Thread: Door latch repair

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The door latch on my 73 charger doesn't latch unless I slam the bejeesus out of it. I tried adjusting the latch stud, no help. Are these things serviceable?

Have you verified the mechanisms are all tight?
Clean, no visible rusting, applied any lube?
Has the door sagged and knocked the latch pin out of adjustment?

Serviceable? I don't believe so.

Mechanism is tight, soaked it with lube, didn't help much. Door is straight.

Have you manually operated the latching mechanism? Is it smooth?
By slowly closing the door, can you see if the pin is centered to the latch?

If you look at where the pin mounts to the door, can you see any difference in the paint? Can you tell if the pin has moved?

Originally Posted by 34_40

Have you manually operated the latching mechanism? Is it smooth?
By slowly closing the door, can you see if the pin is centered to the latch?

If you look at where the pin mounts to the door, can you see any difference in the paint? Can you tell if the pin has moved?

To continue down Mike's path, if you take a large round shank screw driver you can actuate the latching mechanism and prove that it's operating smoothly, two clicks to totally close, then actuate the handle to see that it pops open smooth, too. If the latch is not binding then the problem is alignment. Could be that long, heavy door has worn through the bronze bushings in the hinges and is sagging. Could be that you replaced weather stripping and either got the wrong stuff or positioned it wrong so it's not letting the door fit into the body space smoothly. Could be that the car got hit in a previous life, and the pillar that mounts the pin got put back a little off. Could be lots of things, but it's alignment critical, and very small movements make very big changes.

Beat me to it, your door bushings or your actual hinges need to be replaced.

Rebuild kits are around $10/each
New hinges, about $70/each

Originally Posted by rspears

To continue down Mike's path, if you take a large round shank screw driver you can actuate the latching mechanism and prove that it's operating smoothly, two clicks to totally close, then actuate the handle to see that it pops open smooth, too. If the latch is not binding then the problem is alignment. Could be that long, heavy door has worn through the bronze bushings in the hinges and is sagging. Could be that you replaced weather stripping and either got the wrong stuff or positioned it wrong so it's not letting the door fit into the body space smoothly. Could be that the car got hit in a previous life, and the pillar that mounts the pin got put back a little off. Could be lots of things, but it's alignment critical, and very small movements make very big changes.

I didn't think of this until I read today's posts: I had a Chevelle that got a door banged up, and when I got it back fro the body shop, the door opened fine, or so it seemed, but had a problem closing like yo describe. I futzed around with it for a while, then on a whim, I just lifted up on the handle and the inside with both hands and closed it. "Snik, snik", it closed like butter. Took it back to the shop, and they made it right; the hinge had got slightly bent, and the bushings in it were worn a bit, and the combination made for the problem.

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