89 TC doors and lights

the rear doors of my 89 Town Car will not open from the outside, but will open from the inside. the car isnt equipped with child lock.

sometimes i can put my weight on the window chrome and pull the handle and it will open, but usually have to reach around to the inside to open it.

anyone have any ideas?


also i have some lights out behind my instrument panel. how do i change these bulbs.

.......the rear doors of my 89 Town Car will not open from the outside, but will open from the inside............
.......also i have some lights out behind my instrument panel. how do i change these bulbs...........

I can't imagine why leaning on the chrome strip would help engage the external door handle however, the only way to find the problem is to remove the door panels and look inside at the latch assembly while pulling the handle. Could be plastic pull-rod retainers have worn out.

99.99 % of Instrument Cluster illumination can only be corrected after removing the Cluster. Most will have replaceable bulbs with removable sockets.

pushing down on the chrome moves the whole door enough for something to catch, appearantly. but it doesnt work all the time.

its something a mechanic told me to do...

i knew there were some plastic parts in there, which is stupid, but oh well

are they easy to replace

well!!! the door is fixed, for now. just needed some WD40 - the worlds greatest compound - i looked inside the door latch and could see the parts move with the outside and inside handle. so i sprayed it with WD and it works perfect now!!

well!!! the door is fixed, for now. just needed some WD40 - the worlds greatest compound - i looked inside the door latch and could see the parts move with the outside and inside handle. so i sprayed it with WD and it works perfect now!!
Penatrating oil works better.WD40 will evaprare