Door stuck, check strap locked up!
 

Hey guys, I have a 1984 300d (140k) my back door today on the pass side locked up on me. Ok so the check strap might be broken or seized. How do I get to this part? Any one dealt with this?

Yep. That happened to me a couple of years ago. One of my earliest forays into the world of fixing stuff on my W123. I don't remember the exact details but do remember that you have to take the inner lining off of the door. It is attached with clips. You will first have to remove any hardware, then slip a blade, like a putty knife between the covering and the metal.

Before you start to mess with it, look in the DIY section for a detailed description. I would be surprised if there is not one there, as this is a common problem.

I tried to take apart, grease, and reassemble my door check bit without some kind of jig, it is near impossible to get it back together. And they are cheap enough that it is hardly worth the time. Order one and have it in hand before you start the job. You may want to take the door liner off and get some oil or grease in there so the door is operable, but once it ceases up, it is an indication of rust or corrosion and it is best to replace it. I believe it is held in place simply by two bolts.

You can pull the check strap and use the door without one until the new one arrives from Fastlane at the top of this page. I took tried to disassemble and repair one. Disassembly is easy. I'd like to meet the guy who can reassemble one.

The check strap can be accessed by removing the inner door panel and if I remember correctly, the check strap has 2 or 3 bolts holding it in place. The strap itself (not the body of the strap) is connected to the pillar with a pin that has a retaining clip on the bottom. Once you remove the retaining clip, take a small screwdriver and drive it up out of the hole. If you have never removed one of the inner door panels, I would suggest searching for a thread with some pics. It is not a difficult job by any means, but it does require patience, and messing up the panel will cost your wallet alot. Buy the cheap auto trim tools from harbor frieght and use the widest one possible to pry the plastic pins out of their holes. Another note, have some 3M spray adhesive to reattach the moisture barrier once you are done working inside the door panel. Take your time, and it is no big deal.

As I mentioned above, I tried to reassemble mine, using a C-clamp. I was soooooooo close and then the steel ball went flying across the garage, launched by the spring in the door check. It came close to hitting a window on my car and that's when I threw in the towel.

Yeah, I tried too. There's a lot of energy in that spring.
After flinging steel balls around my basement for an hour or so, I decided it was more likely that I would end up with one of them embedded in my brain before I got the door check back together.

I had that happen once when I came home at 10:30 at night from school while it was snowing. I opened my rear door to grab my stuff, went to close it, and "pop", jammed....couldn't close the door! So I grabbed my dremel, cut the strap in half, removed the piece from the pillar (pulled the pin) and folded the stub into the door and shut it. I replaced it later that week. I was just glad it happened at home and not at school! :eek:

Hey thanks alot everyone! I figured as much that a replacement would be in order. So I'm guessing that this is an expected break on a25 year old car. Thankfully we own the most reliable cars on the road and parts are cheap (if willing to do the work).

I highly recommend - click "Buy Parts" above....