Hi all --

I just bought an '83 Suburban, and the barn doors won't open. Pushing the button does nothing.

Because the doors are closed, I can't get the interior panels all the way off. Through one access hole, I can see the mechanism; there's a flat plate that tips fore and aft, with rods going to (I assume) the upper and lower latches. The rod to the lower is detached, but I don't know if this is the cause or a result of my problem.

I can slide the plate up and down and rotate it on its axis, but not enough to get the door latches to open -- don't know if that's because it's jammed or my dainty little fingers just aren't strong enough.

I can see a bit of the latch at the top of the door, the lower one is difficult to get to.

Any trick to opening the doors without a working handle? I'm hoping that if I can get them open, I can get better access to the mechanism to change or fix it.

TIA
Aaron

 

Welcome to the forum.

Might check w/ a body shop.

 

pull the panel on the back doors and check the button with the cable and the rod see if they fell off. i think it would be the bushing that broke and the rod fell off. there like 9 phillips screws on the panel with the door that has the button on the outside.