what do I adjust so my door latches?
 

My drivers door has always needed a good shove to close, more than the other doors. now sometimes it just won't latch. What do I adjust? it does not sag visibly, but the latch just does not seem to catch. I keep a ball of twine in the car now to tied it shut if need be - it is getting old.
thanks, Andy

Try loosening the bolts on the hinges and opening and shutting the door a few times till it latches properly. Then re-tighten the bolts. Another possibility is that the weatherstripping might be interfering with the motion of the door. Good luck.

it is not the weatherstripping, so I will try loosening the hinges. I am confused on how I tighten them back up in the proper position if the door is shut. Do I just unsnug them and hope the door moves and that they stay put when I open it back up? -Andy

andy, i have the same problem with my 79 240d. some time back i asked a man in the boby shop business about this. he suggested i reposition the latch. have not done it yet. talking about it my give me incentive. in my case i believe i must loosen what i remember to be torx fasteners and slightly lower the latch. believe i was told to mark the position of the latch before loosening anything. and as a result i would have a reference from which to make adjustments.

Andy, that's what I did, I carefully opened the door and tightened the bolts. You might have to go thorugh the process a few times till it shuts right.

SW, Thanks.
Janko, 6mm allen on my car, I did not have a good long handled wrench to attack the latch with, and the shorthandled ratcheting T-handle tool I did have got me nowhere. I stopped before I rounded anything. I have a nice long handle one that I got at work, but have not given it a whirl yet. -Andy

I had the same problem on my '82 300SD. After attempting to loosen the #3 phillips screws holding the hindges, with absolutely no success, I got out the WD-40; and, liberally squirted all of the hardware, including the latching mechanism. The WS-40 alone fixed the problem. It still closes a little harder than the passenger door; but, nevertheless, closes with just a fairly normal shove. I used to have to slam it to latch. It turns out that the resistance was in the latching mechanism, not in missalignment.

Jeff Naumann

I just had the same problem on my 82 240D and did the wd-40 trick and it worked. However, it is starting to become a problem again. I thought I might take some carberator cleaner to it and then wd-40 again.

You should also check to see if the plastic is broken on the pillar strap - this is the part y'all are talking about loosening and repositioning. I've had to replace two pillar straps because the plastic breaks on the underside and when it breaks the door latch is not rotated far enough to engage the full lock position. Instead, the door latch rotates part way and the door only partially latches. Compare your bad pillar strap to the other doors (esp. the door(s) that's least used) to see if the plastic is broken. M-B later changed from plastic to rubber and this problem went away.

Yep, those allen head screw are really tough to get out even on doors with good seals I've seen bad rust/corrosion that welds these screws tight. I let them soak with penetrating oil for a while like the other members have suggested. Then I use a hammer-type impact wrench to remove the screws (this is the poor man's impact driver that has the appropriate tool attached and then hit it with a hammer to break loose the fastener - my big air compressor is in storage). If you have an air or electric impact gun - then use it because the hammering action greatly helps to loosen these screws and avoid damaging the allen head portion of the screw. If you should round off the allen head screw then I've used a small sharp chisel to cut a groove in the screw head, then place the chisel in the groove facing in the direction to loosen the screw, and then strike it with a hammer to loosen the screw (this may take several tries speaking from experience). If this fails then you made need to drill through the head of the screw and then use an easy out.

Good Luck!
Tom

I just checked mine and I think I see what your are talking about. Is this the small almost flat protrusion just under the receiving hole on the pillar?

A picture of this would make it a lot easier to explain - the ole' picture is worth a thousand words saying:p!

Here goes - looking at the bottom of the pillar strap is an area that is recessed (like a rectangular groove) that the door latch rotates into. Look at this recess and at the end of the recess (closer to the seat than the door) is an area that the door latch engages and causes the latch to rotate into the recess. It has a tab that extends down a small distance (1/8 - 3/16 inch), the plastic is one piece that the metal portion surrounds - otherwise the plastic could be replaced (in other words - a visit to the local junk yard to find a good one). This tab begins to go bad by cracking, then breaking, and then the plastic close to this tab wears until the door latch will not rotate enough to fully close - the door gets harder and harder to close needing a good slam or several slams to get it to latch/close correctly. That's about as good an explanation as I can give. Compare pillar straps and I believe you'll see the wear/breakage I'm talking about.

Good Luck!
Tom

The door catch, MB P/N 123-720-01-04, sells for $27.50 from
any MB dealer, plus the rivets (new), 4 required, run $0.50 each
for $2.00 total, MB P/N 116-990-00-31, and those items should
remove the cone cylinder malfunctions on the pillar "B" chassis
for a 123. It is not recommended to use wet lubricant, except
in emergency, but a dry lubricant for door hinges. There is a
"trick" for removal of the countersunk allen head rivets, which
reveals itself eventually; realignment of the hidden shims inside
the "B" pillar should be attempted while relaxed and sober. If
one were to cause the behind shims to drop to into the lower
cavity chassis there would be little real hope for recovery.

Good luck! This is a DIYer project to rid the 123 of locking catch
malfunction when identified directly to the cone as defective.

adding W123 part data
 

W123 locking eye, LEFT front/rear door MB#1237200104

W123 locking eye, RIGHT front/rear door MB#1237200204

P/N's for W126 repair?
 

Do these part numbers work for the same repair on a W126? Thanks in advance!

Ive never actually been able to loosen one of these without breaking something. if your going to lubricate it its only temporary but don't use wd-40. wd40 is junk for almost everything. Its not a good lubricant and evaporates quickly. Used a heavy oil like atf or motor oil after cleaning the area with brake cleaner. Or possibly use bearing or lithium grease