Hello, this is my first post, i look forward to learning more about my new truck on this forum!

I recently bought a 1994 Toyota extended cab pickup. Everything worked when I bought it, but a few weeks later the passenger side door stopped opening. i took the panel off and inspected the door internals. The control rod for the outside door handle had popped out of its hole and the keeper was cracked. thinking I got lucky I reattached it. This did not fix the problem however.

It seems that whenever I open the door from the inside it also lifts the door handle on the outside, which dors not happen on the functioning drivers side door. This causes a lot of play in the mechanism and the door latch will not generate enough travel to engage the door release. I've determined that I can hook up either the inside latch or the outside, but not both. I find this annoying and not something I want to live with, I like for everything to work properly.

What would cause opening the inside latch to also lift the outside latch? I am sure this is my problem.

I have taken the door panel off twice now trying to fix this and I'm not afraid to take it off again, but I'd like to have a plan of attack before I do. I have not removed any of the actual mechanisms but I'm thinking that's probably the next step. I'm not sure how to get them out however.

Thanks for any help!

 

Something is bent, and I can't tell without looking at it.

But YOU can. Just take your functioning driver's side door apart, and compare the two sides.

As you've already figured out, that sheet of plastic covering your door's internals is VERY important to keep water out of the truck. I found, and perhaps you did too, that a heat gun (very gently) softens the black sticky stuff enough to remove the plastic film without tearing it. (The down side is that stuff is REALLY sticky.)

 

Open it up again.
Compare the two doors.
Make sure that keeper is secure. A simple little zip tie and some super glue work perfectly.

Check out the outside door handle as well.

It's just a couple rods and levers in there. Get'er done.