GM Mini-Van Access

A problem I'm sure many of you locksmith technicians have encountered on GM mini van regarding the cam on the latch handle of the rear door. The cam is spot welded to a post. Most of the times, the weld would break and leave the cam hanging in the door connected to the linkage, but will not allow the door to be opened. This problem can be determined by pulling on the outside handle. Once the handle is pulled, you will notice there is no resistance and the handle will not spring back into place. The linkage can be accessed which will open the rear door by doing the following method.

The first step would be to bring a 12" Slim Jim by bending about 3/4" of the tip about 30 degrees. Then, about 8" from the tip, the Slim Jim would need to bent 30 degrees to the other direction. Place an arching bend in the Slim Jim about 4". Now, the Slim Jim would need to be marked 11-12" from the tip. That mark gives you the location of the lock paw. Then another mark would need to be made 16" from the tip. This mark will tell you once you will be in the right area to hook the dangling cam and linkage.

At this point, the door would be ready to be opened by inserting the Slim Jim into the door through the drain hole in the bottom of the door. Now grab the linkage, pull down and open the door. Once the door is opened, you would be able to service the latch and cam can through an access panel on the edge of the door. In order to prevent rubbing the paint off the body of the mini van, a tape can be placed below the door and lubricate both the tape and the Slim Jim. Marking the tape at the center of the drain hole would also be a good idea.

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