I replaced the door striker on my 1986 F-150 on the passenger side in the same location as the original. It closed beautifully and solid just like new. Now I can’t open it from either side. Any suggestions on accessing the mechanism in order to open the door. Once open, how do I prevent it from happening again?
Are you sure your child lock override (or whatever they call that button that disables the passenger lock) on your driver’s door isn’t accidentally pressed?
If it isn’t, try a slim Jim. You might want to get an exploded view drawing of the door from the dealer’s parts window to use as a guide. Once you get it open, you’ll need to assess what’s going on visually, and may have to pull the interior panel.
after slim jim Pull the door panel, you can make sure everything is working properly before reassmbleing.
I agree that you should get an exploded view of the inner door works from a dealer.
You may have to trash the inner panel to remove it, but you may be lucky and just have to remove the seat to have room to remove the panel.
Check that lock as @“the same mountainbike” said, you may have locked it by accident.
Yosemite
If all else failed, I’d probably try to drive a few wooden wedges between the door and the door jam, in the lock area, from the inside. That might free it up enough to allow the latch to open the door. Don’t force the issue though, you don’t want to damage the door pillar or bend the hinges.
Child locks just prevent opening the door from the inside, right? The OP said the door won’t open from either side. I don’t think that’s the answer.
Hinges sag over time causing wear on the striker. This changed tension and is why it won’t unlock. Try pushing up on the frame to reduce tension on the striker and unlocking the door.
I agree that lifting on the door may relieve the tension, also pressing the door inward and then operating the latch might release it.