Greetings, again. 1985 XJ6
I'm trying to remove my rear door panel to fix the door latching/locking mechanism. I can get the armrest off but I think I need the ashtray out to remove the door panel. Do I force the whole ashtray unit out or take out just the tray or is there a trick to it?
Thanks!

 

No one can help me get the rear door panel off my 85 XJ?

 

what problem are you having with the door lock?

is it not opening or locking with the outside front door key?

try this before removing the door panel:

remove the door Latch, 4 phillips screws, do not worry about anything falling off, nothing will, the latch nuts are welded inside the door so it can only go back one way and it self-aligns.

Then spray WD4O at the mechanisms and rods through the hole where the Latch lives, at the same time exercising the rear door lock. Spray it good. WD40 does no harm and it dries out by itself protecting everything inside the door.

reinstall the Latch and try to lock / unlock.

 

 

Thanks! The door wont open from the outside and from the inside you have to push and hold the lock lever forward to open the door.
Actually I did take apart the latching mechanism and spray it with WD40 but it didn't help.
It's going to take a lot of force to get the ashtray door off or I'm doing it wrong.

 

Open the ash tray.
Push down with some force.

This boggled me at first as well. Most trays are held in from the top with the tab thingy. Think of these as having that tab on the bottom/under the tray, hence push down on the entire tray to remove.

Unless yours is different from mine...wouldn't be the first time.

 

yes they are a pain to remove but they do come off without excessive force. Use both a squeeze on the sides and pushing it down. They are spring loaded.

 

Oops. Leave the ashtray closed!

 

I had a door do that once, your actuator rods might be out of adjustment.
Here's a picture of the latch adjustment rods in a Series 2, right front door, but I think they're all similar.
One rod is for the inside latch, the other works the lock. And there's a Lot of monkey motion involved in both.

Once you get the door liner off you'll see which rod is binding.
Find which one works the lock and adjust it to fully open the lock.
Generously applied WD-40 to the lock mechanism itself works wonders on all those joints and pivots as previously mentioned.
(';')

 

Thanks, I got the ashtray out with a push downward. Fiddled with the locking mechanism with no luck though. Lots of WD-40 and playing with the length adjustment on the rod. It is still the same. I have to push the lock lever forward a tad to open the door and the lock lever doesn't snap nicely from side to side like it should. Something may be broken.

 

Nick,
The lock rod is connected to an over-center thingy back by the latch, which has a spring to help it over the center.
That spring could be missing, bent of broken because there should Definitely be an over center point you can feel;
clunk, clunk.
(';')

 

my questions:
Is the solenoid actuating in and out when the driver's door master is moved to lock/unlock?

have you lubricated the door Latch itself with a good dose of WD40?

eliminating those two will reduce the troubleshooting to the rods.