door lock problem

the girl friend's got a t-bird and her door driver's side door lock doesnt work. stopped working after triple a came and broke into the car b/c she locked the keys in it. the door lock turns, just nothing happens. she said something rattles in the door when she shuts it. im sure that its the rod for the lock in the door, but ive never worked on a t-bird door before (done it on a saturn). you guys have any input on how to go about fixing this. do i have to take off the door skin or just the interior panel? any hints or tips will be welcome...

You should be able to do it just by taking off the door panel. What year is it?

Just the interior door panel. One screw to remove the trim piece to the a-pillar, one screw at the bottom rear of the panel, and the the whole door panel should slide straight up and off. They more than likely broke the plastic piece that holds the pushrod to the lock mechanism.

did she pay for insurance when they slim jimmed her car? look at her receipt, and if so get an estimate, collect a check then fix it urself.

A lot of companies have a "I'm not at fault if I break something" clause. Not sure about AAA.

no clue as to what year it is

i know what plastic piece you are talking about, what are my options if its is broken?

rick, i like the way you think, but this happened too long ago for any hope of that.

thanks for the help guys

I'd go to the junkyard to get that plastic piece coupe is talkin about.

It would be etter to check that out, than to have to replace locks and keys, etc. on both doors.