Defender door stuck closed

[Captain_Rightfoot]

So my td5 defender door is stuck closed. [tonguewink]

The other day I was doing stuff around the car. I opened it.. closed it.. then went to open it again and it's like it's locked. Can't be opened. Feels exactly like it's locked.

Thing is I didn't lock the car. I can lock it and unlock it and it makes no difference. You can see the little tab moving on the lock in the inside. I can reach in through the window and move the lock tab up and down. Can't open the door with either the interior or exterior handle.

Does anyone have any ideas how I can open this door to get at the mechanism? I've got a cargo barrier so I guess it's in through the window. :o

I ordered a replacement door lock mechanism which i have but I've got to get at the thing first. Sure glad it didn't fail on our trip.

[4bee]

Sounds a bit like a failed tiny lock spring to me. A known problem, certainly in a D1, & rectified by easily replacing a small spring & no biggy as you will still need to remove the lock either way. A lot more inexpensive than a new lock as well.

If you go down the track of buying springs online, buy enough for all doors as they have all had the same or similar use, then hide them away so you will know where to find them & when that time comes, like me you'll have forgotten where you put them.[bigsad] [smilebigeye]

In the D1 I had internal access to be able to lift the rod but it was lift able to unlock. Maybe a lift & boots onto the frame may do it, sorry no magic cure.


Oh yes forgot to mention. On the D1 assuming you may have this "feature" behind the "black Lock Box" if you remove the Green Oval badge that is clipped in to it's face you can fiddle & fartarse around in there with WD40 & possibly push & pull stuff which may just get you out of the brown stuff. Worth a try.

[Captain_Rightfoot]

So it could be just a spring? First I've got to get the door open. [biggrin]

[4bee]

See above late update.[smilebigeye]

[Wallaby Ted]

I had this happen whilst in Alice Springs earlier this year, the tab on the lock on the inside was going up and down but not all the way up.

It needed to be pushed all of the way up for the door to be able to be opened on the outside as I couldn't reach the inside with the sliding windows and like you have a cargo barrier in the way.

If you can reach the lock through the window you might want to try some lubricant into the lock and work it.

That reminds me I should go and pull it out and clean it before it occurs again.

[Captain_Rightfoot]

Ok - so I got the door trim off. The locking mechanism is actuating fine. You can easily operate the lock - doesn't make a scrap of difference - the thing wont't open.

So I tried undoing the four bolts that hold the locking mechanism to the door. That was fine but you still can't open the door because the handle gets stuck on the door skin, and the locking mechanism itself encases the striker so it's can't be slid either way so it's all still stuck closed.

Perhaps I can remove the bolts which hold the latch to the body and the whole thing can open then. Any ideas?

[4bee]

Anything is worth a try but if you can gain even 1mm clearance you should be right. Then you can operate on the problem properly.

Have your hinges worn or malfunctioned allowing misalignment of the door?

[Captain_Rightfoot]

Anything is worth a try but if you can gain even 1mm clearance you should be right. Then you can operate on the problem properly.

Have your hinges worn or malfunctioned allowing misalignment of the door?

I'm not sure where I need the clearance?

So I've unbolted the lock from the door, and the striker from the car and I have the whole locking mechanism out and the door open. The lock is sill clinging onto the striker though. no idea how to get it to release.

The whole mechanism is sealed so I can't see anything I can access or fix? I can't get the striker out of the lock.

[Captain_Rightfoot]

This is what my lock looks like.. the only difference is it has a central locking actuator on mine. Oh.. and a door striker in it's grasp!

[4bee]

I don't know either. You're there & I am here so have no idea what you can see & am just trying to go by your descriptions. You started off with the door not opening & now you have it open, so you are in a better position than anyone else here to look for a solution. Maybe it needs a clout with a BFOHammer &/or a screwdriver inserted somewhere to lever them apart?[smilebigeye] Btw. No image posted.

[Captain_Rightfoot]

I don't know either. You're there & I am here so have no idea what you can see & am just trying to go by your descriptions. You started off with the door not opening & now you have it open, so you are in a better position than anyone else here to look for a solution. Maybe it needs a clout with a BFOHammer &/or a screwdriver inserted somewhere to lever them apart?[smilebigeye] Btw. No image posted.

DOH!

Sluggie the Defender: Rear Door Lock (http://pellylandroverdefender.blogspot.com/p/more-fixes_28.html)

[Captain_Rightfoot]

Hazzah! Photos. Any tips on getting the bloody thing to release? Then to remove the lock barrel?

Shared album - Stephen Amos - Google Photos (https://photos.app.goo.gl/7EWSwzEtsXkdZM6A6)

Shared album - Stephen Amos - Google Photos (https://photos.app.goo.gl/J6uJLLhP8eRoVT3y8)

[Captain_Rightfoot]

Yeah..got the striker out.

Now how to get the lock barrel out. :|

[4bee]

Ah so. It's pretty much an Anti-Burst lock from a S3 & certainly nothing like the D1 lock I mentioned so should be much easier.

I guess somehow it comes apart ie. "It was put together by man so it should be able to be taken apart by one" Attributed to Bee.4 AKA William Wordsworth. 2019 [biggrin]

Could be some rivets that need drilling out etc. Just be careful if it falls apart in your hand as there'd be springs & stuff I should imagine..

Good luck.

[4bee]

Here you go, seems others have done the hard graft for you.[smilebigeye]


Barrel door lock removal (https://www.aulro.com/afvb/series-iii/134676-barrel-door-lock-removal.html)

[Captain_Rightfoot]

Here you go, seems others have done the hard graft for you.[smilebigeye]


Barrel door lock removal (https://www.aulro.com/afvb/series-iii/134676-barrel-door-lock-removal.html)

I did see that but couldn't see anything. I even looked up the manual. P35 of the Chassis and Body section points to pressing a pin and then rotating the barrel out. However neither my lock or the new one have the pin. I'll phone MR and report back.

[4bee]

Sounds like a trip to the local Locksmith may be in order then before the brown stuff hits the whirly thing.[smilebigeye]

[spudfan]

If the seat belt gets trapped between the lock and the striker you get the same problem. Check to see if there are marks on the seatbelt (it will be creased).
Also it could be the child lock activator on the side of the door playing up.
I have had a door stick owing to both of the above.

[Captain_Rightfoot]

If the seat belt gets trapped between the lock and the striker you get the same problem. Check to see if there are marks on the seatbelt (it will be creased).
Also it could be the child lock activator on the side of the door playing up.
I have had a door stick owing to both of the above.

Sorry - it's the rear door! The current problem is that I can't get the lock barrel out. :(

[barney]

I'll chime in.

On a recent trip, I had three defenders, my td5 90, a Puma 90 and a puma 110, all our back doors would not unlock. it was due to dust in the mechanism. I climbed through on mine and flicked the lock up - fixed, i did the same on the 110, but the other 90 had a cargo barrier, used an Umbrella to flick it up. I was briefly nicknamed "the Back-door Man"
Once I got them open, I sprayed the crap out of them with WD40.

But this doesn't sound like what your problem is.

A problem I get sometimes on my 90 is that the 2 stage latch on the rear door doesn't engage properly. The release handle on the outside has more movement than normal, it will travel about half way up before it engages. Normally it engages quite low in the recess.
I fix this by placing my hand on the outside of the door, as close to the locking mechanism as I can and give it a quick, hard shove and then you hear the latch click shut. You should then be able to unlock it as normal.
Don't know if this is your problem, but I hope it helps.

[Captain_Rightfoot]

I'll chime in.

On a recent trip, I had three defenders, my td5 90, a Puma 90 and a puma 110, all our back doors would not unlock. it was due to dust in the mechanism. I climbed through on mine and flicked the lock up - fixed, i did the same on the 110, but the other 90 had a cargo barrier, used an Umbrella to flick it up. I was briefly nicknamed "the Back-door Man"
Once I got them open, I sprayed the crap out of them with WD40.

But this doesn't sound like what your problem is.

A problem I get sometimes on my 90 is that the 2 stage latch on the rear door doesn't engage properly. The release handle on the outside has more movement than normal, it will travel about half way up before it engages. Normally it engages quite low in the recess.
I fix this by placing my hand on the outside of the door, as close to the locking mechanism as I can and give it a quick, hard shove and then you hear the latch click shut. You should then be able to unlock it as normal.
Don't know if this is your problem, but I hope it helps.
It's not the locking part of the mechanism - it's the unlatching bit.

However I do agree - I reckon if you sprayed a heap of brake cleaner into the lock and then a silicone or something like that I reckon it would be ok.

The problem is the way it failed. It just stopped working with no notice. It didn't play up for a while - it just locked solid and wouldn't release. I'm concerned that if we go away and this happens again I'll be in a real pickle. We have a cargo barrier, so if it did lock closed I reckon I'd have to remove the back seats, and then fold the cargo barrier down and unload the car through there. Even then I'd have to remove the back shelf as I wouldn't be able to get the door trim off with that in place. I reckon it would take half a day of swearing at least and I'm just not willing to risk it.

So the latest is the striker on the new lock is ever so slightly different and I can't close the door. [bigsad]

[barney]

Not sure you read my post correctly.
I suggested it was the latching part not engaging correctly. From you reply, it sounds like it won't mate with the catch properly

[4bee]

So the latest is the striker on the new lock is ever so slightly different and I can't close the door

Bloody 'ell, you can't win can you?

Some solution about half way would seem to be ideal.[bigsad]

[Captain_Rightfoot]

So - the answer is the new lock is fitted and the door is closing much better. I had to relieve the screws just slightly to allow it to move away from the latch a poofteenth but it's now closing like a new one.

We also now realise that the old one probably was giving out signs that it was on the way out. It required a big haul to open that the new one doesn't. I guess it sneaks up on you.