w123 door loosing the "thump" - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

ambush276 · #1 08-04-2016, 02:47 AM

So i have an 82' 240d and the doors close with such a command and presence that each close has that classic bank vault feel. On my '84 TDT the doors do not have the seem feeling or sound when they close. Not sure if this is a sign something is about to go (worn out) and if changing the striker fixes this issue?

Thanks!

bricktron · #2 08-04-2016, 02:54 AM

what is the condition of the door seals?

vonsmog · #3 08-04-2016, 07:30 AM

Look at the strikers on the door pillars and make sure the plastic on the bottom has not broken off. If so replace and adjust and all will be good again. Just replaced all four on my 85' TD and made a huge difference.

llensart · #4 08-05-2016, 03:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vonsmog

Look at the strikers on the door pillars and make sure the plastic on the bottom has not broken off. If so replace and adjust and all will be good again. Just replaced all four on my 85' TD and made a huge difference.

Are the plastic bottoms easy to find or could you tell me were you bought them
Thanks

Demothen · #5 08-05-2016, 04:42 PM

I'm pretty sure you need to buy the entire door striker to replace the plastic bits, unless someone is casting new ones. On my car I've replaced them all with parts from the local pick 'n pull. The strikers fit left/right only, the front & back should be the same part for each side of the car - so I've found good ones from the back doors of several donors and installed them on my car. Or you can certainly buy all new strikers.

A tip to aid in alignment of the new strikers is to use some masking tape to mark two or 3 edges of the old striker before you loosen it, that way you can use that tape to align the new ones. Also make sure you use some penetrating oil overnight on the old allen bolts and find a wrench that fits them very well. You don't want to strip those out.

leathermang · #6 08-05-2016, 05:15 PM

From 2004 ""A hand impact hammer is one of the handiest...and maybe $8 .... this is a great tool because it will free phillips head bolts... due to the fact that hitting it provides both forward pressure and turning pressure at the same instant...
People with Motorcycles understand how important this is...''' me

Those countersunk flat head bolts may have been messed up .. so a hand impact may really be useful for taking them out... somewhere in the archives is also instructions on how easy they drill out... which I posted by can not find... might have been lost when TxBill deleted all his threads...

spock505 · #7 08-05-2016, 06:00 PM

So glad someone posted this question as similar issue.

At first I thought it may have been the door straps but changing the front two made no difference, all locking both locking mechanisms removed, cleaned and greased but again very little change.

Door seals seem one possible cause but I cannot see much if any change in thickness or ability to absorb the door closure. Current thinking leans towards the door side of the mechanism which is spring loaded with a rotation action, this is designed to 'pull'' the door in that last amount possibly giving that 'quality' feel.

Anyone who has the wagon 124 will know the 'soft close' mechanism which achieves the same only with electrics.

BWhitmore · #8 08-05-2016, 06:05 PM

There is a guy on Ebay that sells replacement plastic parts for the door strikers.

Junkman · #9 08-05-2016, 11:09 PM

You will want to spray the bolts before trying to get them out. Also, use an allen wrench socket and hammer it in to the bolt head. Make sure the head is clean and the wrench is all the way into the head of the bolt. I also have a mechanical impact that I can hit with a hammer to back the bolt out.

The entire striker is side specific but the plastic piece will easily come out and fit either side front or back. I grab the entire striker when at the yard. The yard here has never charged me. I take a drill to the yard. The bolt heads can be drilled out but you really don't want to drill on your daily driver in case the bolt is a pita to get out. I have had an easy out work well but think that was just luck.

Another thing to grab from the yard is the mono valve. The price is going up on new parts and good ones are fewer in the yard.

Diesel911 · #10 08-06-2016, 01:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vonsmog

Look at the strikers on the door pillars and make sure the plastic on the bottom has not broken off. If so replace and adjust and all will be good again. Just replaced all four on my 85' TD and made a huge difference.

Is the part circled in red?

SD Blue · #11 08-06-2016, 09:54 AM

Before you do a bunch of adjustment and parts replacement, try lubrication. With grease. You will be surprised at the difference.

Junkman · #12 08-06-2016, 10:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diesel911

Is the part circled in red?

That is the part that goes bad. It is obvious when it does. The one in the pic is good.

Diesel911 · #13 08-06-2016, 12:50 PM

[QUOTE=Junkman;3624107]That is the part that goes bad. It is obvious when it does. The one in the pic is good.[/QUOTE]

That may have been one of the Good ones. That suff is actually supposed to be rubber not plastic. It simply got hard over time.

In the first pic you can see it cracking.

In the 2nd pic the arrow points to where that part strikes and it is responsible pushes the door latch so it locks in a resess under the door striker.

In the 3rd pic you see the one on My Car that was missing and therfore not would not latch the door properly.

I replace the passanger side front and the passanger side rear door strikers with URO replacments. The fit was not the same and it requred the removal of one shim from each positon.