82 300SD door won't close all the way!

[dmtinker]

Help, the door lock is not catching correctly. Consequently, the door has about a 1/3 inch of play in it and the door rattles. Is there an adjustment to this?

[Brian Carlton]

I'm presuming that the door is not engaging the catch, with the exception of the safety catch.

The catch is adjustable, both horizontally and vertically.

HOWEVER, it's secured with four cap screws with socket heads that DO NOT want to be removed.

Forget about using any allen wrench on them.

Your only chance.......and you only get one chance........is to use a socket bit with a socket wrench. You need to crack them loose with a fast application of torque. Some Kroil or PB Blaster would be beneficial underneath the heads.......where most of the friction is coming from.

You don't want to break these off.........there's no way to go and get them out from the rear side.......AFAIK.

Once all four are loose, the catch will move around as needed. Secure the catch........and test the door. Repeat about 50 times.......until the door will close perfectly.

The catch also has shims behind it.........if adjustment is needed in the longitudinal axis. Shims can be added, or removed, as required.

[t walgamuth]

i have a kindof manual impact wrench which works like a charm on those. it is a thing that you hit with a hammer while holding a gripper surround and it twists. it has a square drive on the end so it will take any socket. put an allen socket on it and use penetrating oil as noted above and ....well, i have never failed to get one of those loose or broken one.

it is a fairly cheaply made tool but it works like a charm

good luck

tom w

[Brian Carlton]

Originally Posted by t walgamuth

i have a kindof manual impact wrench which works like a charm on those. it is a thing that you hit with a hammer while holding a gripper surround and it twists. it has a square drive on the end so it will take any socket. put an allen socket on it and use penetrating oil as noted above and ....well, i have never failed to get one of those loose or broken one.

it is a fairly cheaply made tool but it works like a charm

good luck

tom w

I've got the same tool.........but.......I use the tool on phillips.........never tried it on socket heads.

The tool is necessary for phillips because of the tendency for the bit to come out of the head of the screw......but.....that's not the problem with socket heads.

[t walgamuth]

maybe not but it still helps and has never failed me yet on those pesky little door latch allen heads. the jarring i am sure helps too and the impact drives the allen in and no tendency for it to back out and round it out.

i use it for phillips too. very good for that. better probably.

tom w

[Brian Carlton]

Here is one of them:

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&vertical=TOOL&pid=00947641000

[trontek]

in the striker that sticks out beyond the striker surface. It gets deteriated/broken off and will not give the extra kick to swing the latch properly.
The strickers are available but I put a short screw into the slot/insert and now mine works again....

I managed to take a drivers side striker off the parts car and was able to change the drivers side on the 300sd but I was not able to get all the bolts out of the pasengers side. The hammer and impact wrench twisted the allen wrench but would not loosen some of the bolts.

[Matt L]

Originally Posted by dmtinker

Help, the door lock is not catching correctly. Consequently, the door has about a 1/3 inch of play in it and the door rattles. Is there an adjustment to this?

I had this problem with a MY1983 126. It was the little rubber part in the catch (on the B pillar) that wasn't pushing the latch all the way to the closed position upon closing the door. Slamming the door usually worked, but not every time.

Look carefully at that rubber bumper on the outboard side of the catch to see if it's indented from years of pushing the latch.

I fixed it by removing the catches from the driver's door and the right rear door, and interchanging the rubbers. That puts the "dent" where the latch doesn't hit. I don't know if the rubber bumper is available as a separate part. If so, that may be a better fix, but my free repair has worked so far.

Note that you should carefully mark the positions of the catches before you touch the screws. And yes, they're in there very tightly, but they did come loose for me with a long allen key and some rather bad words.

Edited to add: Don't just adjust the catch position without ensuring that the latch is closing all the way. Running with a half-closed latch can cause the door to fly open in an accident. It's unlikely that the catch needs adjusting.

[PatricdeBoer]

I replaced the catch on my sd drivers side door and it was HELL. Those little allen bolts don't want to come out. The bottom ones I got out with a an allen socket head but the top ones are mush. I got so frustrated trying to get them out that I took a grinder and cut it off. I was able to do it without nicking the paint too.

[vstech]

Originally Posted by PatricdeBoer

I replaced the catch on my sd drivers side door and it was HELL. Those little allen bolts don't want to come out. The bottom ones I got out with a an allen socket head but the top ones are mush. I got so frustrated trying to get them out that I took a grinder and cut it off. I was able to do it without nicking the paint too.

Gosh! I have always heard theese are difficult to remove, but I have NEVER had any problems... I have a 79 300D and an 82 SD my secret? pb blaster and SNAP-ON Allen sockets! don't bother with sears or off the shelf tools, stop a snap on truck. and when you do, get a catalog with the drivers card stapled on it. and call when you need the next tool.
and I currently have THREE door catches in stock with PRISTINE ramps (that is what I call them, I have no idea the actual part name) they were pulled from a 380SL that got totaled. I got all the bolts and shims too!
John

[dmtinker]

Ok, I've gotten the idea the screws are hard to get out. That doesn't tell me how the adjustments are made.

[Matt L]

Originally Posted by dmtinker

Ok, I've gotten the idea the screws are hard to get out. That doesn't tell me how the adjustments are made.

Do not adjust it unless you're sure that the latch is completely closing! To do so is dangerous. It is not very likely that the door came 3/8" out of adjustment, and much more likely that the latch is half closed.

If the latch isn't closing, fixing that problem will likely require that you put the catch in the exact position that it is in now, so marking it and putting it back in exactly the samp place is the right thing to do. Don't assume that it needs adjusting.

See my earlier post. There's another in this thread addressing the same problem.

[vstech]

Originally Posted by dmtinker

Ok, I've gotten the idea the screws are hard to get out. That doesn't tell me how the adjustments are made.

unless your car has been in a MAJOR accident, or had some HEAVY people sitting in the window while closing the door, I don't think your door will need any adjustment. put the door closed and see how much gap their is around the opening. I bet it is still perfect or nearly so all the way around.

take a close look at the frame side of the door lock mechanisim, then look at the part on the back door, notice the little ramp sticking out? that makes the door latch swing over and hold the door closed. it's missing or broken on the front door right? replace it.
if you never/rarely use the back door, swap them and slam the back door and lock it closed. if you use all doors equally then go to a junkyard armed with the correct size allen wrench and some pb blaster and start looking for a good one or two.
John

[dmtinker]

Yes, I think the door is fine and it does close correctly when pulled hard. I do detect/suspected that there was a piece missing. I think it probably does need a minor adjustment in the mechanism. I will take a look at it and report back. Thanks for all your help.