sable

My 92 F150 was unlucky enough to be burned in a house fire. The whole driver's side is charred. Now I can't open the driver's side door, the button on the outside handle is melted and the spring is shot. The inside handle was broken before the fire. Can anyone suggest how I might repair the handle (or replace the door) if I can't get it open? The door panel is also badly melted at the top.

redknight1

get some power tools and maybe a crow bar and pry the some bitch open so you can unbolt it and replace it

memoniz

Go in the passenger side, pull the door panel off, and then work the handle mechanism. From there, that's up to you.

Chris_1

iTrader: (1)

If you're going to replace the door, take a crowbar to the door handle and see if you can gently pry it off the door. A piece of wood under the crowbar will help.
Be ready to catch the little metal rod to pull it.
Or use the crowbar to bend the door panel and inner door skin out of the way so you can reach in and grab it.

fltdriver

This may take longer but is the best way to open it, here is a video on how to replace the latch mechanism, you can use it to know what to pull to unlatch the striker.

Chris_1

iTrader: (1)

This ^^^ is probably the best idea. Door panel's melted anyway. Rip it off in pieces and reach inside and open the door.

dixie460

Y'all are no fun...

I say drill a 3/4" hole anywhere in the door... go to Home Depot and get the "Demolition And Rescue" blade for your sawzall... stick in in the hole you drilled and saw the door open.

fltdriver

^On that note you could get a hold of the local fire and rescue and see if they wanted to use your door for "jaws of life" practice.

sable

Thanks for all of your suggestions and advice.



This is actually looking like the best option at the moment. I don't claim to be any kind of mechanic, but i'm stuck with trying to fix the truck myself. While the actual door is ok, the panel, the window, the seals etc. are literally toast. Replacing the whole door seems to be the simplest plan. I got the panel off by breaking pieces off (it melted up and over the door, down inside it since the fire broke the window out), no amount of pulling on the rod has worked so far but i'll keep playing around with it.

fltdriver

Make sure the door is unlocked, pulling the handle from the inside unlocks the door as well as pulls the release rod for the striker clasp but I would assume that in order for the striker clasp to release the door needs to be unlocked and just pulling the release rod won't unlock the door the way the interior handle does. I haven't torn into the door to verify this but it's the first thought that comes to mind.