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Help me remove my driver door latch assembly


Mortimer452

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The bottom two came out fine, but these two screws on the top of the latch assembly just spin freely in both directions.  No amount of prying, pulling, pushing from the back will make them catch and back out.  I'm not sure where to go next, can't drill them out because they just spin with the drill bit.

I managed to get a small pair of vice grips back there and clamp onto the back of the screw, hoping that would hold it steady enough to drill out, but just isn't working.  Any ideas?  Might try a dremel grinding bit and see if that can grind the heads off but trying not to tear up the inside of my door too much.  My other thought was maybe tack welding a phillips bit into the head of the screw and just pulling like hell.

DSC_0451.jpg

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I don't understand what you are saying. Looks to me like the top 2 screws came out fine.

Have you removed the handles and door panel from the door so you can access all that stuff from the inside?

If not,why not?

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28 minutes ago, knuckleharley said:

I don't understand what you are saying. Looks to me like the top 2 screws came out fine.

Have you removed the handles and door panel from the door so you can access all that stuff from the inside?

If not,why not?

The two boogered up screws in the center of the pic are for the door latch assembly, better pic below.  The two removed screws at the top are for the window guide, those came out fine as well.  Yes, door panel, handles, etc are removed, as you can see access to the area behind the latch assembly still isn't great . . .

Sorry for the poor pic quality, makes it look like they're rivets, but they are in fact phillips head screws

DSC_0452.jpg

Edited by Mortimer452
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12 minutes ago, Mortimer452 said:

The two boogered up screws in the center of the pic are for the door latch assembly, better pic below.  The two removed screws at the top are for the window guide, those came out fine as well.  Yes, door panel, handles, etc are removed, as you can see access to the area behind the latch assembly still isn't great . . .

Sorry for the poor pic quality, makes it look like they're rivets, but they are in fact phillips head screws

DSC_0452.jpg

Ok,so use a cut-off wheel to cut a section of the inside door panel away so you can access that area from the rear. You can always weld it back in once the job is done. 

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22 minutes ago, knuckleharley said:

Ok,so use a cut-off wheel to cut a section of the inside door panel away so you can access that area from the rear. You can always weld it back in once the job is done. 

Sounds too easy . . . I think I'd rather cuss at it some more

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41 minutes ago, Mortimer452 said:

Sounds too easy . . . I think I'd rather cuss at it some more

Yeah it sounds brutal, how about tack welding a bit of sheetmetal or something on the outer edge of the screw you can grab with vise grips and drill? I normally use a 1/8 pilot first.

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If you did manage to get them out the plate they screw into will have bad threads if any left in it.  I also suggest you cut out the sheet metal section.

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hold off with the cutting wheel for a bit more....cussing is however a valid option and feel free to let fly the colorful words.   Get you a small prybar like used in carpentry work..the smaller 6 inch unit...slip between the latch and the door metal and lever firmly pulling the latch away from the door and then try to remove the screws..it is obvious they are stripped out and unable to catch any threads....the pressure will hopefully allow you to  catch threads or continue the destruction of the screw threads and eventually give you enough head and body showing to easily cut.  Once latch is out...and if still in good condition itself..you can weld appropriate sized nuts to the backside and rebuilt the unit's integrity..  If this fails you still have the very option of drilling out the screw with a quality machinist centering bit..remember, when drilling do not rev the drill, if variable speed drill keep speed slow, bit lubed, lots of pressure..if not a variable drill, short burst is ten time more effective than a open run..you do not overheat the bit and lose its temper and cutting edge

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3 hours ago, Young Ed said:

cutting open the door seems a little drastic. Do you have the other side of the latch out to see what the inside fastner looks like?

Why? It will be on the inside and covered by the door upholstery when the car is back together,and never seen,and it's simp to weld it back again once the repair is finished.

I've cut them out to get rust out of the bottom of the door so I could clean it and paint it inside,

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2 hours ago, knuckleharley said:

Why? It will be on the inside and covered by the door upholstery when the car is back together,and never seen,and it's simp to weld it back again once the repair is finished.

I've cut them out to get rust out of the bottom of the door so I could clean it and paint it inside,

Those screws just go into a thick spot of the latch. If you pry the latch it should put tension on it enough to drill or get them to unscrew. I think you'd have to cut an awfully large hole in there to get a dremel or something in there and around the window channel. 

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Eureka!  Kept prying from the bottom but just wasn't enough pressure, managed to hammer a long-handled flathead screwdriver in-between the latch and the door panel from the top, this put enough pressure to get the screws to "catch" so I could back them out.

It was an awesome moment . . . but now I'm having trouble getting the door lock cylinder out.  The set screw is a small allen head I think but rusted pretty solid.  Soaked it in some PB I may give it another try here in a few hours.  FYI, these blunt syringes work great for dispensing controlled amounts of PBlaster or any other penetrating lubricant, really helps sometimes squirting into those nooks and crannies

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23 minutes ago, Mortimer452 said:

  FYI, these blunt syringes work great for dispensing controlled amounts of PBlaster or any other penetrating lubricant, really helps sometimes squirting into those nooks and crannies

Thanks for the tip. Just ordered them.

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Removing the lock cylinder is really kicking my butt.  The set screw is rusted solid, soaked it with PBlaster regularly for a couple days, still wouldn't budge, tried drilling out the set screw but it must be hardened, even tried a brand new cobalt bit, I just can't get through it.

Tried knocking it from the back to get it to pop out, no luck there either.  I pried a bit with some pliers and screwdriver from the door side and it's wobbley but just won't come out.

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On 4/21/2017 at 3:43 PM, knuckleharley said:

Why? It will be on the inside and covered by the door upholstery when the car is back together,and never seen,and it's simp to weld it back again once the repair is finished.

I've cut them out to get rust out of the bottom of the door so I could clean it and paint it inside,

You could also use a holesaw for access and just leave it. Paint the edges and it will look like it belongs and cover with the door card.

 

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I have always just heated these a couple times cherry red before even trying to back them out...while not a wise idea for a freshly painted door assembly, it is just too easy to do when first working the panel.  I also do not recommend a large tip when heating...in this case a 00 would be more than fine...a 0 tip could work also..just adust to a small neutral flame...this may not be or any use to you now that you have destroyed the end of the screw...a bit of info after the fact is not much help I know.

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1 minute ago, Plymouthy Adams said:

I have always just heated these a couple times cherry red before even trying to back them out...while not a wise idea for a freshly painted door assembly, it is just too easy to do when first working the panel.  I also do not recommend a large tip when heating...in this case a 00 would be more than fine...a 0 tip could work also..just adust to a small neutral flame...this may not be or any use to you now that you have destroyed the end of the screw...a bit of info after the fact is not much help I know.

Thanks, I thought about trying some heat but couldn't bring myself to do anything that might damage the finish on this door, trying my best here not to do that.

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1 hour ago, BigDaddyO said:

You could also use a holesaw for access and just leave it. Paint the edges and it will look like it belongs and cover with the door card.

 

I agree. I honestly don't see why it's a big deal. It's not like it would be a cosmetic flaw or affect the structural strength.

I'm done slicing my forearms,wrists,and hands on inner door access holes. Cut a straight line from one access hole to another and you get all that room to work and welding it back is no big deal.

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3 hours ago, Plymouthy Adams said:

almost as easy as repairing the cross member on the frame isn't it

???????

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Finally got the lock cylinder out.  The RescueBit saved me once again.  I'm stuck now with a pretty wallowed-out hole where the lock cylinder set screw used to be.  Hopefully I can round it out and there will be enough left to tap it.

Not sure if any of  you have heard of this little tool, but it's pretty handy to have occasionally:  https://www.theoriginalrescuebit.com/

I discovered this by chance years ago when I had a allen-head bolt strip that was down inside a recessed cavity, nothing I tried worked, and ended up breaking a screw extractor inside the bolt head.  Due to the recess it was really, really hard to reach.  Found this product, claims it can chew through hardened steel easy-outs like they're made of aluminum, if you've ever busted an easy-out or snapped off a tap you know how big of a PITA that can be.  Decided to try it, and man does it work.

Ordered one, the owner of the company called and asked if I would like to come pick up, turns out he lives less than 5 miles from my house!  Had a good chat with him.  The bit is made from solid tungsten carbide.  You can use it in a drill, but really works best at high speed with a die grinder or dremel.  I haven't tried it, but he claims it can cut glass, ceramic and even stone like marble.  Video here is a little gimicky, but pretty slick:  

 

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