Door adjustment, take two

[Helirich]

So when I got my car, the drivers door worked great and the pax door did not shut/align right. I moved the striker bolt to make it shut correctly. This required grinding the keeper plate so the striker bolt could move far enough in and down to align the door when it was latched. Since than, the door aligns nice. The only issue is the door must be shut just right. I can do it but everybody else has a problem. I don’t take many people except my wife and I usually open and shut the door for her.

Today someone else shut the door and I drove away. I realized it was not shut right and had to stop. I decided to revisit my adjustment. I found something interesting. First I went to the drivers door since it shuts so nice and aligns perfect. I found that both the front and back latch have two “clicks”. The first click accurs when the door is about 1/2” from shut. Once it clicks, you must pull the handle to open the door. Of course, you can also just push the door till the second click and it is shut right.

On my pax door it’s different. The front striker and latch work the same as the drivers side with two clicks. But the rear latch only clicks once. The door is aligned nice, but it never gets to the second position. This Leeds me to believe that I moved the striker too far. So I moved the striker out and up as far as it would go. The latch still only clicks once, but the door is not aligned good. Hard as I tried, I could not slam the door hard enough to get the second click. I completely removed the front striker to see if that was holding it up. No joy.

So I got the die grinder out and ground the mount keeper on the opposite side to move the striker further. Still can’t get to the second position. If I take a loose striker bolt and insert it in the latch, it clicks twice, so why can’t I get it to do it on the car? Has anybody ran into this? I ended up moving it back where it aligns with one click. I wonder if that’s bad for the latch.

Ideas welcome.

[David T]

Both latches on each door must achieve "2nd locking position". You should hear both latches click at about the same time and twice. You adjust the anchor pins, one at a time, till you get it.

[Ron]

+1

I had to take a die grinder to the square hole on two to get the striker high enough on two, although the panels on the entire car aligned well. On one the owner did not want the interior disturbed, which meant the hole in the plastic gad to be enlarged a bit. That meant it needed a larger washer to cover the hole showing at the bottom. To make it look right, I added a very thin oversize washer and sprayed it black.

[Helirich]

+1

I had to take a die grinder to the square hole on two to get the striker high enough on two, although the panels on the entire car aligned well. On one the owner did not want the interior disturbed, which meant the hole in the plastic gad to be enlarged a bit. That meant it needed a larger washer to cover the hole showing at the bottom. To make it look right, I added a very thin oversize washer and sprayed it black.

I took a die grinder to it. I can make it go higher, but I can’t make it go out further because the moving plate is hitting inside.

[Helirich]

Both latches on each door must achieve "2nd locking position". You should hear both latches click at about the same time and twice. You adjust the anchor pins, one at a time, till you get it.

What is the result of one latch only going to first locking position? I have the front striker completely removed and the rear out and up the entire adjustment. (In fact more than the adjustment via die grinder) and still it won’t go to the second position.

[David T]

When the door is properly adjusted (internally) you should not be able to lock the door if both latches are NOT in 2nd locking position. If you force it, you bend the rods inside and mess up the adjustments. There is a sequence to doing all of this. I start with the torsion bars unless the hinges have been messed with and the door isn't aligned well to the body.Then I do the anchor pins and finally, if necessary (and it usually is) I do the internal door adjustments. On most cars before you can do the internal adjustments you have to take the latches out and clean and regrease them so they will work smoothly. The old grease is like sticky glue. On a door that is really messed up you may have to go over all of the adjustments several times till you can get it really smooth. You should be able to close the door with 2 fingers by pushing on the rub rail and letting the door swing closed. As for grinding the fiberglass, cover it up with a large rubber grommet and some black RTV.

[Helirich]

When the door is properly adjusted (internally) you should not be able to lock the door if both latches are NOT in 2nd locking position. If you force it, you bend the rods inside and mess up the adjustments. There is a sequence to doing all of this. I start with the torsion bars unless the hinges have been messed with and the door isn't aligned well to the body.Then I do the anchor pins and finally, if necessary (and it usually is) I do the internal door adjustments. On most cars before you can do the internal adjustments you have to take the latches out and clean and regrease them so they will work smoothly. The old grease is like sticky glue. On a door that is really messed up you may have to go over all of the adjustments several times till you can get it really smooth. You should be able to close the door with 2 fingers by pushing on the rub rail and letting the door swing closed. As for grinding the fiberglass, cover it up with a large rubber grommet and some black RTV.

Are you saying by making adjustments inside the door you can alter the location of the second locking position? I thought that was fixed in that mechanism and the only adjustment was the striker pin. That door does lock even though itÂ’s not to the second position. Is it possible that the first position is not clicking and itÂ’s going right to the second? But why do both positions click when you just push a loose striker in?

I think my doors align pretty darn fine, so I donÂ’t think I need to touch the hinges. My only real concern is the single latch and tricky closing. To close my drivers door, I can pretty much do what you say. (Two fingers) On the pax side, I donÂ’t need to slam it real hard, but I do need to push it firmly all the way shut. There is no way it will coast shut. Also you need to push it right at the door handle. If you push at the center, it will not shut. When it doesnÂ’t shut, it goes to the first locking position at the front latch. The rear of the door is basically unlatched. Of course, when someone is inside, they canÂ’t really shut the door because the pull strap is too far forward. I plan to move my pull strap back as soon as DMC gets the trim back in stock.

[Azar]

The correct technique of shutting the door is not the middle of the door from outside or strap. The strap is only to pull it down. You have to shut the door pushing where the handle out side is. And inside with your elbow almost as far back as possible. Only that way you are pushing in the middle between the hinges and not twisting the door.

[Helirich]

The correct technique of shutting the door is not the middle of the door from outside or strap. The strap is only to pull it down. You have to shut the door pushing where the handle out side is. And inside with your elbow almost as far back as possible. Only that way you are pushing in the middle between the hinges and not twisting the door.

I’ve not heard that before. I think it’s kind of natural place to shut it outside. But, Hard to get a new pax to shut it that way from inside. If the strap is mounted in the back, it will be a no-brainer. I’ve been waiting for DMC to get the trim piece in stock for months now. I’m about to give up and make my own. Shouldn't be that hard. As far as my drivers door, I shut it from the pull handle. (No strap) It shuts so easy, it really doesn’t matter.

[dmcman73]

I’ve not heard that before. I think it’s kind of natural place to shut it outside. But, Hard to get a new pax to shut it that way from inside. If the strap is mounted in the back, it will be a no-brainer. I’ve been waiting for DMC to get the trim piece in stock for months now. I’m about to give up and make my own. Shouldn't be that hard. As far as my drivers door, I shut it from the pull handle. (No strap) It shuts so easy, it really doesn’t matter.

The trim oeice for the pull handle is the same exact one as the trim on the seat release lever, you can use those as a template to make new ones for the pull handle trim.