Door won't stay shut - suggestions?

[dcmovin]

Hello,

When I got back to my car from getting off the train today, I noticed that my mirror was in an odd position, and the door locks were about halfway up, rather than all the way down (my vacuum locks typically work perfectly, and they had closed correctly when I left the car this morning).

So, I unlocked the door, got it, and nothing had been messed with, so I was just a little suspicous that someone had tried to break into the car.

Then I noticed what was really wrong - the door will no longer stay shut, but rather it just bounces off the latching mechanism. Everything looks OK, but I don't know if someone tried to break in or not, and I don't know how to troubleshoot the latching mechanism (it looks like it should work).

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Alan

[ctaylor738]

Year and model?

[dcmovin]

opps. thought that info was in my .sig/profile.

[WANT '71 280SEL]

Open the door and there will be some sort of "arm" that is in the down position. First thing to try is to just pull the handle inside the car. Just as if you were getting out. That should fix it. if not, have someone hold the handle out and try to raise the arm with a screwdriver. let me know how it goes.

Thanks
David

[Lycoming-8]

If the above ideas work and you get the latch working, you will need to get it all lubed or it will happen again. The lack of fresh lubricant is a good part of why it has malfunctioned. Had this happen on the 220D/8 and a friends similarly aged 220, and both were from lack of lube. Unfortunately has been so long can't provide a reliable choice for lubricant. Others will hopefully chime in.

[dcmovin]

I got it to shut, though by no effort of my own, it just decided to latch/close properly.

So I immediately lubed it, and the other doors as well. Crossing my fingers that this doesn't happen again.

Thanks again,

Alan

[Dan Smith]

Don' know for sure the parts name, I call it the striker or latch, it's the one attached to the door pillar. They can move. Loosen it, check to see if this has happened by carefully checking the paint underneath. Put it back to match paint marks. Tighten it again. This happened to a 6.3 of ours. I was clueless. My pro mechanic, while I watched, fixed in a few minutes. Tell this board how it went.

[DieselBone]

It could just be one of those "things". I've always loved how the doors shut on my mercedes's, just like closing a freezer door, it just has that sound!

[300SDog]

I think what happens is the door gets tricked into thinking it's closed but hasnt caught the latch.

Then you try to 'open' it with the door handle, but there's no striker to pull open the catch. And when you shut it, the closed catch bounces off the striker assembly. Solution is to pull open on the door handle while simultaneously pulling open the catch with a spanner or screw driver.

IMHO, dry graphite dust is the best door catch and keyhole lube because oil and grease collect dirt.

(edit: Or if the catch is grabbing but then comes loose - it's probably the small plastic piece on the metal striker that has broken. Compare condition of the plastic bit with other doors. A common prob on 116's and 123's, maybe the 108 too.

[joshhol]

Sounds like it is time to pull all the door latches, degrease and regrease as the old grease turns to gum after all these years.