datsrex

A few years back, I decided I had to do something about the way the driver's door on my '72 closed. I had to slam it, and it sounded like metal striking metal every time. After hours of cursing and filing the striker plate in a vain effort to get it to close without slamming, I discovered that there's a little rubber boot that's supposed to fit over the lobe on the latch, and it was missing. Over the years, as worn hinges caused the door to sag, the rubber boot wore out and dropped off. Just the loss of thickness of that boot caused the latch to begin its rotation too late as the door is closed. That delay in rotation caused a metal-to-metal collision, making it difficult to latch. My solution? Get a new boot. Trouble is, you can't buy just the boot, you must buy the whole latch assembly! What I found is that the 69-73 Datsun 510 uses the same latch assembly, and the rear doors of the 510 4-door sedan and wagon latches are often still in good shape from less use. I pulled a few of these from 510s in the salvage yards several years ago. Perhaps someone else knows of another source? Also, I've found that an out-of-alignment (sagging) door will cause a replacement boot to wear out quickly, so it's best to replace worn hinges or realign the door before installing a new boot.

I would say that, since it's a difficult job and it may not need doing, find out first what shape your bearings are in. I've never heard of these failing or wearing out, and it may be one of those parts thats built to such overkill standards that it'll last the life of the car. Heck, the factory service manual says to lube the halfshaft splines regularly. What? I've never heard from anyone who does this at all. Doesn't help that it looks difficult to do. Anyhow, to find out if your bearings are going away, just do as you would for front-wheel bearings. Grab both sides of the tire and try to wiggle it in and out to check for movement. If there's no clicking of looseness, disconnect the halfshaft from each wheel by removing the four bolts, then spin the wheel with your hand. If it sounds smooth with no grinding noise, your bearings are probably fine. Rex '72 240 since 88 '71 510 1974-2001

I used to have the same problem on my 72 240, but after hours of cursing and filing the striker plate to make it close easier, 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! What I found is that the 69-73 510 uses the same latch assembly, and the rear doors of the 510 4-door sedan and wagon latches are often still in good shape from less use. I pulled a few of these from 510s in the salvage yards several years ago. Perhaps someone else knows of another source? Also, I've found that an out-of-alignment (sagging) door will cause the new boot to wear out quickly, so it's best to replace worn hinges or realign the door before installing a new boot. Hope that helps! Rex