Holy cow. this is great news. I will try this in the morning. I hope it does the trick.

Any latch related pictures? That would be a big help.

I will report back.


background: I have been having latching issues for some time. This meaning that a couple of the doors would never shut on the first try. 2-3 times to get the door to catch. I refuse to slam it, but even a firm attempt would only get the first catch, not the second.

Well now the passenger front door on my 83 W123 TD is only getting the first catch. It takes 6-15 tries to get the second catch to grab and secure the door in the shut position.

Fingers crossed.

__________________
83 300TD (need rear wiper assembly dead or alive)
84 300SD Daily driver
85 300TD almost 400k miles and driven daily.
98 E300D *sold
86 300SDL *sold and made flawless 10 hour journey to new home.

I used a 3/8" drive hex on an impact screwdriver to remove mine. The plastic inserts were broken. Tried making a new one out of poly but no go. The new strikers work great. The remaining problem is that the door seal is dry and brittle and gets hung up a little on the rear door frame. I have used vasaline on the seal and it let the door close easily, but the vasaline evaporates in a short time. Maybe I can find a better lubricant for the door seals.

So you purchased a new latch assy?
How much?


What is the part you tried to make? I cant really tell what is going on with my doors. All of them require 3 -4 attempts to shut. Often, just slamming the damn things is all that works. I HATE slamming doors.

FWIW: I cant imagine Vaseline evaporating. Maybe new door seals are also in order.

__________________
83 300TD (need rear wiper assembly dead or alive)
84 300SD Daily driver
85 300TD almost 400k miles and driven daily.
98 E300D *sold
86 300SDL *sold and made flawless 10 hour journey to new home.