[Vwdiesel] Help with rear doors....progress report

[Doyt W. Echelberger]

Thanks to Hagar's encouragement and Miser's coat hanger approach.....trying 
all suggestions.

Both rear doors are still shut, unable to open with either inside or 
outside door handles.

Got the driver-side rear door panel loose enough to shine flashlight 
through small openings in steel inner panel.  The upper section of the back 
seat prevents me from totally removing the inner panel. But, with what I 
did loosen up, I can visualize part of latch and see some levers, 
apparently operated by the levers of the outside door handle. Can't move 
the levers with a screwdriver....very difficult to get a purchase on the 
one that is probably part of the latch.

Through the small opening farthest to the rear, I sprayed penetrating oil 
all over the inside of the latch mechanism and its levers.

 From outside the car, laying on the ground and peering up at the latch 
mechanism through the crevice between the closed door and the body, I can 
see the lower edge of the latch mechanism AND I can see the lever that 
operates the child lock. I sprayed penetrating oil on what I could 
see.  I'm trying to move the lever of the child lock (through the crevice) 
using a long thin flatblade screwdriver. No luck so far. I'll let it sit 
overnight.

Looking at the rear door latch mechanism on my 84 Rabbit D in the side 
yard, I can see the child lock lever consists of a bar with a pivot in the 
middle.  If I pivot the inside lever-bar forward, the child lock engages 
and I can't open the rear door with the inside door-opening handle.

That means the OUTSIDE end of the lever-bar of the child lock SHOULD point 
as far forward as possible if I want the child lock to be disengaged.

So, tomorrow I'm going out and lay down in the driveway. I'm going to try 
to get control of that child lock lever through the crevice between the 
door and the body. I'll work at pivoting the bar forward and backward.  So 
far, I haven't been able to move it either way. Maybe the penetrating oil 
will change that.

End of progress report.  I am STILL INTERESTED in any and all ideas about 
how to get either rear door open. A pessimistic possibility is that I will 
have to take the rear doors off in some way and replace the entire locking 
mechanism..... or drive around as a two seater with a REALLY BIG padded 
multi-level shelf behind the front seats.
Perhaps we can practice Yoga and learn to get in and out of the back seat 
by folding ourselves around the seat backs and  flipping our legs over the 
headrests. Whatever it takes....we keep on dieseling.

Doyt