latch. By drilling a 1-1/2" hole with a hole saw in the right place, you won't ruin the panel. You can always plug that.

But as I said, you may be able to snap the panel off with the door closed to access the latch.

On a '99 Mountaineer, I had to take out the front passenger seat to get the panel off.

 

[JExpedition07]

Ford probs

 

[max78]

Thanks for the help everyone.

I will have to give the father-in-law a call and see if he can slim-jim it open.

if not I will attack the broken handle that I'm already replacing and see if I can get it to open the door.

If that does not work. . . I'm not sure I can get to all of the screws on the door panel with the door shut, so I either have to remove what I can and break some of the panel to remove it. Or as suggested drill a hole in the panel at just the right area to get at the mechanism.

Last resort, take it to a dealer, but I have never done that and cant see myself doing it any time soon. . . .

Thanks for the help and insight,

 

[Flexpedition]

Closely examine the child safety lock switch & exact location on the good, working door.

Then see if you can use a wire coat hanger, a narrow ruler, or a similar tool to unlock the child safety lock from the inside at the frozen door.

Pretty sure you'll find the Expedition uses cables & not rods between door latches and levers. Fortunately getting the door panel off, once opened, will be the easiest part of this repair.

 

[1955moose]

Push come to shove , find a shop besides dealer. Call around, ask them if their equipped for such a job. A lot of independent shops will surprise you. Some lock shops do jobs like this, or can recommend in your area ones that do.

Sent from my N9131 using Tapatalk

 

[max78]

Well I fixed it and it was probably the easiest fix I have ever done.

I carefully broke the old door handle off and got to the cable mech, then I pulled it and that freed up the jammed lock and it just started working after that. Turns out I didnt even need to break the handle as it is removable while the door is still all together.


Here is what I did to replace the handle.

Remove the old handle by prying up top tab that captures the handle. You might have to push the handle down a little as it is a tight squeeze.


Remove all the parts from the new handle and attach the cable


Reinstall the spring and insure it is correctly captured at the handle end, there is a spot for the spring to go.
Reinstall the pin flange down.


Carefully squeeze the bottom part of the pin into place.


rotate the top of the handle into the door, you might have to use a screw driver to pry up a little on the plastic tab to get it to go in smoothly.