I have read on here of kicking them hard from the inside, alot of wd-40 and what not, Ive been spraying mine for about 3 weeks now, kicking, prying and everything, on one side the bottom releases but not enough to let it open, on the other it does nothing. Anyone got any better ideas? I thought that maybe if I got a bottle jack and 2 pieces of 4x4, I could put a piece of wood on each door right above the lock and put the bottle jack in the middle and use that to pry them open, think it ill work?

 

This is the first time I have heard of this. Sounds like your door latch cables are broken. Maybe try to sneak a peek between the door panel and door and see what is going on in there before bringing out the bottle jack.

 

nah pretty notorious actually... my buddys just bought a 99 qcsb, and the drivers rear door wont open. top latch releases, but bottom latch wont budge. grab some mopar rust penetrant from the dealer and spray the latch down good from inside the door. it will come free eventually.

 

my top releases but the bottom wont, the pass. side starts too and I can wiggle it but wont release all the way, its very irritating. lol

 

I just got done fixing one of my 2001's rear doors (driver side). It is likely the bottom latch that is frozen up (they are notorious for this), but there's a chance that one or both of the metal rods popped off the handle in the door jamb. You can remove the door handle enough to at least see if the rods are still in their little clippie brackets or not.

Getting my lower latch to release required about 2 hours of kicking with all my might (which after 2 hours, it was more of a "maybe" than a "might"!).

To be able to lube it the best, you need to pull off the interior door panel and be able to spray lube right into the top of the assembly where the little arm goes in. And you will need a straw on your can of lube to be able to spray in through a couple tiny holes in the latch assemby as visible through the slit/gap in the seam between the bottom door edge and rocker panel. Something better than WD-40 is likely in order. WD-40 tends to try up. With the door panel off, you can also spray the 3 nuts that hold the latch assembly in place to help them come off easier once you actually get the door(s) open.

Kicking the ever loving $**t out of the door (with door panel removed) was the only way for me to get the door open. I did it by myself too. People have recommended using two people to do this--one to hold the door handle open, while the second person does the kicking. But I was kicking hard enough that I envisioned the second person flying backwards once the door did decide to open. I simply found something to wedge in the door jamb door handle to keep it "open." Luckily, the door did not fly open as hard as I was expecting (partially because by that point, my legs were tired!).

I had also tried removing the 3 nuts on the lower latch and trying to bash the door open, but that didn't work either. The bolts are too long and won't "give" enough to get the door open but leave the latch behind.

 

I could tell I was making some progress because the bottom latch initially wouldn't give or budge at all, and finally after 2 hours of kicking, it finally started to wiggle a little bit. It also helped to SHUT the door completely again, spray the latch again, and kick open again. Closing the door to re-lock the bottom latch helps work the latch back and forth. Once you do finally bust it open, that lower latch will likely be so rusty you won't want to re-use it anyway. I bought used ones off eBay. I was not going to pay $90 a piece at the stealership. Even online, the latches were $67 plus shipping. Then once you get new/used latches installed, just make it a habit to lube them once and a while. I soaked my eBay latches in heavy weight gear old before installing them (they worked great even before soaking). Then once installed, I "maintain" them with stuff called "Fluid Film" (which I also use for general rust prevention on the undercarriage). WD-40 is too thin and useless for this job.

 

The fix for mine was drilling out the pivot ring to fit properly. It was backing out every time you opened the suicide door until it wouldn't lift the bottom door latch.

 

After months of not being able to open my driver's side rear door on my 2002 ram, I finally started disassembling the door to see what the problem was.

Discovered that the arms were still attached and being operated by the handle - removed that to operate them manually. As before, the top unlatched but nothing - or at least it seemed like nothing from the bottom - may be slightly loose.

So, after working to take apart the interior door panel to get more access to the inner workings . . . I figured I'd see if anyone else had run across this problem.

Thanks for posting about your experiences, now I know I'm on the right track (even down to the attempted kicking the s**t out of the darn thing - to no avail so far).

So, now I'll pull the interior panel, get some chemical help, and proceed with the kicking :-) Wish me luck!

 

Just opened my rear door tonight. 1999 1500 Ram rear door has been stuck for months.
Heard about the kicking routine. Had disassembled the handle and released the top latch by pulling the rod. Bottom rod felt stuck so used vice grips and levered my pull against the sheet metal narrow edge.
Had tried this all 6 months ago with no success using the kick routine.


Today had already prepared the 20lb sledge because I'd had enough frustration, so without removing the inner panel I put a stout piece of fir block (3x8x12" long). Took first controlled swing and nothing really moved. Repositioned block and released top latch again, swung harder (16-20" swing)..... Minor MOVEMENT. Repeated with my foot holding block secure against panel and door swung open.

 

Make sure to lube everything up good, and make sure it can move freely before closing the door again.