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97 ZJ door latch question

The window on the driver's side front door came off the track, I had it replaced, but afterward the door lock would not work--the inside knob wouldn't move, the key wouldn't move, and the power actuator wouldn't move. Pulled the door panel and found that the rod between the inside knob and the latch was bent enough to prevent movement. Fixed the rod, and the lock works fine with the key and with the inside knob, but the power latch is hit and miss--it makes a noise every time but it doesn't always lock or unlock.

The service manual shows how to remove and replace the latch, but there's no repair procedure beyond that.

Does anybody know of a fix, or do I just toss the latch and get a new one?

Reply to
J. Clarke
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I hate to be the one to say this but you SHOULD have taken it back to the guy thaqt replaced the window, and told him to have it fixed for you.

There is usually a little plastic clip that is attached to the lock actuator. It may be loose or broken (hope not!) Check to see that it's properly connected.

Then...

go black the eye of the guy that messed it up .>:¬D

K.

The service manual shows how to remove and replace the latch, but there's no repair procedure beyond that.

Does anybody know of a fix, or do I just toss the latch and get a new one?

Reply to
Kate

The actuator and the latch are a single casting--any clips involved in the electric lock mechanism would be inside that casting. There are clips on the rods to the inside door release, the outside door release, the lock, and the inside lock button, all of which are in place, but those are all for the mechanical actuation, not the electric actuation.

I suspect that that would be some engineer at Jeep, the one who designed the window so that it would come off the track when the glue let go. I'm pretty sure that the cause of the failure was a rod that got bent by the off-the-track window going up or down. With the rod jammed so that the mechanism couldn't move, it's resonable to expect that something inside the latch mechanism came loose.

Reply to
J. Clarke

Actually, if it is alternating in really hot weather (like south west deserts) and in cold areas (midwest winter or so) eventually the glue lets go. I had that happen to all windows in my previous ZJ. I just glued them back with epoxy (and one time with JB weld (cause I ran out of epoxy) I think the temperature changes, metal expanding, at some point will do that.

btw, a lot of mechanics take shortcuts, also at dealerships even when they are not supposed to. Wouldn't surprise me to see a mechanic try and bend something in your door to get the job done quicker. I have seen mechanics (at a Jeep dealership) use a bottle jacks to stretch the suspension so they could get an oilpan in and out. (even though the shop manual says to NOT do that) It saves them time. (but the customer ends up with a messed up suspension.

Reply to
csdude

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