drivers door won't open

[twodot]

The door on my 97 /7.3 won't open. For the past short while I had to roll down the window and open it from the outside. Then yesterday something happened and it won't even open that way. It is forcing me to deal with the problem. Any ideas on how to open the door when neither latch is working. Oh yes, it has power locks and windows. I am thinking about trying to take off the door panel but it looks like a real PITA with the door in the closed position. thank you twodot

[richied-ss]

tourch a hole in the door and rip that mother ****er off

[FENKER]

its the wire that goes from ur handle to the door. they get stretched out. just take off the panel, its just a couple screws and u should be able to see it the hard part is getting it out to shortening it. i had the same problem but not as bad. i just got a metal inside door handle so i can yank it harder

[TexasR.N.]

Originally Posted by 1/4_million_boy

its the wire that goes from ur handle to the door. they get stretched out. just take off the panel, its just a couple screws and u should be able to see it the hard part is getting it out to shortening it. i had the same problem but not as bad. i just got a metal inside door handle so i can yank it harder

Yep, what he said. There is a bolt that holds the interior handle on, IIRC it is an 8mm. Push the black stringy stuff back around the handle to get to it. Take the interior handle off first before trying to take the door panel off (it'll make life easier for you).

I kept breaking handles until I found a metal one to use. Not that this is your problem, just throwing it out there.

Craig

[twodot]

thank you 1/4 million! it's saturday morning and I am ready to go do whatever it takes to fix this thing. that old bit of climbing in across the seat is getting real old.
gonna grab some coffee and go try it! twodot

[twodot]

Big thanks to 1/4 million boy and TexasR.N.. It is now fixed!!
The bracket that holds the interior door latch had pulled itself loose slightly and was causing too much flex in the system to move the cable fully. The metal that it attached to was wallowed out and very flimsey. One big fender washer re-enforced the area enough to get it working again. Thanks for the tips guys. twodot

[TexasR.N.]

Glad we could help. That's what this site is all about.

Craig