Just a thought, With the access hole cut would it be possible to weld a piece of 1/2 bar stock to the inside of the panel then tap through that or is it overkill?

E, you're exactly right! I was pondering this today over lunch and I thought well I just need away to feed a nut up onto the back of that plate, and I'll do it just like you said, which is the same way we used to run long shots of Cat5 through ceilings, over high walls etc.

Hopefully it'll last at least through 1 driving season at a shot... if its not too much of a pain the a$$ then I won't mind doing it every winter BTW you haven't seen pics of her since I painted her this past summer, have you? I painted her and got her back together with a couple weeks to spare before the national convention in Syracuse, and then won People's Choice Daily Driver Which is also why I am not too anxious to go cutting any access holes, even if I can cover them up I'll do that only as a last resort. If it comes down to that though, I'll surely use mriz's idea and put something substantial back there!

-Ken P.

  mriz said:

Just a thought, With the access hole cut would it be possible to weld a piece of 1/2 bar stock to the inside of the panel then tap through that or is it overkill?

The reason the backing plate is not welded to the back of the panel is to allow it to move a few millimeters in all 4 directions. This is the main and only method of adjusting the door latch mechanism. (I'll admit that some more adventuresome tonya might attempt adjusting the door latch via shims on the hinges, but it's extremely difficult to adjust it that way.)

If you weld your 1/2" bar stock, you'd have to size it such that it could be welded to the backing plate, yet not interfere with the cage that holds it captive.

By the time you've cut the access hole large enough to do all of this, it will have been easier to just remove the old plate and replace it or weld shut and re-drill and tap it.

If you were thinking of just welding it to the back part of the door frame, and giving up the adjustability of the latch, then why not just weld from the outside and fill in the hole in the backing plate?

Not trying to be "cute", but trying to answer your question accurately.

E

I know exactly what you're saying E... although I forgot to add that I wouldn't weld it i.e. if I had to result to cutting that section open, I'd replace that receiver plate with something a little thicker and stronger, and *maybe* have my step-son (I'm no welder!) weld a couple bolts on at the same time because Yes, it's important to keep that adjustability in there!

Enrique I see your point , I forgot about the adjustment factor if you weld it thus the point of the plate in the first place is the adjustment.

The rope method was something I came up with when I needed to mount a mirror on a door that didn't have any access holes handy (i.e. the design engineers had made it a 2 person job, one to insert the nut and the other to hold the mirror and bolt it in place).

There is also another product called a "Nut-Sert" which like a rivet, compresses a metal tube such that it flares out, except that it has a nut on the end of the tube where the rivet has the nail head. I didn't mention this, because in my experience the nut and the tube are made of such a low strength alloy (I suppose to make it easy to bend) that it won't take a lot of tightening before you strip it again. Additionally, the nutsert has a collar that in this application would probably limit the small amount of travel the receiving plate has even further.

Anyhow, hopefully you're on the road to getting it fixed.

Enrique

I should be soon, Enrique. I have to find time to do it, but she's not scheduled to be back on the roads up here in NY until Spring

-Ken

Enrique,

Over and over I see you post thorough, experienced, advice to various difficult problems and I want to express my recognition and thanks. Not just this thread, but countless others over the past couple of years; you have offered great advice which obviously takes some time to type up and convey. It doesn't go unoticed from me and I'm sure there are plenty who feel the same. Thanks

Chris

  26th-Z said:

Enrique,

Over and over I see you post thorough, experienced, advice to various difficult problems and I want to express my recognition and thanks. Not just this thread, but countless others over the past couple of years; you have offered great advice which obviously takes some time to type up and convey. It doesn't go unoticed from me and I'm sure there are plenty who feel the same. Thanks

Chris

^^^^^^^

I'll jump on this boat, too!

Absolutly I agree and am fortunate to be able to call him friend . Gary ONLY NOW HE WILL GET A BIG HEAD !!!!!!! ROFL

I've been following this thread and agree that this has been an excellent post. I hadn't thought of using a rope for holding a captive nut. JB Weld, well what can one say, except that another posibility might be to use a Silcon Sealent. It would allow a little bit of give, just in case.

Thanks Enrique, this is one of the reasons that this "club" is the best.

Now, can anyone explain to me HOW nissan got the damn things into place originally?

MOM

  Zedrally said:

Now, can anyone explain to me HOW nissan got the damn things into place originally?

MOM

I'll bet it was real easy to get them in place when the chassis was a pile of sheet metal stampings (i.e. before the chassis was assembled)