'72 Sprint passenger door stuck shut

[MarkDa]

Absolutely true - I'm obviously not with it at all tonight!
I agree that the latch should come free with a bit of encouragement.

[Elanman99]

The drivers door on my S4 was frequently difficult to open from inside or out. All the rods and linkages were working but the door stayed obstinately stuck.

Pushing and pulling on the handle, including upwards and downwards would sometime free it. I eventually traced the problem to the lock 'disc' not rotating (in the day these locks were called or know as 'Diskloks' or similar).

The disk rotates not on a shaft or spindle, but by being contained in the bore of the nylon lock body and generally relies on the smooth edge of the disk running freely in the bore with any lubricant. Any oil or grease tends to dry out and/or attract dirt making the lock action stiff.

From new these locks work fine but after 50 years of use the bore wears and if the disk does not rotate freely it only the unlocking that suffers. There is a spring that assists the disk rotation but it operates on a pin mounted off centre to the disk and as it has the effect of pushing the edge sideways adding to the friction between the disk and nylon.

One thing to try before dismantling the door is to drive down a bumpy road holding the door release and pushing the door outward (dont let go of it!)

Ian

[MarkDa]

When I rebuilt my car the locks were stiff and didn't rotate as described.
I freed then off by 'flushing out' with WD40.
Yes oil will pick up debris over time so no positive lubrication.

[Evante]

Thank you all for your suggestions!

Jay

[Elan45]

Tony and all,

I've found it easier to work on the nylon hinge pins with a piece of 1/4 inch square keystock from the hardware store. You buy it in a 12 inch long piece and can cut off a piece about 2 inches long. Using keystock it can be pushed farther into the nylon pin which then is less likely to strip out the square hole in the pin.

I have used various tools to turn the keystock such as a 1/4 in open end wrench, a 1/4 in 8 point socket on a 1/4 drive ratchet to the refridgeration/ AC ratchet wrench (Bonney), available all the time on ebay.

Since my Elans are all S3s, I have limited experience w/ the S4 type locks. I did have a +2S, but haven't touched that was 30 years ago.

Roger

[tvacc]

Thanks on the key stock. Will give it a try.

[prezoom]

The key stock works extremely well, especially when used with a socket and 1/4 drive ratchet wrench. Tacked the key stock into the socket with a dab of silicon bronze.

[john.houston]

Hi I posted a while back but this is exactly my problem

The lock mechanism has seized in the closed position
The hinges removal will loosen the front of the door but the lock is designed to keep closed in an accident so I think drastic action is needed .Anyone ever done this ? Help
Thanks John.

[tonyabacus]

John
One thing I found on my car was that the PO had adjusted the door so as to get a flush fit down the rear edge (the n/s doors was never a good fit from the original moulds and can be seen sticking out on many Elans). He had adjusted the lock plate too far in. However in adjusting the door, when pressing in the lock button on the outside handle or the inside, the button in particular began to feel very solid as though it was jammed. No matter what I did it would not release.

Having initially thought the lock was broken or indeed jammed somehow, I tried an old trick of getting a friend to push the door inwards as hard as possible and at the same time pushing on the lock button and hey presto the door opened. You may find you have to lift the door or indeed push down on the door if the door plate has been adjusted to high or low as well as too far in. Once open I checked the operation of both internal and external handles by activating the part in the door that hooks over the door jamb lock plate and operating each handle. Next job was to reset the door lock plate on the "B" post gradually adjusting it further and further in until I got a reasonably good fit without putting too much strain on the lock mechanism. At the same time reconciling that the door fit down the back edge would protrude slightly. Not had a problem since, so worth a try before trying other methods.

[john.houston]

Thank you so much for the advice
I soaked the lock with nearly a tin of spray on Gunk and getting in through the windscreen (removed ) I pushed from the inside while someone pressed the door lock ..It worked
Basically the mechanism had been greased over the years and solidified I should have checked it before fitting (been in a box 14 years ) but assumed it opened so it will close OK

Thanks Again I can now progress

[MarkDa]

Glad you got it open John - a bit drastic having to get in via windscreen! But needs must I suppose.
That would be one great advantage of a convertible, being able to get a hand in and loosen the stays.
You were very unlucky that both locks jammed solid at the same time!

[Evante]

I saw this post that I started in 2018 get revitalized. I never provided any feedback about how I got the door open. Well, I just drove the car around the block and it popped open. I guess there was enough flex in the body to open it up the last mm or so!

I thine refurbished the rods and connectors inside the door with parts from RD Enterprises and the door worked perfectly after that. Four years later, I now have to do the same for the driver side door.

This is a hobby that keeps on giving!

JAS

[john.houston]

Thanks Mark and Jas
I was just stupid to close both doors knowing how these cars will bite you back .
I am now reading up how to join the fibreglass seam joining the two door halves together because with the pressure applied has split the joint . One job becomes four and many more hours .
Hey Ho
John.