Passenger door won't open

[ka-titties]

The passenger door on my s14 will not open, no matter what i do. i got the door panel off and all of the rods are connected. the interior lock will not stay in the unlocked position but even when i hold it in the unlocked position and try to open with either interior or exterior door handle it will still not open.

what i need here is help just getting the door open. i've tried everything i can think of. i need some ideas. i tried taking the locking mechanism off from the inside, taking the "U" shaped piece off of the door jam from inside the car behind the rear interior panel.

i have a spare s14 i'm working on so i've been tinkering with the locking mechanism i pulled out of that one trying to figure out how to get inside of it but its all sealed up.

thanks for reading, and useful help is appreciated.

dimitri

[g6civcx]

Did you try unlocking with the key?

The door latch mechanism (the part inside the door that clips into the striker) is properly broken or out of adjustment.

This can happen if someone tried to slim jim the car. The slim jim can bend the rods connecting the handles and key lock/interior lock to the mechanism, or can jam the mechanism compeltely.

See if you can manually pop up the door lock mechanism by hand and open the mechanism. Follow the rods all the way to the mechanism and try to work it with your hand if you can.

[ka-titties]

i've tried the key, no bueno.

the locking mechanism is enclosed so you cant get to any of the innards of the mechanism. this only happened when one day i went to shut the door and it did not latch shut. i would simply bounce off the door jam. i played with the locks and the handles and got it to latch. ever since then it wont open.

[Slammed Assassin]

someone is prolly playing a joke on you and welded the door shut. lol

[projectRDM]

This is very common on S14s, there's several other threads with more detailed methods and ideas, search around for them.

[ka-titties]

i searched door wont open and i couldnt find anything. ill keep at it.

[BLiTz]

Same exact problem, same door, in my 97. Is has been driving me crazy for a year now! One day it wouldn't latch just like your so I played with it for a while then it worked for a little while then broke shut completely and I can't get it open no matte what I do. Let me know what I need to do to fix the problem if you ever get yours solved.
Thanks

[BoxerJackJohnson]

Has your car been on a lift or you jack it up at a corner(ie tow hook) Sometimes the chassis will flex and not allow the door to open. Have someone hold the handle and u try to kick open the door from the inside. if that doesn't work Take the fender off loosen the 4 door hinge bolts about half way thne try to open the door.

[ka-titties]

the way i fixed it was by drilling a hole through the opening mechanism hinge. the little C shaped thing inside swings around a big rivet. i drilled the rivet out from the inside and it opened. you have to get a new lock afterward though. kind of a waste though because the car got totaled a week later.

[Silverbullet]

bumping an older thread.

To the OP, I'm just wondering how you removed the door panel without opening the door? I found out my door wouldn't open one day just recently. I'm in the brinks of cutting open the interior door panel just to check out the rods.

[ka-titties]

i ripped the door panel off in a fit of rage and frustration. then did what i could do from there to get the door open.

[Socalgal]

Same exact thing happened to me today. Door wouldn't close, messed with it, then wouldn't open. Worst timing ever too. When I got home I was able to get it open but removing the trim around the handle, unscrewing the plastic behind it that holds the handle and lock to the door, then sliding that assembly forward while pulling on the little lock lever and that gave enough leverage to get it unlocked. It's dark out so I relocked the door and I'll pick it up tomorrow. Did you guys find a solution?

I searched as well. Can you please post links if you have them?