Door latch fix help, some details needed

[sdyck]

This problem has been asked and answered in the archives, but I must admit I’m still confused. Hoping someone who has done the fix can help.

My passenger side door will close, but only the first of two “clicks”. The second lob on the catch doesn’t catch properly.

The solution from the archives…” I discovered that there's a little rubber boot that's supposed to fit over the lobe on the latch. Over the years, as the door sags, the rubber boot wears out and drops off. Just the loss of thickness of that boot causes the latch to begin to rotate too late as the door is closed, which makes it difficult to close without slamming. My solution? Get a new boot. Trouble is, you can't buy just the boot, you must buy the whole latch assembly to get the boot!”

Another thread suggested you can manufacture the boot by “…get a section of ¼ inch ID tubing or thereabouts…cut its length to match the width of the latch part. Coat the rubber and latch part with a good contact cement and attach. The thickness is roughly the same”

That sounds great, but I’m missing the rubber on both sides and have to admit looking at the catch can’t envision how to dot the fix. Has anyone done it? Any pictures? Any tips?

Thanks,

Steve

[zKars]

Try cleaning then oiling the door side mechanism on the outside that touches the striker, so that it flips from position 1 to 2 more easily. You may also have to re-align the position of the striker as it has likely moved a bit. Wear on the striker is also a possibility.

None of the doors I've worked on had that rubber bit and they all close just fine.

Edited September 16, 2014 by zKars

[SteveJ]

Does the first picture in post #9 not help? http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/interior-s30/37755-door-wont-lock.html

[Zed Head]

What year is the car? They changed a few things over the years.

The post on the door jam is adjustable. Maybe yours is loose and has moved inward, or somebody moved it in the past. I re-adjusted mine and found that you can get a variety of closing actions depending on where that post is set.

[sdyck]

Thanks, I'm working on a '72. I have cleaned and lubed the mechanism which helped but it still doesn't close every time. Steve J the picture does help a little, from the description it sounded like they slipped the hose over the lobe, but I couldn't figure out how to do that. From the picture maybe they split the hose and just glued it on the lobe, it doesn't look like it would be even 1/8" thick.

Has anyone seen this elusive "rubber boot" do you know how thick it would be.

Steve

[olzed]

I have a 72 and it has no rubber 'boot' on any door lock parts. Doors shut fine.

[SteveJ]

Thanks, I'm working on a '72. I have cleaned and lubed the mechanism which helped but it still doesn't close every time. Steve J the picture does help a little, from the description it sounded like they slipped the hose over the lobe, but I couldn't figure out how to do that. From the picture maybe they split the hose and just glued it on the lobe, it doesn't look like it would be even 1/8" thick.

Has anyone seen this elusive "rubber boot" do you know how thick it would be.

Steve

I'm not sure to whom you refer when you say "they". Enrique glued on the rubber piece, and I did the same. All you have to do is find some rubber tubing, cut off a little piece, trim it to fit, and glue it on. Wait a few hours and enjoy the decreased effort to close doors.

[Namerow]

Latch rubber bits are being offered as a 5-pce set (per side) by Datsun 240z rubber grommets & parts

$15.00 per set. Website says, 'Only 4 left'.

[sdyck]

Thanks Steve, I said "they" because I was referring to a couple of different posts I read. I went back and looked at the original that I quoted and it was Enrique, sorry I meant no disrespect.

Namerow thanks for the link, interesting source for rubber parts. I'm not sure which bit is for the latch, but The pictures give me some idea of what I may be missing, it's different than I was thinking. I'm surprised there are that many rubber bits in the locking mechanism.

Thanks again,

Steve

[bartsscooterservice]

Door seals not to thick ? Before I changed mine I had to " slam !! " the door... to manage 2 clicks..

[sdyck]

I have new door seals still in their Nissan bags. I'm going to try to glue on the cut piece of tubing first and see what the impact is then I'll replace the seals. I'll take pictures when I get down to it.

Tomorrow I'm off to the Radium BC car show, the weather looks great for the weekend and teh show usually has 500+ cars of all marks and is always interesting. Will be my first long drive in my car ~ 180 miles - 300 km with half of the drive though the rockies.

Steve

[ollie]

I hope this works for you but I am in a similar boat after having fooled around with vintage rubber seals I gave up and dropped a was on NOS door and hatch seals. The profile for both the hatch and doors of the VR is simply too thick versus the NOS seals. Frustrated but glad not to have to slam doors shut any longer.