My trunk/boot is loaded with blankets, tools and jackets as I drive year round. I went to the store and bought 3 24 can cases of beer. I easily got them into the trunk and closed the trunk. They were not 100% tied down and they shifted position.
Then they moved they broke the wires going to the fuel pump. I’m dead in the middle of the street and took advantage of my towing insurance. They bill insurance directly - Sweet!
Problem is that I CAN NOT open the trunk/boot. I can turn the key to lock and unlock. I can easily press the button in a lot. I removed the button surround hoping to get a better push on the button. We even went underneath the car and saw one nut to loosen for the base of the inside latch. This did NOT work.
In desperation I am considering taking off the license plate and plasma cutting a chunk out from behind where the plate is and then reaching in to fiddle with something. i would later mig this back together.
Please suggest better ways, Luckily I don’t have Ice cream back there!!
Blankets and jackets are quite flammable, so I wouldn’t risk plasma cutting as I wouldn’t want to be looking at a looked trunk/boot with smoke pouring out and the paint darkening from the fire inside.
Maybe use a metal cutting blade on an angle grinder, sparks flying, but not like a plasma cutter.
A better idea for cutting would be to drill four holes at the corners and use a metal cutting blade on a reciprocating saw - no sparks, but if the blade is too long, it may catch on something inside (however, beer spraying all over the inside of the trunk/boot might not be the worst result).
I’d try everything I could think of to try and jimmy the lock open before cutting your way in.
Do you have a good memory of how the latch goes together?
Is there a way to get up under the bottom lip and cut off the piece it latches to?
If you remove the rear seat, can you access the trunk/boot that way?
I don’t have a rear seat installed as the foam died years ago and I pulled the frames out and covered the entire area with a grey felt cloth. There is no access through the rear seats, these are solid panels. The latch should be a simple top and bottom piece that is released by the button. I do have a air powered fine toothed saw. Can I drill out the lock tumbler?
post up a pic of your vehicles boot locking system from the parts manual so we can figure
I have helped get a few stuck boots and bonnets open
depends on your locking system (hence my request to post pics or description)
If of a certain type, a mobile locksmith may be my next call
if cutting, once again depends, I would probably cut the rear inside the car, easier to fix, more versatile, if the hole is “carton” size, a small person can also get in
It could be possible the cases of beer have slid back and wedged themselves against the boot lid. Try to push down on the lid thus reducing the strain on the latch and at the same time operate the button. With my 3.8S (likely a different latching mechanism) this always makes the unlatching easier, so has become a standard procedure. And for Mark II experts: is the linkage for the latching operation exposed or covered with a trim panel as it is the S Type?
W have tried to push and at the same time the button is being pressed. When we lock the key and then unlock the key, the trunk makes a slight upward movement which gives the false impression that it is going to open. We have tried double prying in several area. If I had fuel (pump is not working) I could drive fast and slam on the brakes. Perhaps I should jack up the rear of the car and shake living hell out of it to get that beer moving forward.
Page N 10 gives 2 sentences about adjustments. Of course this is with the boot open. Perhaps someone with a working boot cold insert pictures of the mechanisms??
You could try rigging a small bottle to engine bay, e.g. into fuel filter, feeding fuel with gravity. If no space enough in engine bay, then an assistant holding botlle with a hose from passenger seat.
Köpi
Good. One would have to remove the two screws on the inside to allow the mechanism to release from the upper latch. Prolly gonna have to cut that hole? I notice that the latch catch is both forward and back in two separate pictures. If the second is closed which I believe you mention, then I can try to hook this with a coat hanger to pull the latch backwards? pressing the button and the latch moves to pull the latch backwards. I also had a two ton car lift in a box back there with the beer. There most likely is a lot of pressure on the lock. The factory jack is a toy for show only. I have floor jacks in all my cars.I am encountering the boot rubber seal as I try to get anything under and through into the boot.
Or could I drill out those screws or air hammer them off/shear them, from the bottom upwards if there are no obstructions. I would then replace them with Bolts and nuts to keep it tight.
It’s not specified that the car is a Mk2, but assuming it is, I personally doubt that beer cartons would actually jam the mechanism. Have you tried a bit of brute force? A short piece of circa 3/4 " wooden dowel on the lock plunger and some firm taps with a hammerfor might just be enough.
What’s a hammerfor?
Mostly banging in nails.
Yes it is a 1966 3.8 L MK2 We have banged hard on the release button with a rubber hammer. Even done so while prying on both sides of the lock button. There is a slight possibility that something got wedged in the seal of the lid to the body. This would cause upward pressure on the latch. We have tried pressing down on the lid while smacking with the rubber hammer. Wood would not fit through the gap shown at this time as its very small looking between the lid and the body of the car. Over here we have BFHammers
It does not show very well in photo, but there are FOUR screws, two to bottom plate and two to rear edge. Would be difficult to drill all of them.
Köpi
Do you have an endoscope or can you get one? Then you would only need
to drill one hole (e.g. under licence plate) and have a look what is happening
in there. Smart phone attached endoscopes are cheap. https://www.amazon.com/endoscope/s?k=endoscope
Köpi
Good idea. IIRC, there are rubber bungs in the bootlid beneath the plate, so won’t even need to drill a hole. Might be difficult to manoeuvre the endoscope there though, I think the bootlid frame is beneath, but worth a try.
