Rear Hatch Lock

[olance]

The back lock on my van has died. I've tried WD40 and eveyrthing but it just won't open. The Barrel spins round, sometimes too much but it doesn't release anything, door does not open. I'm guessing a new lock is required. Question is ..... how can I get the existing one out/can you open it from the inside - i tried but couldn't work it out.

A second question - i need to replace the lightbulbs behind the dash and figured you need to unscrew the four screws and pull out - problem with the heater (ha ha) levers being in the way.

Help appreciated!

 

[easy]

Not to sure about the lock, but the dash is simple to sort.

Pull of (carefully!) the coloured rubber heater lever knobs. they maybe stuck on but shouldn`t be.

Sometimes the heater levers can be bent (the ends with pliers to fit through the slots) if the sliders are bolted in. If not they can be just pulled out with a pair of pliers.

If you would rather take the sliders out by unbolting, this is a bit fiddly and you have to be careful as sometimes they are held in with plastic plugs that rarely come out without breaking.

I usually go for the bending the end option as its super quick and is easy to do.

Hope this helps

 

[olance]

my rubber ends have become one with the levers as I found out last night, only to be faced with 90 degree ends - I will try bending them and will have to find something else to go over the ends.

cheers!!!!

 

[easy]

Have you tried pulling the levers straight out with pliers? they may not be secured as most arent and they will pull straight out.

You can see through the slider holes to see if they are sercured or not.

 

[swartie]

i used to have a bit of tring /rope in the back of my van to open the rear hatch. this was because the lock never worked and the only way to open the hatch was by climbing in the back to pull the string.

not sure if it will work if the lock is still locked though. dont see why not, i think there is a lever you have to get your finger in to pull and that will open the hatch.

does this make sence? i hope so trying to go off memory now.

 

[olance]

I haven't tried pulling the things straight out - but they didn't want to budge when I was trying to pull the rubber ends off so I'm assuming they're well and truely stuck there.

And I'll try the hatch lock thing tomorrow when there's a bit of daylight - a bit tricky getting things done during the week in the winter time without a garage.

cheers both!!

 

[Trikky2]

dont understand why you would want to dismantle the dash just to change a bulb?????
You can change them from underneath - never removed a dash to do this simple job - doh !

The rear lock can be released from inside if you remove the trim panel it will give you access to the mechanism.