73-87chevytrucks.com
General Site Info => General Discussion => Topic started by: Unofficial on April 13, 2008, 08:47:40 am
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Ever since I've had my truck the doors shut really hard. You pretty much have to slam them otherwise they won't latch completely. I put speakers in my doors a couple months ago, and I think it's taking a toll on them. I have a catalog with latches in it but one is $80 and the other is $100. For a couple pieces of metal! Will the door latch fix my problem? Because I'll do it, I just don't want to buy them, put them in and have the same problem. Thanks in advance for any help.
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Have you adjusted your strikers in out. If you close them real easy you should hear them latch twice. If the striker is to far in the latch won't catch the second time. Also have the doors ever been opened to far, over extended the hinges or bent the door around the hinges. Over the years I have seen some real pretty cave man jobs. Some morons try to adjust doors by putting shims / washers in between the hinges and the door, this will cause the door to not latch correctly. I have also seen latches that are just plain worn out, and need to be replaced!
I would rule out all other possibility's first.
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Thanks for the ideas. I'll go check now.
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Unofficial, We're going to need you to explain a little more what it's doing. Is the door flush with the cab corner once you get it shut? The first to do is open the door, get a screwdriver or similar tool & push on the latch paw. Does is move a little & click, then move a little more & click? You should be getting two clicks. The paw should easily "open" when you push the button/pull the inside handle. The second thing to look at is if the weatherstrip is binding the door, primarily in the front edge, up & down at the hinges. Get a buddy to get inside with a dollar bill or a sheet of paper & place it between the seal & the door (wind a window down to remove the air pressure in the cab) & close the door, if it's real hard shutting you may want to hold the botton on the outside handle in, so you can push the door in steady until it's flush with the cab corner. Have the buddy try to gently pull the paper out while your holding the door in, move down a few inches & repeat, there needs to be resistance, but not "no go", work your around the door. See if there is an area that is TIGHT. Do these two things & report back. Lorne
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Also, open the door and grab it by the base and try rocking it up and down. If your hinge pin bushings are shot the door will sag making it harder to engage the striker.
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yep, do what Vile and Blazin said...i would bet on worn door pins myself. your truck isn't new and these doors aren't light...although my '83 is still on it's originals and they are tight...but your truck might have more miles and more slams of the door...lol.
also, to add to what they said, lube your door latch really well...with some white lithium grease or motor oil...
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The shim in between the hinge, & door is the caveman fix for worn door pins from my findings. I have also seen a door that has been slamed so many times the latch is actually push toward the outside of the door. The screw holes were stretch out oval shaped.
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I talked to my dad a little bit and he said it's not that bad, even though I think I'd be better off doing something. The striker is like shaven off on the top, so I greased up the latch and striker. It's better now. I'll just have to move my speakers some other time.
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If the sticker is getting shaved that is a good indication the pins and bushings are shot!
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Can you explain what the speakers have to do with this? Did you put them too low/far foreward at the bottom of the door & they are hitting the weatherstrip? Was the door working correctly before the speaker install?
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Slamming the door is wrecking the speakers.
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The speakers are just heavy, but I don't think they make much of a difference. The door wasn't any worse after I put the speakers in. I'm just concerned about how bad the condition of them will be because of how the door shuts. I'll take some pictures to show what I'm talking about better. Thanks for all the help guys. :)
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(http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n187/w00ty_01/DoorProblem005.jpg)
When shut all the way, the door is flush with the cab.
(http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n187/w00ty_01/DoorProblem004.jpg)
This is what happens when you don't shut it hard enough.
(http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n187/w00ty_01/DoorProblem003.jpg)
The speaker is no big deal. Just a little guy in the open spot below the window crank.
(http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n187/w00ty_01/DoorProblem002.jpg)
Here's the latch. You probably can't see a problem by looking at it I guess...
(http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n187/w00ty_01/DoorProblem001.jpg)
The striker, but I assure you, my door pins are strong. The door doesn't budge when I move it. The truck just rocks side to side.
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Loosen the striker so there is still some tension on it and shut the door. Press in towards the cab slightly and hold the handle button in to open it nice and slowly. Tighten the striker bolt so it doesn't move. that should get you in the ball park. From there adjust it a little this way or that way accordingly. Good luck
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Wait, so loosen it, shut it, and then tighten it again?
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basically yes.
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From the looks of the pin (worn flat on top), and the weatherstrip in the lower front corner (flattened), I would guess that the door is sagging.
This could be caused by the hinge pins and bushings being worn. It could also be caused by improper hanging of the door if it had been removed or adjusted before. If you close your door to just before the latch touches, does the body line of the door line up with the body line on the rear side of the cab?
If it is lower, the striker pin is probably hitting too high in the latch, lifting the door when it closes, and wearing the top of the striker pin.
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Well, my striker pin will not budge at all. Do you guys think not having that nylon bushing on it effects anything? Because I noticed that I don't have bushings.
But to 77step, I'm pretty sure everything lines up like you said.
I think I'll just deal with it. It's a little better now that I greased it up. It's no big deal. I can alway relocate my speakers when I have time this summer. Thanks for everyone's help on here. I know where to go for help from now on. ;D
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Well, my striker pin will not budge at all. Do you guys think not having that nylon bushing on it effects anything? Because I noticed that I don't have bushings.
yes it does need them... you can always temporarly pllace a piece of 5/8" garden hose to check out the difference..
it does help though.
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soak the striker with some penetrating oil and you can put some heat on the bolt too.
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Alright. I got the striker moving, but no matter what I did, it didn't really help much though.
I figured something out though. If I gently close the door, as in just pushing the latch into the striker, I only get one click. It won't latch that second time. It doesn't seem to be hard if I use my hand. I checked all the weather stripping and nothing is holding it back. Like I said, my door pins are at 100%.
What the heck is going on?
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It sounds like the striker needs to move outward slighlty still.
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That's what I did. I thought maybe if I just moved the striker more towards the latch, it would be able to be latched easier with it closer. Didn't even make the slightest difference. Could it possibly be a bad latch? You would think that it wouldn't be, because it sounds to me that bad door pins are way more common than a bad latch. Whatever...
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Did you try to latch the latch with a screw driver like previously suggested? Open the door. and use something to latch the latch. If it clicks twice and is not all slopped out it is good. If it only clicks once there might be an issue there.
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You said your latch closes if you slam the door so the latch is capable of latching. you also said the hinge pins and bushings were good. Try adjusting the striker again. Try moving it towards the door.
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Ohhhh, so by saying outward you meant losening it? I did a little bit but I don't think I left it that way. I thought by outward you meant towards the door. (Which I did with no prevail). I'll try and mess with it after school tomorrow. It's getting late here. Thanks for the help.
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Inward = toward the seat
Outward = toward the outdoors
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Isn't it possible that without the bushing, the latch isn't being pushed far enough to close the second click? Just an idea...
I would try the screwdriver thing, then if you get two clicks, try to find a bushing, or a substitute like the hose/tubing mentioned.
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Ok, I'll order some bushings. The latch is capable of closing, it's just that the door needs to be slammed in order for it to latch completely.
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You really need to drop by any autoparts HELP! section and pick up some bushings for the strikers.
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I went out to autozone and got some bushings. They don't fit, and my dad thinks that the ones that are on my truck were never supposed to have a bushing.
Oh well.
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Just get new strikers. They come with the bushings.
$10 bucks from most Help sections
(http://www.brotherstrucks.com/images/DSB7387.jpg)
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....my dad thinks that the ones that are on my truck were never supposed to have a bushing.
That would be incorrect. all of them had bushing.
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Alright, I'll go get those strikers tomorrow then. My dad is like, disgusted over the fact that I'm getting information off the internet because he thinks I should ask him everything. ::)
I'll have to go in-cognito when I buy them.
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:D Maybe your Dad should register
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Yeah we will set him strait!!! ::) lol
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lol........ :D
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Yeah, he was a stock racecar driver and could do anything to any truck/car. He's not stubborn, we just look at things different.
"Not Working" to him is different than it is to me. He thinks it should only be fixed if it doesn't work, but I think it should be fixed if it's not working properly.
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Exactly. What ever you do don't rub it in his face, he will eat humble pie allot better from his son if you are cool about it. Plus he will be allot more willing to see that you can function on your own and have a brain that way.
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Oh yeah, I'm not trying to brag, but considering the rest of the generation my age, I think I'm very respectful to my parents. I would never rub anything in his face like that. If I'm right about something, we'll just agree on it.
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All fathers are like that, they can be really cool and sometimes they can be stubbornThis past week i was doing some work on a safe for my mothers boss(a real small portable one) and i welded the hinges 2 times already(junk pot metal).Well the 3rd time was the charm and i cut the darn things off.We went to home depot and bought some good strong hinges, he said to cut the hinges just enough for it to fit and weld them on.So i did what he said and it worked perfectly.He asked if i did what he said and i said it yep it worked perfectly.He was happy so i ended up doing a Lil bodywork to it to fix the grounded areas i worked on and painted the safe black.But to me making your ol man happy is well worth it.I had battled with him in the past and lately he has been at ease and it is making me feel alot better and much happier.I am sorry this is a off topic issue here but you got a sweet truck and i too am happy i found this site.Once my truck is done i do plan on buying another 73-80 truck and going thru the ringer here again. ::)
thanks
pat
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I must be diffrent :)
When my son and I work on a project I ask him how he thinks we should handle it I always try his way first if he dont work he gets hassled by the same token if my way dont work he hassles me and there is no animosity :)
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Nothing wrong with a little "humble pie" every now and then. Frogman, that is a healthy relationship, nice work, and I do mean work, cause that's what it takes on everyones part. :)
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Yay! I "snuck" to autozone and got some new strikers. I was a little dissapointed though because one of them seemed to be open. I didn't think it was that big a deal, it's just a bolt. I got home and tried to put it in, and it was stripped. I just took the bushing off and put it on the old one and it's fine. So yeah, now I can push the door in and hear both clicks. They're fine now. Thanks to everyone for helping me over a single nylon bushing... :-[
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That's great! Isn't it funny how such a little thing can cause days of trouble... Good luck!
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I'm glad this worked out for you.