Freelander 1 Remove tailgate lock with door shut?

Hi
My 5 door tailgate door has been a bit 'temperamental' opening for years but always opened
Now it doesn't
The window drops the 17 mm and the lock makes a clunk-click noise, but it doesn't open (even with me inside putting the boot in as someone tries from the outside)
I took off the inside panel (4 screws at the bottom at the latch end of the door, then pop off sides and bottom and lift up and off)
But now I want to open the door / take out the latch mechanism
It appears from here that its not possible to remove the latch with the door shut - is this true or does anyone know how to do it?
Otherwise - how to open the door (I guess I can run 12V to the solenoid, but if the solenoid is not working .....)
I cant work it out from the below:
Cheers
https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/freelander-rear-door-lock-wont-open.74063/
https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/tailgate-wont-open.21787/
https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/tailgate-stuck-shut-cant-open-at-all.295023/#post-3666415
https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/rear-door-may-not-open-one-day.307736/
https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/tailgate-handle-problem.88747/#post-895688

EDIT: Is it something to do with 3 in the below? I suspect not - it seems that I need the door open to remove screws (2.)?

If you have the inner tailgate panel off, simply pop the solenoid upwards. There is a rod connected to the round eye on the bottom of the solenoid in your photo above. Item 7 screw fits to it. The eye is shown on the solenoid.

andyfreelandy said:

If you have the inner tailgate panel off, simply pop the solenoid upwards. There is a rod connected to the round eye on the bottom of the solenoid in your photo above. Item 7 screw fits to it. The eye is shown on the solenoid.

Click to expand...

Thanks @andyfreelander
There is a black plastic cover over it all on mine - hopefully he two small torx screws will let me get that off in the daylight tomorrow and try


It looks to me that the solenoid fixing screw (7.) is not accessible with the latch fixed to the door though? It looks like it goes into the face of the latch that sits against the inside of the door. But surely no one in their right mind would design something that way

Which way does the solenoid work, by the way?
Does it extend or retract to operate the lock opening?
I guess extend from what you are saying?

Solenoid retracts from memory.
If you use a hooked wire you should be able to pull the operating rod near where it connects to solenoid.

andyfreelandy said:

Solenoid retracts from memory.
If you use a hooked wire you should be able to pull the operating rod near where it connects to solenoid.

Click to expand...

ah! that makes sense from the answers in one of the posts in one of the threads I noted above, where someone said they managed to open the door using a tent peg

If it wasnt for all the window down a bit before tailgate opening malarkey, I would just replace the solenoid with a piece of string through a hole drilled in the inner panel.

Seen that done.!!
By a garage, as a repair for an old lady. She pulled string over back seat !!

Oh, they jammed the window down half inch with a bit of wood too.

andyfreelandy said:

Seen that done.!!
By a garage, as a repair for an old lady. She pulled string over back seat !!

Click to expand...

LOL

The throttle cable on my 1970 1303 VW beetle broke outside the Ritz in London at rush hour once (I was just passing, I'm not very 'Ritzy'!)
A piece of rope from my windsurfing gear tied to the carb and led out through the boot grill around the outside of the car and in through the driver's window to hand control enabled me to drive back home to North Essex

Mole grips on over-rear axle flexible brake pipe to bypass blown rear brake cylinder (causing flying a red light crossing a very busy North Circular - with eyes closed!) got me a home once in the Daytona Yellow (À lá Vivian of the Young Ones) Anglia 105E too (I should probably not have left it like that for a few months after either LOL)

etc

andyfreelandy said:

Oh, they jammed the window down half inch with a bit of wood too.

Click to expand...

Inventive!

Just checked on a spare. Solenoid pulls to unlock.
Contacts made for door unlocked.

andyfreelandy said:

Just checked on a spare. Solenoid pulls to unlock.
Contacts made for door unlocked.

Click to expand...

Thanks!
the ebay photos are helpful too (its not so easy getting parts sent from UK out here to Portugal any more after Brexit )
I took the two screws out of the plastic cover (top was torx, bottom was Phillips)
plastic cover still not coming off (why the *#$%$#! not, does it really have to be so difficult?) but I can now pull away the bottom part enough to get something hooked up there (like a tent peg) and hopefully manage to pull the lever down and open the door.
Then I can undo the screws holding the lock onto the door, get it out and have a look
If I am very lucky it is just a clean up &/or bend/tweak &/or replacement of worn/broken grommet on solenoid eye (the solenoid makes a click so something's working)
FFS what a bloody fanny around. What's wrong with a key that turns a lever attached to a bar attached to the catch - all mounted with space and so that you can take it off if the door doesn't open?
I'll try tomorrow, I've already got to the 'take a step back or break something' stage - I have very little patience any more

Victory is mine!

Thanks so much @andyfreelandy!

The plastic 'cover' is in fact part of the lock assembly.
After getting to look at it after the steps below, I could then see that it did not come off does not come off easily after undoing the two screws as behind the top screw there is a lug which goes behind the metal bit. In principle it 'could' pop of if pushed up enough but I couldn't manage it in the space available
Anyway, what I did was:
1. undo two screws from plastic 'cover/body' (top = Torx, bottom = Phillips)
2. Pulled he bottom of this plastic bit away so I could get underneath
3. Tried to wiggle a bit of bend rigid wire up to blindly pull down the lever I knew was there somewhere (This must be the 'tent peg' bit in the other thread)
4. Swore a lot
5. Pulled the plastic bit up firmly, enough to see the eye of the solenoid without breaking the plastic
6. Saw that the solenoid eye had come off (Thumbs UP!)
7. Put my finger up and easily pulled the leaver, thereby opening the door
8. Celebratory jig and fist-pumping
9. Undid two large torx and two small Phillips screws and removed lock assembly (pretty damn easy once door is open
10. Scrabbled around in bottom of door and found remains of plastic grommet for lever-solenoid eye join (plus some very destroyed rubber grommets

For the following bodges see these 4 photos


11. Undid clip holding other end of lever to lock
12. Slid / forced plastic grommet back over part of lever that goes through solenoid eye
13. Passed lever through eye and then reattached to the lock
14. Bodged a screw through the plastic grommet so it wouldnt come off again (maybe)
15. Put it all back together again (piece of ****)
16. Lubrificated everything with silicon spray (including rear window & stuff whilst it was accessible

Edit: Bugg@r! I should have tied a bit of string around the lever bar and left it dangling down to enable easy door release the next time it happens!

We celebrate with you !