Door latch problems on a 1972 Ford Custom 500

Asked by Morgan Jul 27, 2012 at 08:20 PM about the Ford Galaxie

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

I have a new door I'm putting on the driver side of my car because the one on there has a huge dent in it from getting backed into, and the latch on the replacement door doesn't work on the inside or outside. In short it wouldn't open the door so I was wondering if it would be worth it to try to fix the latch and inner workings or just take the working one out of the door i'm replacing.

3 Answers

14,715

I would just take the good one out and put it in the good door. It should only have 3 large phillips head screws holding it in. Spray them down with some PB Blaster, then stick a big screwdriver in them and tap on the top of the screwdriver with a hammer a few times to jar them loose from the latch first, then use all your muscles and unscrew them. They've been in there for 40 years. Good luck. MrBlueOval

1 people found this helpful.
915

look inside and see what you need to rebuild the new inner workings. chances are the plastic inserts for the latch rods are broken and you can rob them from the dented door. no need to change out the entire assembly unless you see something worse. nice car, by the way.

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