300SDL Door latch issues for the driver

[peragro]

Hi All;

I'm having issues with the door latch on drivers side front. The doodad in the picture below manages to rotate itself into the position you see it in in the picture when the door is opened. This results in an unpleasant thud and the door not shutting. This can't be good for any of the components involved. I can lift up the handle (inside or outside) and move the latch back to open so that the door closes. Has anyone else run into this issue? Any suggestions?

[Dewhite2485]

Never done it on a benz but it happens to customers at my shop all the time, just pull the handle like you said and move it back where its supposed to be shouldnt be a big deal

[peragro]

Originally Posted by Dewhite2485

Never done it on a benz but it happens to customers at my shop all the time, just pull the handle like you said and move it back where its supposed to be shouldnt be a big deal

It's not that big of a deal to get the door to shut but it's inconvenient and shouldn't do it so I want to fix it. It's kinda like having a remote control for your TV and having to get up and change the channels manually...

I figure it may have some wear on it after 230000 miles. A new one costs around $300 so I'm off to the junkyard tomorrow to see if one of an early SD or 240D might fit. Any cross model suggestions there?

[Dewhite2485]

o so it falls down all the time when its not supposed to, I didnt realize that from your first post we get people that come in that have tripped there latch some how and all you have to do it pop it back up and its good as new. Sounds like you said you need a new latch, probably a broken spring or a warn part in there like you said

[peragro]

Originally Posted by Dewhite2485

o so it falls down all the time when its not supposed to, I didnt realize that from your first post we get people that come in that have tripped there latch some how and all you have to do it pop it back up and its good as new. Sounds like you said you need a new latch, probably a broken spring or a warn part in there like you said

Probably. The only spring I can see seems to be in good shape but that doesn't mean something else isn't worn. Since I don't know what a new one should look like I'm kinda shooting in the dark. Hopefully I'll have some luck at the junkyard tomorrow if it doesn't rain...

[Brian Carlton]

Originally Posted by peragro

Probably. The only spring I can see seems to be in good shape but that doesn't mean something else isn't worn. Since I don't know what a new one should look like I'm kinda shooting in the dark. Hopefully I'll have some luck at the junkyard tomorrow if it doesn't rain...

Matt, I see that you've removed the latch mechanism from the door in an attempt to find a problem with it.

However, are you sure the catch is not the culprit here? Sometimes they lose the rubber nosepiece that protrudes into the latch mechanism and the door won't operate correctly.

While it's not impossible, I'm not aware of any issues that normally affect the latch mechanism...........the catch is a different story.

[peragro]

Originally Posted by Brian Carlton

Matt, I see that you've removed the latch mechanism from the door in an attempt to find a problem with it.

However, are you sure the catch is not the culprit here? Sometimes they lose the rubber nosepiece that protrudes into the latch mechanism and the door won't operate correctly.

While it's not impossible, I'm not aware of any issues that normally affect the latch mechanism...........the catch is a different story.

It could be the catch. I've been reading through some of the other threads here...

The rubber nosepiece seems to have a tiny dent in it. I'll try and find a replacement one of those as well tomorrow. Is it possible that the striker has moved out of position because the latch was slammed into it a couple of times? I do still have the issue with the latch swinging into to closed position so I'll have to deal with that. Maybe a good cleaning will help with that issue...??...