98 Dodge ram door hinge locked

[shanegreen]

my extended cab rear doors will not open. i tried taking the handle off to see if the rods were still hooked, and they are but the bottom latch on both sides is locked in. how can i fix this?

[Chris Stewart]

Seems I read something about those a coupla years ago. They need to be spray lubed every once in a while I think.
I have to push mine closed while pulling the lever to get the driver's side open, I guess I better spray mine before it gets stuck.

[Chris Stewart]

Well I looked at my drivers side closer because it's getting hard to open. There's a "wobble plate" with a bolt through it which mounts on the handle mechanism and the bolt that holds it on was loose, letting it slip off the shoulder and requiring extra handle movement to actuate the rods/latches. I tightened the little bolt and the system corrected.
When I snugged the bolt and pulled the door handle, the bolt backed out just enough for clearance so I smeared just a tiny bit of Permatex non-hardening on the threads and screwed it back in place so when it backs off the 1/4 turn or so, it won't back off any more through time.