Door stuck shut covers panel screws (how to remove?)

"Stuart A. Bronstein" <spamtrap@lexregia.com> wrote in message
news:JBlzf.401$2O6.175@newssvr12.news.prodigy.com...[color=blue]
> "Ray O" <rokigawa@tristarassociatesDOTcomn> wrote in
> news:dd702$43cbf2f4$44a4a10d$23772@msgid.meganewsservers.com:[color=green]
>> The only place to get a Toyota Factory Service Manual is
>> through Toyota's Material Distribution Center, through a dealer,
>> or on a subscription basis at [url]http://techinfo.toyota.com[/url][/color]
>
> I found this site titled "Toyota Factory Service Manual"
> [url]http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/FSM.shtml[/url]
>
> I just now called the 800 number provided there but Toyota is closed for
> Martin Luther King day (bummer - how come I had to work but they don't).[/color]

Toyota employees used to work on Martin Luther King Day and get President's
day off. The holidays were recently reversed so employees get MLK day off
and work on President's day, probably because President's day weekend is a
very big sales weekend.
[color=blue]
>
> Toyota Material Distribution Center
> 750 West Victoria St
> Rancho Dominguez/Compton, CA 90220-5538 USA
> 800.622.2033 (outside CA)(M-F: 7-5 PST)
> 800.443.7656 (inside CA)
> 310.818.4630 (in or outside CA)
>
> I would rather have the manual full time so I don't think I'll get a
> subscription to [url]http://techinfo.toyota.com[/url] unless I can get web get (wget)
> to work as a spider to download the entire site to my PC hard disk in a
> half hour :)
>
> There are free Toyota 4Runner shop repair manuals at the AutoZone site
> [url]http://www1.autozone.com/servlet/UiBroker?[/url]
> ForwardPage=/az/repair_info/repair_guide/repair_guide.jsp
>
> Unfortunately (for me), the closest AutoZone has for me is a link titled
> "Toyota Pick-Ups/Land Cruiser/4Runner 1989-1996" at
> [url]http://www1.autozone.com/servlet/UiBroker?[/url]
> ForwardPage=az/cds/en_us/0900823d/80/19/8e/30/0900823d80198e30.jsp
> with a door-removal procedure and exploded diagram at
> [url]http://www1.autozone.com/servlet/UiBroker?[/url]
> ForwardPage=/az/cds/en_us/0900823d/80/16/28/c0/0900823d801628c0.jsp
> but it does not cover the 1998 model year. Bummer.
>
> I was surprised to find free online shop manuals so if you know of an
> online exploded diagram of the 1998 model year, that would be wonderful.
>
> Stu[/color]

AutoZone's sites are actually pretty good for a do-it-yourselfer. I have
referred to them when working on friends' non-Toyotas. I am not aware of
any other free online shop manuals. You may want to visit your local auto
parts store and see if they have a Chilton's manual that you can take a
glance at.
--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)

On 1/16/06 1:26 PM, in article JzRyf.10914$Jd.30@newssvr25.news.prodigy.net,
"Stuart A. Bronstein" <spamtrap@lexregia.com> wrote:
[color=blue]
> I'm stuck inside my truck.
>[/color]


Can you get the door panel out at all on the jamb side of the door? If you
take out the driver seat?

Just recently, Stuart A. Bronstein told us:
[color=blue]
> I don't see how a locksmith will help as I have the key but I do agree
> that I hadn't thought of the slim jim (I picked up two from Kragans)
> which I'll try to squiggle in there to open the door when I have time
> this weekend off from work.[/color]

Hey Stuart,
A locksmith shop that handles automotive work can open the door, and then
either suggest or perform the repair, quickly and without damage. That's
what they do. I know, I did it for over ten years before I went to work for
one of the manufacturers. (security manufacturer, not auto manufacturer...)

They have manuals which show the specific details and pictures for the door
lock and linkage assembly of each auto made for more than forty years. Yes,
that's a lotta doors.

They will also have speciality tools to perform such an operation. "Slim
Jim's" have not been adequate to unlock most toyota's, and most other
vehicles, in many, many years. A SJ certainly will not assist in actually
opening the door via actuating the latch mechanism through the window
channel.

From your description, including things like the window only goes part way
down, but up fine, and the handles feeling screwy prior to failing
completely, I'd guess that the nylon clips that hold the linkage rods to
the handles have failed. They tend to dry and become brittle after several
years.

Nevertheless, get to a local locksmith. This is a small thing for them, a
mornings or afternoons work at worst.

Thank you, and have a nice day.

--
======================
Tagger
'80 Toy 4x4
4", 35", 5.71's & locked


8:46 RIP

disconect the battery and unlock with key then open the door the old fashion
way.
"Ray O" <rokigawa@tristarassociatesDOTcomn> wrote in message
news:dd702$43cbf2f4$44a4a10d$23772@msgid.meganewsservers.com...[color=blue]
>
> "Stuart A. Bronstein" <spamtrap@lexregia.com> wrote in message
> news:JzRyf.10914$Jd.30@newssvr25.news.prodigy.net...[color=green]
>> I'm stuck inside my truck.
>>
>> Details:
>> 1998 Toyota 4Runner, power mirror, locks, & windows.
>> Driver door stuck in the shut position covers two panel screws.
>> How (the hell) do we remove the panel to fix the door?
>>
>> I bought the Chilton "68604 1997-00 Repair Manual" for "Pick-Ups/Land
>> Cruiser/4Runner" which shows me two screws need to be removed on the door
>> panel next but they are covered by the side of the dash. Is there an R&R
>> procedure you know of that covers this possibility?
>>
>> Unfortunately, the Chilton photos seem to be from a pickup truck (Tacoma)
>> so everything can be different than what it says in that manual. (I
>> couldn't find a Toyota Factory Shop manual at Kragans. Do they sell
>> them?).[/color]
>
> The Tacoma and 4 Runner are similar enough that the procedures for
> removiung the interior door panel will be the same. The only place to get
> a Toyota Factory Service Manual is through Toyota's Material Distribution
> Center, through a dealer, or on a subscription basis at
> [url]http://techinfo.toyota.com/[/url]. I believe the subscription is avfailable for
> $10 per day.
>[color=green]
>>
>> I can't be the first person to be stuck with a shut driver door on a
>> 4runner with power windows so I'm hoping there's a writeup somewhere or
>> at
>> least a Toyota user group that I may ask.
>>
>> Can you get me going (I'm an advocate, not a mechanic).
>>
>> I googled for "toyota auto repair stuck door" and got these newsgroups as
>> the most likely first lead. Where should I go next?
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Stu[/color]
>
> What is happening when you try the interior or exterior door handle? Does
> it act like it is locked or does it act like it is disconnected?
>
> If you can get remove every clip and screw from the door panel except for
> the ones by the dash, then move the driver's seat all the way back and
> reclined and see if you can pull the panel away from the door far enough
> to release the latch.
> --
>
> Ray O
> (correct punctuation to reply)
>
>[/color]

On Wed, 18 Jan 2006 06:27:09 GMT, "Stuart A. Bronstein"
<spamtrap@lexregia.com> wrote:
[color=blue]
>I think the numerous suggestions to slim jim the door open are the best.
>Maybe I can call AAA and not tell them the other three doors work fine?
>Do you think they'll believe me?[/color]

I think the first thing they're going to ask you is "You say you're
locked out of the car, but it's at your home - don't you have a second
set of keys in the house?"

And if the locksmith they send treats it as a regular lockout, when
the drivers door doesn't pop after a few tries I can guarantee he will
go over and try the passenger door to see if it pops easier - which
won't help you a bit.

You might be able to flim-flam them into coming out and getting the
drivers door open - but when the locksmith figures out what you did
word will get back to your local AAA club, and they're going to bounce
your butt post-haste - after sending you the locksmith bill.

Tell the truth on this one, and save your quota of AAA calls for
when you really need them - they do keep count. (Which will actually
help you if you haven't needed a tow for 10 years or longer, and have
a run of incredibly bad luck.)

What you can do that's honest is get a referral from your AAA to
their local contracted locksmith, and you'll probably pay the lower
labor rate he charges them.

--<< Bruce >>--

(46 year member of Auto Club of Southern California, or so it says
on the card - which would make me a member in utero... Rolled over
from the family membership.)

--
Bruce L. Bergman, Woodland Hills (Los Angeles) CA - Desktop
Electrician for Westend Electric - CA726700
5737 Kanan Rd. #359, Agoura CA 91301 (818) 889-9545
Spamtrapped address: Remove the python and the invalid, and use a net.

You can - sometimes - drop the window down and access the release
mechanisms and linkages with a "slimjim"......or other similar
tool/device......

I've done it with bent coat hangers, welding rod, thin strips of metal,
etc.....

Ease of access and success is totally dependent on - and directly related
to - the size of the slot into which the window disappears......

Another route might be to access the back side of the striker in the door
post. If there is upholstery or an access window in the panel to the rear
of the door opening, you might be able to simply undo the striker itself.

"*" <nospam@this.addy.com> wrote in news:01c62289$5674d8c0$5fa3c3d8@race:
[color=blue]
>
> You can - sometimes - drop the window down and access the release
> mechanisms and linkages with a "slimjim"......or other similar
> tool/device......[/color]

I should let you know that this trick worked!. Thanks!

I bought two different sizes of "slim jim" and jiggled them for more than
30 minutes. Suddenly ... the driver's door just opened like it was never
locked in the first place. Wierd. Maybe it just gave up!

Anyway, the open door actually cleared TWO push/pull type plastic anchors.
One was covered by the dash and another was covered by the b pillar.

Interestingly, there are only three steel screws holding the door panel
onto the door on the 1998 Toyota 4Runner with electric windows & mirror.
Two were under the padded arm rest and one was in the middle of the inside
door handle escutcheon.

There were about six or so plastic anchors in addition to the two push/pull
anchors (the kind with a button in the middle). And there was a single
round clip that I ended up breaking because I didn't know about it.

The door panel, even though it looks like it's two pieces, came off as one
piece, including the speaker cover and the entire power window, lock, and
mirror controls. I had to pry these controls off the door handle before I
could move the door panel more than a foot away from the door. Likewise
with the inside door handle which I had to twist to push through the
cutaway in the door panel before I could move the door panel away from the
door itself.

Even more interestingly, the latch assembly (P/N 69040-35150) has four
different rods attached to it.

Rod #1 goes to the outside door handle (yellow plastic clip)
Rod #2 goes to the outside door lock mechanism (pink plastic clip)
Rod #3 goes to the up/down lock button (white plastic clip)
Rod #4 goes to the inside door unlock handle (yello plastic clip)

The part that broke was the yellow plastic clip that goes onto the outside
door handle. The Toyota dealership says they sell this four dollar part a
few times a week. They say it always breaks. I love my Toyota but after
looking at this clip, and knowing I didn't abuse the door handle, I'd say
it's the first design flaw I've seen in my 1997 Toyota. Not good, but not
bad compared to the other guys.

Anyway, I learned a lot of lessons (I had to take the door panel off three
times because there is a certain sequence which has to be followed) which I
will try to write up so the next Toyota owner can get started sooner.

Thanks for all your help, I'll write up the steps to R&R the door latch
mechanism separately.

Stu

> I don't see how a locksmith will help as I have the key but I do agree[color=blue]
> that I hadn't thought of the slim jim (I picked up two from Kragans)
> which I'll try to squiggle in there to open the door when I have time
> this weekend off from work.[/color]

It turned out what was broken was two things.

The yellow plastic clip on the bar that connected the outside door handle
to the latch mechanism disintegrated so that the bar fell off and was
getting in the way of the window which bent it up in a mess. This is why
the outside door handle was just flapping loosly.

The bar that looped around an inch long knob was all bent up so much that
the loop was opened and the bar fell off. This is why the key wouldn't
work.

I'm not sure why the electric door lock/unlock wouldn't work but I think it
was related to the bar all bent up that looped around the white knob.

I made sure I bought the entire latch assembly (part number 69040-35150)
which came with the latch, the electric lock mechanism, three of the four
bars attached to the lock mechanism (it did not come with the long
horizontal inside door handle bar), and a separate small yellow plastic
clip for the inside door handle bar to connect to.

I had to buy the large yellow plastic clip separately that held the outside
door handle to the latch mechanism (this clip broke and I believe is
seriously flawed so it will break again in the future).

The mechanism came slightly greased but I added a ton more to loosen up the
works. I'm writing this so others can start where I left off.

Stu

Stuart A. Bronstein wrote:[color=blue][color=green]
>> I don't see how a locksmith will help as I have the key but I do
>> agree that I hadn't thought of the slim jim (I picked up two from
>> Kragans) which I'll try to squiggle in there to open the door when I
>> have time this weekend off from work.[/color]
>
> It turned out what was broken was two things.
>
> The yellow plastic clip on the bar that connected the outside door
> handle to the latch mechanism disintegrated so that the bar fell off
> and was getting in the way of the window which bent it up in a mess.
> This is why the outside door handle was just flapping loosly.
>
> The bar that looped around an inch long knob was all bent up so much
> that the loop was opened and the bar fell off. This is why the key
> wouldn't work.
>
> I'm not sure why the electric door lock/unlock wouldn't work but I
> think it was related to the bar all bent up that looped around the
> white knob.
>
> I made sure I bought the entire latch assembly (part number
> 69040-35150) which came with the latch, the electric lock mechanism,
> three of the four bars attached to the lock mechanism (it did not
> come with the long horizontal inside door handle bar), and a separate
> small yellow plastic clip for the inside door handle bar to connect
> to.
>
> I had to buy the large yellow plastic clip separately that held the
> outside door handle to the latch mechanism (this clip broke and I
> believe is seriously flawed so it will break again in the future).
>
> The mechanism came slightly greased but I added a ton more to loosen
> up the works. I'm writing this so others can start where I left off.
>
> Stu[/color]

Thanks for the feedback, we all learn from that. Glad you got it fixed.
davidj92

> Since the truck is 7 years old, it makes sense for me to purchase the[color=blue]
> 4Runner factory shop manual. I thought the Chilton's would do it but I
> hear (from googling) that the Toyota 4Runner Factory Repair Manual is
> the way to go. I will stop by the dealer before the weekend to see if
> they have it in stock.[/color]

Good news and bad news on the $200 dollar Toyota shop manuals.

The good news is that they arrived in less than a week and that the two
repair manuals total about four inches of paper. The electrical wiring
diagram manual is only about 1/4 inch thick, but it's in color.

The bad news is that I read the section on how to remove and replace the
front driver's power door lock and latch assembly (Body - Front Door pages
BO8 to BO10) and if I didn't already know how to do it, I'd be confused.

To be fair, at least I didn't have to figure out which diagram to use like
I did with the Chilton shop manual. But, the writing in this manual looks
like it came from someone who never did the job. For example, step 5 says
"remove the two clips and the two screws". If I didn't already do the job,
I'd never know this is the two push/pull anchors (one near the A pillar and
one near the B pillar) in the door panel and the two screws can only be the
two screws below the velour arm rest as there are only three screws in the
whole door.

The Toyota shop manual does show there are 8 clips to be removed around the
perimeter of the door panel, but it doesn't state that the front most
center most clip is a DIFFERENT type which has to be slid off or it will
break the panel (which is what happened to me).

Nonetheless, I'm glad I received the shop manuals so I can move on to the
next job (brakes).

Thanks again for all your help. I always go to here to look first how to do
a job and I hope this helps the folks who follow us.

Stu

On Tue, 28 Feb 2006 08:22:46 GMT, "Stuart A. Bronstein"
<spamtrap@lexregia.com> wrote:
[color=blue][color=green]
> > Since the truck is 7 years old, it makes sense for me to purchase the
>> 4Runner factory shop manual. I thought the Chilton's would do it but I
>> hear (from googling) that the Toyota 4Runner Factory Repair Manual is
>> the way to go. I will stop by the dealer before the weekend to see if
>> they have it in stock.[/color]
>
>Good news and bad news on the $200 dollar Toyota shop manuals.
>
>The good news is that they arrived in less than a week and that the two
>repair manuals total about four inches of paper. The electrical wiring
>diagram manual is only about 1/4 inch thick, but it's in color.
>
>The bad news is that I read the section on how to remove and replace the
>front driver's power door lock and latch assembly (Body - Front Door pages
>BO8 to BO10) and if I didn't already know how to do it, I'd be confused.[/color]

I agree. The shop manual for my 92 Corolla Wagon leaves a lot to be
desired. It leaves out things that can bite you in the butt, but
overall it is worth the investment.

[color=blue]
>
>To be fair, at least I didn't have to figure out which diagram to use like
>I did with the Chilton shop manual. But, the writing in this manual looks
>like it came from someone who never did the job. For example, step 5 says
>"remove the two clips and the two screws". If I didn't already do the job,
>I'd never know this is the two push/pull anchors (one near the A pillar and
>one near the B pillar) in the door panel and the two screws can only be the
>two screws below the velour arm rest as there are only three screws in the
>whole door.
>
>The Toyota shop manual does show there are 8 clips to be removed around the
>perimeter of the door panel, but it doesn't state that the front most
>center most clip is a DIFFERENT type which has to be slid off or it will
>break the panel (which is what happened to me).
>
>Nonetheless, I'm glad I received the shop manuals so I can move on to the
>next job (brakes).
>
>Thanks again for all your help. I always go to here to look first how to do
>a job and I hope this helps the folks who follow us.
>
>Stu[/color]
--

Scott in Florida