Unlocking & Door Card removal advice (B4 Coupe)

[msh]

Originally Posted by RichardV

I was faced with the same issue on a 1993 Audi 80 B4. Driver's door lock had jammed in locked position. Not possible to remove the door card without damaging it, when the door is shut!
Multiple discussions with auto-locksmiths were all along the lines of "We don't do old mechanical stuff nowadays! Rip the door card out."
I found that if I opened the rear door on the drivers side, I could see, and get a hacksaw blade onto, the striker pin. It would have been a long job to saw through it by hand but after much taping around the area to prevent paint damage, a cheap electric reciprocating saw from B&Q made short work of it.
With the door open, I was able to remove the lock and found that the original problem was caused by a broken spring in the lock itself, so in my case, getting the door card out would still not have got me the door open anyway.
Striker pins are readily available and it was easy to source a replacement but I'd make sure you have the replacement in hand before you proceed.

Sometimes one also has to think if non-standard tools might help. I had rear passenger door of my mk2 golf stuck for half a year [corrosion in door lock], so I had to make myself screwdriver about 6-7 mm long [suitable PH2 bit welded to small piece of metal, then unneeded metal cut off] to undo four bolts at the sides of door card to remove it - it took some effort but was successful, allowing me to spray WD40 in lock which, after some wiggling, opened.