Really have to slam the doors to get them to close...
 

You really have to slam the doors on my 82 300D to get them to close. I sprayed a little bit of P.B. Blaster on the clasp but that didn't work. Should I just replace the clasp or is there an alternative?

does the outside handle go back in if not then make sure its in when you close then door...

ps what the hell is pb blaster... wd 40 should do the trick

Might your striker plate be out of alignment? (I had that on my 85 300D, and added a second one onto it, since then it has been shutting perfectly)

there is a little plastic clip on the bottom of the latch on the door post. Make sure it is there and in good shape.let me see if I can get a good pic of it and post it.

look for the black plastic clip at the bottom

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/...7/ea85c44d.jpg

Bingo JackG...That Little plastic piece on the bottom of the door post is gone and broken off...

And PB Blaster is like WD-40, but I just prefer it over WD-40...

What' that thing called? A door striker? Can I replace the little plastic thing or do I need to replace the whole assembly?

You guys kill me!!!:)

Another 'silly' little issue I have with my car but never thought to actually submit a post about it!

I was just assuming that since my car had been hit (and repaired) sometime in its past lifetime in the front passenger door (which is the one that I have never been able to adjust so it would close WITHOUT slamming!) that it was just a fact of life. BUT NOoOOOooOOoOo!!! I just went out into the garage and, you got it! IT IS MISSING THE LITTLE BLACK PLASTIC THING!:) :confused: :eek: :mad: :rolleyes: :cool: :P

Thanks again guys for your help with 'restoring' my otherwise nice '85 w123...:D :D

A Little black plastic thingy:rolleyes:

They don't sell the tongue for all I know so your either going to have to find some in the junkyard or just buy a new one.. I ordered a set of strikers for the front.

so does anyone know where to get the door strikers other than from the dealer.

You can buy them from the sponsor of this forum. Start with the "Buy Parts" link found at the top of the page.

great thanks

I was wondering if this was my problem. Both front doors are hard to shut and both are missing the little rubber bump on the striker. I have to close hard and lock the door to keep them shut well.

Trust me, that is your problem. I have replaced many of those. Many thanks to my supplier!!!;) ;)

If you remove the striker from the post, that black plastic "tongue" comes out. While the left and right strikers differ, these plastic inserts are identical on all four, but wear in different places. On our now-gone 126, I removed the front driver and rear passenger strikers and swapped the parts, whereupon all doors worked fine. The total time to do this wasn't much more than replacing two strikers with new, but no new parts were required.

one more thing!
lube the bejesus out of the torques bolts and door frame before you try to remove them. YOU WILL BE SORRY IF YOU DONT!
John

and use PB Blaster, WD-40 is water. in comparison!

PB Blaster...
 

PB Blaster is a penetrating lube, about ten times better than WD-40 any day. The stuff is available almost anywhere parts, or hardware is. Even Walmart has it. Good stuff.

Sure it's the striker, or anything mechanical at all for that matter?
When my windows are closed, the door needs to be closed a little harder. This is due to the air pressure increase in the car, as the doors are slut..lol shut. Remember the Ford Pinto, and the Mustang II of the 70's early 80's?
They were known for blasing out the huge rear hatch windows they had, if you closed the doors too hard with the windows closed. It was all due to air pressure. My Freightliners are so air tight that you almost get pissed off at the doors when you have the windows closed. It's taken me six, or seven tries, to shut the doors, when the widows are all closed. Something as simple as a dash board vent being open, can solve the problem.
As long as the air has a place to escape to.
As a result the door pops back open, a little every time you close with everything else closed.

If the rubber wears on the striker, there will be no doubt in your mind that something is wrong. We're not talking about a little extra force, and it is present if all the windows are open.

I'd be tempted to believe the poster.

I wonder if thats whats happening with my ok my wifes SD? It sounds like the rear doors are not closed all the way they rattle when you turn a corner. Drives me nuts.The doors look like there closed and feel like there closed they don`t wiggle. I `ll have to check it out when she gets home.

OK, sorry. I guess I misunderstood.

Just replaced the striker with a used but whole one. Drivers door still wont shut like the rest of the doors. The orig. one was missing the tongue and as suggested, I replaced it. I still have to shut the door with a little force, almost the same as before. Ive tried to adjust the striker by moving it a little bit forward but to no avail. Is there any other part in the door that should look at?

Getting the striker adjusted right is kind of tedious. Kinda eyeball it and make sure the peg is centered in the hole.

Also, check the 2 big phillips screws that hold the latch mechanism on the door. Those are often loose or missing.

The peg is centered. I had to use extra shims to do that. The 2 big philips screws are there and are tight. I did not compare the latch mechanism to the others but it seem to be working.

Another good thing would be to clean out the 20 year old petrified grease from the latch mechanism and relube it. Lubriplate or some other lightweight grease will work.

If the peg is centered and still doesn't want to latch, try moving the striker around just a tiny bit at a time until you find the sweet spot.

Are you sure it couldn't just be something rattling around in the trunk?
This happened to a friend of mine. He drove the car around for years with a clunk when he made a turn. Went through the whole car hundreds of times over the years, and never found anything. One day he got a flat, and found a can of "Fix-a Flat" lose, and rolling around in the space under the spare tire, in the trunk. It was metal, to metal withthe can rolling back and forth. He removed the can, and secured it somewhere else. Needless to say, that was the end of the "clunk" when he made turn...
Reason I menton this is because he was driving a Mercedes, a 123 car, and always thought it could be coming from the rear doors also. He had them checked. It had something to do withthe way the sound must have resonated through the body, and made it sound like it was right in the door areas of the car.... Just a thought, and worth atleast checking out. How often do we really ever look under our spare tire, in the trunk, unless we get a flat tire?

I know a dummy (me) that went thru a lot of pain before I looked at the little plastic thingy and replaced it, solved the problem.
ron

do you mean to tell us, that you found the plastic thingy? where did you locate it? do you have a part #? or did you just replace the entire socket?
John