On my '84 XJS the passenger door handle operation was 'mushy', and now it won't open anymore! I want to remove the door panel to inspect/fix the door, but but how do I remove the door panel on a closed door? The driver side door has a chrome plate on the upper front part of the panel, and that is not accessible when the door is closed. Do those screws have to be removed in order to open the door?

Need advice on how to fix a passenger door that won't open.

 

The only non-destructive thing to do is as follows

1. remove rear seat bottom by undoing the two small nuts below the front bottom each side.
2. Undo the back of the seat, two screws at te bottom, and jerk it upwards to free the top from their fixing loops
3. remove the front seatbelt runner from the B post
4. pull cover off the coat hook on the B post and undo screw
5. remove B post cover
6. undo screw holding the rear armrest to the body at the rear top of the trim, by the end of the side window, and any other screw you see that end
7. joggle upwards the armrest and its integral speaker and swing it outwards pivoting on the front leather trim that is still attached to the B pillar
8. you can now see through a hole in the rear of the B pillar the pointy ends of the two screws that hold the chrome door closing panel and its loop. These have square-ish pointy ends that can be gripped
9. With a long pair of pliers, small self locking wrench etc etc, you can undo these (anticlockwise from this aspect).
10. then the door, and the lock and the chrome piece will swing open!

This really works and is not that hard to do. Someone on here a few years ago had exactly this problem, and tried this as a last resort, and it worked.
Greg

 

Thanks! That's very smart!