Earl,
It is a bit of a pain but here is what I did:

Feel underneath the lock unit, you'll feel a hole.  Recessed in this hole is a flathead screw.  I took a small flathead screwdriver, the kind they give out free with their advertising on the handle at the FLAPS, and bent it almost 90 degrees about half way down the shaft.  Basically, you want to bend it so it is long enough to reach up into the hole but too long that it bumps against the sliding door.  It'll take a while and some grunting and cussing but you can eventually remove it this way.  I did it to fix a broken lock.

Be advised, pay close attention to how the lock comes apart after you get it off.  You'll need the info to reassemble.

good luck,
Dan Hall
'86 Westy Wolfsburger
"Das Boot"
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Earl J Smith 
  To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM 
  Sent: Wednesday, May 22, 2002 10:30 PM
  Subject: sliding window lock

  My passenger side sliding window lock is jammed open.  Is it possible to
  remove it without taking the entire window out of the sliding door?

  TIA  Earl