Thank you to all who offered assistance. After reading a post from Dies from SA suggesting to take the try to take the lock apart, I experimented further using the front door locks as Guinea pigs. I could not see anyway to dismantle the latch while in the installed position with the door closed. I did find another solution which will work for broken front door latches as well. The latch assembly is composed of a main latch which looks like an upside down "U" which has a notch intended to engage a smaller latch. The upper latch pivots down whilst the lower latch pivots upwards. First click would be the main latch engaging the stud attached to the vehicle body. As the door is closed inward more, the two latches interlock around the stud. After simulating a closed latch on the open front door, I engaged the lock button. Then I used a screwdriver to depress the lower latch. That disengaged the mechanism from the fully locked position to the first detent. Once in that position, I was able to operate the lock by depressing the door handle. Now I can easily replace the defective latch assembly. BenT San Francisco |
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