The passenger door lock mechanism on my 55 1st Edition has been acting up lately, and starting today, it refuses to open at all!
The symptoms leading up to this have been that the door would INTERMITTENTLY refuse to open, using either the interior handle or the exterior button. In addition, it would seem each time to be kind of "not fully closed" either - you could jiggle the door a bit, and it would rattle if driven while in this state. Persistent attempts to either open it or fully close it, via pull or push activity on the outside door handle, would eventually allow it to open. It would then work fine for a while.
Today, it opened and closed this morning, but after a 40 mile drive,refuses to open at all. No amount of jiggling seems to help. I know my hinge pins are worm - I have new ones, and am just waiting for my friend Randy, an experienced mechanic, to help me replace them sometime soon when his schedule allows. So, I tried "lifting on the handle as I jiggled. No help. Still won't open.
Three questions:
1. What is wrong?
2. How do I access whatever is misbehaving?
3. What is the cure?
Jim G
