sticky 97 GC lift gate magic?

[bitofaclue]

This is annoying.  I just replaced the handle mechanism and my banged-up interior trim, lubing everything up as I went.  Worked great.  Now - suddenly - the damn thing is stuck closed.  Since one can't remove the interior trim to get at the mechanism while the door's closed, what's the trick for (nondestructively) opening it so I can figure out why it's sticking?

[WhiteOut]

The little rob has probably come loose, take the screws out from the inside and pull it away, use a long pair or pliers to pull the rod up to open it. Re-attach it using 2 crossed zip ties.

[cLAY]

Two ways, as said take out as many screws as you can then pull the interior trim away from the hatch enough to squeeze your arm in till you can graps the rod and pull it to release the latch.

or

Pry the plastic trim piece off the outside around where the license plate is and then reach in thru there. You will break the tabs off the  trim piece and need to re-attach it with self tapping screws. However once done you can eaisly get in again with a screw driver.

Once in you'll probably find the the rod popped off the plastic clip. I out some zip ties around mine after it repeatedly fell off.

[bitofaclue]

Yeah, as I expected... no magic.  Just brute force and ignorance.

I'm not nuts about the interior trim route, since one can't get at all the screws and I expect it'll be nasty to try to get one's arm in behind it to pull the latch rod.  To boot, I've got a dog barrier in the back (making it a bigger PITA to get in there) and the spare is in the way of pulling the trim away from the door far enough to snake my hand in.  Humph.

I discovered the exterior-trim-way-in at the junkyard - I was pretty impressed with the speed with which one can break in
by just popping it out with a pry bar, but (as pointed out) it's a destructive method.

What I'm thinking now is:  Unbolt the license plate and use a 2" or 3" hole saw to install a convenient maintenance portal behind it - one that'll be covered up again once the plate is in place (with appropriate waterproofing, of course).  And while I'm in there, I'm sorely tempted to add a little cable release or something to allow it to be unlatched from the inside.

Thoughts on these ideas?

[bitofaclue]

Okay, I like the way that worked out.   I took a guess with a 3 1/2" hole saw and got it almost right.  There's actually a rectangular cutout in the metal behind the plastic trim that limits the access and I didn't quite get it centered - had to open up the hole a little extra with a jigsaw.  Still, the access hole is completely covered by the license plate, and it's plenty big enough to get your hand in to pull the rod up to release the latch.  After doing the repair I glued a piece of vapour-barrier poly over the hole with GOOP - I like that stuff way more than I do silicone RTV.  That way it's protected against water incursion, and if it gives me trouble again I just have to pop off the plate and stick my hand through the poly.  Beats the hell out of busting out the exterior trim or struggling with the interior trim with the door closed.

I'll get some measurements up here ASAP for anyone else who wants to do the same.