Is it possible for the door latches to wear out??

[painterdave72]

my rear passenger door has become harder to shut lately.. it just seems to not want to latch unless i push on it harder then usual.. i have taken the actual latch out and cleaned it the other day when i took the door apart for the other stuff.. i dont see anything physically wrong with it and it seems to work.. just doesnt want to latch easily like the drivers door.. i have tried adjusting the striker and that doesnt really help it....any suggestions would be great!!! Dave..

[Jeff K]

my rear passenger door has become harder to shut lately.. it just seems to not want to latch unless i push on it harder then usual.. i have taken the actual latch out and cleaned it the other day when i took the door apart for the other stuff.. i dont see anything physically wrong with it and it seems to work.. just doesnt want to latch easily like the drivers door.. i have tried adjusting the striker and that doesnt really help it....any suggestions would be great!!! Dave..

I have this exact same situation. I took them off and cleaned them, they look fine but still don't work that well. I'm curious about this myself.

[outatym2001]

I would suspect YES.
I have my receipt from August 3, 2005 that shows I purchased four new door latches for my DeLorean from DMC Motor Center, Inc. (now called DMC California) at $56.63 each.
The funny thing about when I received them was all four were for one door when I needed two for the passenger door and two for the driver side. I had to explain via phone what I received and why I need to send two back and get two different ones since they can not be swapped from one door to the other.
On my old original door latches the door striker pin had struck one of them wrong and broke off the white plastic part of the latch.
I too removed all four and clean and lubricated the latches and the actuation was still not what I liked.
After installing four new ones my doors definitely latch better and since my D is a daily driver I need them to work properly every time.
Sorry but I three away the old original ones in the metal recycle since I couldn’t see any use for them.

[David T]

I have had a lot of success taking the old ones out, cleaning them well, and lubricating them. 30 year old grease becomes glue-like and the mechanism doesn't move as it should. Like anything mechanical, of course you can wear out a latch. As you clean it, you inspect it for wear, looseness, and play. If you find it to be worn out then you can decide if replacement is necessary. Doesn't cost anything to try cleaning and lubricating it except time. If you were going to replace it you have to remove it anyway. A nice, clean, well lubricated latch is a LOT easier to adjust.
David Teitelbaum

[painterdave72]

I have already taken it out and cleaned it very well. it still doesnt latch very easily unless i push down harder.. i am going to order a new one .. they are not very much anyways.. hopefully that will fix this prob.. Dave..

[dmc6960]

I have already taken it out and cleaned it very well. it still doesnt latch very easily unless i push down harder..

Whoa whoa whoa now! "Push down harder" sure sounds like a weatherstripping issue or alignment issue moreso than a latch issue. Try operating the latches with a screwdriver. If they are hard to engage in both clicks, with both latches, then perhaps they are all bad. Also try moving them while someone else pulls on the door handle. They should easily swing back and fourth to all positions. But check this manual operation first! If they seem to work fine, completely remove the weatherstripping and try again, you may find it then works like a feather. While I wont deny the possibility of them wearing out, my 10 year daily driven car with over 120k miles has no latch problems at all. I run them mostly dry with little/no grease.

[ssdelorean]

I would suspect YES.
I have my receipt from August 3, 2005 that shows I purchased four new door latches for my DeLorean from DMC Motor Center, Inc. (now called DMC California) at $56.63 each.
The funny thing about when I received them was all four were for one door when I needed two for the passenger door and two for the driver side. I had to explain via phone what I received and why I need to send two back and get two different ones since they can not be swapped from one door to the other.


The rear passenger latch and front driver latch are the same latches. Same goes for the front passenger and rear driver latch.

[DMCMW Dave]

I've had to replace a few but 90% of the time just getting ALL the old grease out gets them working. The moving parts are all nylon and are not really intended to be greased as nylon is considered self-lubricating. If someone has been spray-greasing them over the years, get it all out. Grease holds dirt/grit. If you use anything, use a very light oil.

Once in a while you get some that look fine, test fine, but just don't work until you replace them. Usually they get replaced due to being beat up from mis-aligned strikers.

[Jeff K]

I've had to replace a few but 90% of the time just getting ALL the old grease out gets them working. The moving parts are all nylon and are not really intended to be greased as nylon is considered self-lubricating. If someone has been spray-greasing them over the years, get it all out. Grease holds dirt/grit. If you use anything, use a very light oil.

Once in a while you get some that look fine, test fine, but just don't work until you replace them. Usually they get replaced due to being beat up from mis-aligned strikers.

Hey Dave, can these be soaked in a degreaser ? What is your recommendation on cleaning them?

Thanks

[DMCMW Dave]

Hey Dave, can these be soaked in a degreaser ? What is your recommendation on cleaning them?

Brake cleaner. I don't think soaking is necessary, but aerosol spriay does a good job.

[outatym2001]

The rear passenger latch and front driver latch are the same latches. Same goes for the front passenger and rear driver latch.

Shannon Y I thought about what you wrote and it got me thinking maybe the latches are the same.
The Parts Manual says front of one door and rear of other door.
Now I imagine what I got from DMC California was four of the exact same latch and what I needed was two of one kind and two of the other kind.
So, yes Shannon Y is correct that one kind is installed on the forward of one door and the rear of the other door.