doors don't close sorta
i've got a 78 300d.

get in the car close the door and it kinda latches. sometimes i have to slam it really hard to get it to shut and latch tight.

sometimes i'm rolling before i catch it. then i'm a rattlin' and i've got to reach across the car, and steer, or stop, to shut the door, again and again, till it latches.


tried lubing the latch, used silcon spray lithium grease spay, and 3n1 oil. shuts a little better, for a while, but still not consistent.

is there some sort of an adjustment, or fix?

rear doors do better than front doors, properly closing 80% of the time on the first try.

front doors usually take some really hard swings.

the parts car i have is an 82 and the doors close like a dream solid, just a little effort, but no pull back and slam action.

just wondering if the latch had some adjustment tolerance, or do you just replace when worn?
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Take a look at the part on the pillar that the door latch catches on. There are three bolts that bolt it on. Loosen each bolt slightly and the catch will move side to side and up and down. Adjust this until the door latches properly. If you slightly loosen the bolts and close the door gently, many times the latch will align itself. Then open the door carefully and tighten the bolts. Sometimes the catches can get pretty stuck on, so you may have to jar it loose first. Use this adjustment to also flush the door with the rest of the body panels when the door is closed.

The latches on the B and C pillar have a plastic lip on the bottom of them, when they break the door either needs to be slammed or it wont catch at all. Try swapping them out with the latches from the '82...

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Over 21 years I owned several:
w108
w110
w111
w115
w116
w123
w124
w126
w212

will try to adjust. saw the plastic "lip" that was broke off, but found them in the same condition on the parts car, and those doors close great. so i figured the little plastic piece wasn't that critical.

thanks all.

I love this site.

I have the same problem.

It's drivers door. Sometimes it latches fine, others it takes a slam. It's closed, but able to open an inch or so.

I'll check out the adjustments, and the plastic thing.

JP

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1985 300SD
2001 Toyota Tundra - soon to be replaced with diesel truck
2006 Honda CRV

Sometimes you need to shim them too. On your parts car you will likely find shims behind the strikers. if no ammount of adjusting fixes it then try shims.

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1959 Gravely LI, 1963 Gravely L8, 1973 Gravely C12
1982 380SL
1978 450 SEL 6.9 euro restoration at 63% and climbing
1987 300 D
2005 CDI European Delivery
2006 CDI Handed down to daughter
2007 GL CDI. Wifes

good thread
I'm having imilar problem

Should I use spray white grease?
its all I have

What is best?

Looks like my hinge was moved?

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The B and C pillar catches are interchangable from front to rear, but are unique from side to side.

Once the door starts to require a hard slam, the cure is to replace them with new or good used.

Rears usually suffer a lot less use, and can be installed on the front doors.

Be careful when removing the catch, the cap screws will strip out easily if you are not careful. Use penetrant before forcing the fasteners. As mentioned, there is a shim pack under each one.

If your door was closing easily, then suddenly becomes hard, it's not likely to be an alignment issue.

I've changed out more than a few of these over the years.

Jim

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14 E250 BlueTEC black. 45k miles
95 E320 Cabriolet Emerald green 66k miles
94 E320 Cabriolet Emerald green 152k miles
85 300TD 4 spd man, euro bumpers and lights, 15" Pentas dark blue 274k miles

Same thing happened to mine. I think its the receiver plate and not the catch. Four 5mm allen bolts, front and rear receivers are interchangable but not from left to right. The plastic bit aint sold seperately and when the plastic breaks the door wont close correctly. 2 kinds of plastic bits, earlier white ones more brittle than later version black plastics. Any year 123 receiver plates will fit. And instead of grease I'd use graphite dust to lube door catches and locks, keyholes too. Problem with grease, it collects sand and grit.