I just bought a 1999 Ranger XLT with the 4-door extended cab and the back two doors are jammed shut. Has this happened to anyone else before?
The truck hasn't been in a wreck, so the cab isn't tweaked. If I need to cut the door latches at the top and bottom what would be the best way to do this?
(I thought I would post this thread before I completely loose my patience and cut them out with my reciprocating saw)

Thanks,

Brian

 

Check to make sure both ot the cables are being pulled by the latch in the door frame. one of them bounced loose on my old truck and the door would not open.

 

Defiantly check the cables number one. when you pull the handle, does it have some resistance? if not, take that sucker apart and pull the cable, it should release it. either way your going to have to take the door panel off. you should find out the problem then.

 

I'm sooo hoping that you actually bought a 2door ranger and this will be entertaining.

 

LOL ... It's definitely a 4-door extended cab.
I finally got the doors open with some PB Blaster and a come a long winch. I don't think the previous owner ever opened the doors before and salt got up in the latches too.
The latches were pretty much welded to the strike plates aka strickers.
BTW, If you ever need to remove the latches that are bolted to the floor of the cab, just plan on those Torx bolts stripping out or breaking off.

 

Can you believe this sh**?
Thank God for PB Blaster
Do people not know how to wash the salt off of their trucks?

 

That's intense! Lol.

 

mmm the salt does wonders

 

dude!!

 

WOW

 

If you think that's intense, you should have seen me trying to get the things open ... lol

 

I can only imagine.. I'd be frustrated lol.

 

Yeah, I'd like a nickel for every vehicle that salt has destroyed up North.
Wouldn't sand work just as good?

 

sand would work just as good. But sone is making money here. So we use salt. That rust is intense. I literally said "oh my lord" when I saw it

 

sand would work great but there is a salt mine under my city. i agree with alex, politics and money is the reason they still use salt in this area. further up north where cities are more inland they use sand. i've got an uncle near guelph and i think he said they banned salt use on the roads since they don't have a lake to get their drinking water from. the run off just goes into the ground or something like that.

that sucks that they rusted that bad.

 

Wirelessly posted (Blackberry 8530)

Wow that\'s serious. Maybe the guy never used them, but smart maintenance would have been to at least open them once in a while, keep the latch greased, and inspect the catches.

 

looks like those STD pictures we had to look at in health class

 

Wirelessly posted (Blackberry 8530)

LMAO

 

X2 ... They could have atleast opened them up once a month and sprayed some rust inhibitor on them.
When I got back from Weirdtown, WV ... my black Ranger was almost white. I got that sh** off real fast.

 

Yeah, It sure does ... What can you do for a Ranger with a STD?

 

god damn haha mine look new and its 12 years old

 

Hey dude. Just bought a 2001 XLT that had stuck doors too. It was from a Ford dealer lot and they said 'we think the owner disabled the doors'. Right. An hour and one can of PB Blaster later they are open. Not rusted on the sill, just frozen up in the latch. All freed up now and working.

 

Had the same problem with an 01 I picked up. PB Blaster is a wonder. Not as rotten as yours though, I was able to lube up the latches and get it all working.

 

I have the exact same issue as you did. I have taken the inside panel off and have sprayed the latch mech. with multiple different solvents with no luck. Its not that i cant get latch to open the cable and the piece it moves are already in the open position. the top latch is open and works fine its just the bottom latch. Was this the same for when you did your rear doors? if so should i just use pb blaster and pull on the doors and again if so where did you put the winch so that it didn't bend the door?

 

the 98 (2nd of 3 rangers) i had was almost as bad. i just let it soak in PB and then put all the force i had into pulling the ******* thing open. I went flying back when it finally budged but it opened lol