Door Stuck Shut

[KAYRONDAD]

Okay Festy Folk, here's my issue. I went to my car at 4 AM some time ago to go to work, the door opened but then would not shut. I waited till daylight, too dthe door latch assembly apart and still it would not work. Had to go to work so I said, "screw it" and threw a couple welds on the door and for the past several months have climbed in and out thru the window.
I now have a replacement door so I cut my welds but now the door "magically" is latched and I cannot open it. All the hardwar from the exterior and intrior handles are gone, the lock is gone and there is nothing in there but the latch mechanism itself.
Is there a way to "pop" the latch from inside the door? What exactly do i need to do it and HOW?!

[Brayy]

got a spare door sitting around ?
if so just keep kicking the crap through it till it opens then replace , or angle grind the latch off and then replace the latch.. cant cost anymore than $2 for a latch out of a JY

[htchbck]

If the rod that goes to the handle is still in there, you can push it down and it should open, provided the door is unlocked. If the lock rod is still there, pull up on that to unlock, then push the latch rod down. If the rods are gone, I guess maybe you could take off the interior door panel and do the best you can to reach in there and trigger the latch from the inside.

[Banana Bonanza]

Mine did the same, I simply unhooked all the linkages unscrewed the attachment bolts, removed the latch and soaked it in ATF overnight. Wiped it down a bit so ATF wasnt dripping everywhere, reinstalled it and it worked fine. To ruin a door cause the latch is gunked up from 20+ years without being lubed seems bit excessive. Now I will say the Festiva latch for some reason has mucho plastic in it. So if any of plastic is broken or missing, you really do need to find another latch.

Around here there are NO Festivas in junkyards, they crush them when they come in the gate. I really need a new windshield and dang if I'm giving more than $50 for it, but you cant find them cause there are no Festivas in the junkyards and some yards refuse to sell glass due to liability reasons.

[festivaWES]

You should be able to take the door card (panel) off and reach through the inside of the door to manually unlock and open it..

Mine did the same, I simply unhooked all the linkages unscrewed the attachment bolts, removed the latch and soaked it in ATF overnight. Wiped it down a bit so ATF wasnt dripping everywhere, reinstalled it and it worked fine. To ruin a door cause the latch is gunked up from 20+ years without being lubed seems bit excessive. Now I will say the Festiva latch for some reason has mucho plastic in it. So if any of plastic is broken or missing, you really do need to find another latch.

Around here there are NO Festivas in junkyards, they crush them when they come in the gate. I really need a new windshield and dang if I'm giving more than $50 for it, but you cant find them cause there are no Festivas in the junkyards and some yards refuse to sell glass due to liability reasons.

New festiva windshield can still be ordered through your local glass shop. Just ask for a carry-out price on a FW544. Don't go to a windshield shop, go to a warehouse.

55-80 bucks depending on where you live, and primerless eurathane is about 5 dollars a tube.... essex 418 or 428.