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door wont open from outside

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Old 08-15-2011, 06:58 PM
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my xj will open from the inside but not the out side i bought a new handle does any one know how to take the old one out?i know there is 2 nuts i got one but the othere one is behind the latch how do i take that out?
Old 08-15-2011, 07:08 PM
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On the door edge you will see 3 torx screws. Remove those and the latch drops out of the way. Then there is a round plug just above the latch, remove that and you can access the other nut
Old 08-15-2011, 07:12 PM
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k thanks how do i unhook the plastic things hooked to the rods? lol
Old 08-15-2011, 10:29 PM
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They just clip to the rods. All you have to do is look at them and you will se that one side is open so just pull it off the rods.
There is a possible chance that you don't need to replace the handle at all. I've had the same problem where a door opens from the inside but not from outside. There is a way to adjust the handle.
Open the nonworking door and look for a small lozenge shaped plastic plug (marked "A" on the pic) on the edge of the door just by the latch. Carefully pry out the plug and if you look inside the hole you will see an allen head bolt (5/32), loosen it and with the allen wrench still inside the bolt head pull upward along the slotted hole and tighten the bolt (marked "B" on the pic) Now before you replace the plastic plug, close the door and see if your adjustment worked. Sometimes you have to play with it a bit and it wouldn't hurt to spray some WD 40 in there before hand.
Attached Thumbnails door wont open from outside-image-3237183083.jpg  
Old 08-15-2011, 10:32 PM
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My dad's old '95 had this exact same problem
Old 08-28-2011, 10:09 AM
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k i did that and put new handle on and worked great then i locked the door and i cont open it at all i have the door panel off help please
Old 08-28-2011, 10:54 AM
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look in the door and inspect the lock rods and see if they have popped out of there clips or anything, try unlock it from inside the door maybe.
Old 08-28-2011, 10:58 AM
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also check to make sure any of the rods arent partially engaged( like the one on the handle you just replaced) if they are partially pushed down sometimes it wont allow the latch to unlock, also as stated before be sure to soak the latch down with a good penetrating oil.
Old 02-18-2012, 12:37 PM
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Rudy, Thank you so much for your directions on how to adjust my door latch! It took about 5 minutes are works great know. You saved me having to tear the door apart and finding out for myself!
Old 08-06-2012, 04:41 PM
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Thanks! It worked!
Old 08-06-2012, 05:54 PM
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Awesome, I was just looking around the recent posts and decided to give this a try. Problem solved.
I did it to all the doors just to tighten things up, took all of 10 mins. Thanks rudy!
Now just gotta get the power locks working
Old 05-22-2013, 07:25 AM
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Originally Posted by Rudy
They just clip to the rods. All you have to do is look at them and you will se that one side is open so just pull it off the rods.
There is a possible chance that you don't need to replace the handle at all. I've had the same problem where a door opens from the inside but not from outside. There is a way to adjust the handle.
Open the nonworking door and look for a small lozenge shaped plastic plug (marked "A" on the pic) on the edge of the door just by the latch. Carefully pry out the plug and if you look inside the hole you will see an allen head bolt (5/32), loosen it and with the allen wrench still inside the bolt head pull upward along the slotted hole and tighten the bolt (marked "B" on the pic) Now before you replace the plastic plug, close the door and see if your adjustment worked. Sometimes you have to play with it a bit and it wouldn't hurt to spray some WD 40 in there before hand.

This was great! Worked like a charm! Thanks buddy!!
Old 08-24-2018, 01:00 AM
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Yay! It's no longer a strain to open my back door! Thanks guys
Old 11-20-2022, 12:47 PM
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Originally Posted by Rudy
They just clip to the rods. All you have to do is look at them and you will se that one side is open so just pull it off the rods.
There is a possible chance that you don't need to replace the handle at all. I've had the same problem where a door opens from the inside but not from outside. There is a way to adjust the handle.
Open the nonworking door and look for a small lozenge shaped plastic plug (marked "A" on the pic) on the edge of the door just by the latch. Carefully pry out the plug and if you look inside the hole you will see an allen head bolt (5/32), loosen it and with the allen wrench still inside the bolt head pull upward along the slotted hole and tighten the bolt (marked "B" on the pic) Now before you replace the plastic plug, close the door and see if your adjustment worked. Sometimes you have to play with it a bit and it wouldn't hurt to spray some WD 40 in there before hand.
this doesn’t make sense, I pulled the plug A off and looked inside, did not see a Allen head bolt, however I do see one in the B hole.
Old 11-20-2022, 01:03 PM
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Originally Posted by Rudy
They just clip to the rods. All you have to do is look at them and you will se that one side is open so just pull it off the rods.
There is a possible chance that you don't need to replace the handle at all. I've had the same problem where a door opens from the inside but not from outside. There is a way to adjust the handle.
Open the nonworking door and look for a small lozenge shaped plastic plug (marked "A" on the pic) on the edge of the door just by the latch. Carefully pry out the plug and if you look inside the hole you will see an allen head bolt (5/32), loosen it and with the allen wrench still inside the bolt head pull upward along the slotted hole and tighten the bolt (marked "B" on the pic) Now before you replace the plastic plug, close the door and see if your adjustment worked. Sometimes you have to play with it a bit and it wouldn't hurt to spray some WD 40 in there before hand.
I figured it out! Thanks took less than 2 minutes
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