Door striker alignment - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

benjira · #1 10-09-2008, 06:42 PM

Anybody know of way to get the driver door realigned after striker replacement.Seems to not go back like it was. Is there some sort of alignment tool?

Thanks
BB

79Mercy · #2 10-09-2008, 06:45 PM

loosen all 4 bolts, shut the door, and then move the striker toward the outside of the car until it latches properly.

benjira · #3 10-09-2008, 07:32 PM

Thanks

Somehow the stars aligned and it happened.I got the driver door done. Now for the others. All of the bolts are pretty much rounded out. Somehow the rubber ramps have all disintegrated. Is there a way to replace them without taking off the whole striker? Just wondering

Thanks for the quick response

BB

lutzTD · #4 10-09-2008, 08:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 79Mercy

loosen all 4 bolts, shut the door, and then move the striker toward the outside of the car until it latches properly.

I dont understand, once the door is shut how do you move the striker

benjira · #5 10-09-2008, 09:19 PM

copy that

79Mercy · #6 10-09-2008, 11:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lutzTD

I dont understand, once the door is shut how do you move the striker

you don't. Just loosen the bolt but leave them a tad loose then shut the door. This gets the striker at the right position vertically because the pin in the door puts the striker in the position it needs to be in. Then you need to move it horizontally towards the outside of the car.

lutzTD · #7 10-10-2008, 08:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 79Mercy

you don't. Just loosen the bolt but leave them a tad loose then shut the door. This gets the striker at the right position vertically because the pin in the door puts the striker in the position it needs to be in. Then you need to move it horizontally towards the outside of the car.

sorry still confused, if the door is shut how can I move the striker? and once I open the door the striker moves. are you saying leave it slightly tight and shut the door then open it and tighten? the problem I have is that it will only latch if I slam the door very hard. I have replaced the door striker with a new one and it is exactly the same as the old. Its to the point of being dangerous sometimes if I forget to slam because it will pop 1/2inch open in a turn and scare the bejeezes out of me

79Mercy · #8 10-10-2008, 08:23 AM

yes, still leave all the bolts alittle snug, shut the door, its probably will not latch because the striker isn't close enough to the door. That particular step aligns the sticker vertically, the pin on the door will go into the stiker and position it where it needs to be. Now that you have it aligned vertically slide the striker to the outside of the car and tighten the bolts and see how it closes. Its not hard, it only took me 5 min. when I replaced mine.

daw_two · #9 10-10-2008, 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 79Mercy

yes, still leave all the bolts alittle snug, shut the door, its probably will not latch because the striker isn't close enough to the door. That particular step aligns the sticker vertically, the pin on the door will go into the stiker and position it where it needs to be. Now that you have it aligned vertically slide the striker to the outside of the car and tighten the bolts and see how it closes. Its not hard, it only took me 5 min. when I replaced mine.

The key is to obtain a striker that has the rubber lower "lip" in good condition. It took me a bit longer than 5 minutes, but I'm a perfectionist. I probably opened and shut the door with various "strengths" about 10 times. The door striker is probably a bit too far "out" on my door --- but that's to compensate for the ease of force I use in closing my door. No slamming my door!!!

rrgrassi · #10 10-10-2008, 10:14 AM

You cannot just replace the broken rubber part, you have to replace the striker.

Before removing the old striker use a grease pencil to mark the position, remove, then line up the new one according to the marks.

lutzTD · #11 10-10-2008, 11:08 AM

so I did all of this and still no joy.

question is, when the door does not latch fully it still latches partially. This means that it does not stay fully shut but it does not open either. if I slam it hard it stays all the way shut. are there 2 postions? am I trying to get it to latch in the second position when it should latch only in the first postion? can someone with a working door confirm that it is supposed to have 2 positions? I have moved the striker as far out as the bolts allow and still it wont latch without slamming. the striker is brand new, but the old one did not work either

79Mercy · #12 10-10-2008, 11:29 AM

make sure the latch on the door is okay.

rrgrassi · #13 10-10-2008, 11:29 AM

Yes, there are two positions. That's the safety latch.

Has the door's seal been replaced? A mal positioned seal can keep the door from closing all the way.

Was car ever in a wreck?

TheDon · #14 10-10-2008, 11:42 AM

When I did mine I traced the old strikers position with a grease pencil and then bolted the new one into place. No issues since.

now on the "other car"... it sucks.. I can now bench press a volkswagen beetle since I've opened and closed that door like a billion times

lutzTD · #15 10-10-2008, 01:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rrgrassi

Yes, there are two positions. That's the safety latch.

Has the door's seal been replaced? A mal positioned seal can keep the door from closing all the way.

Was car ever in a wreck?

no wreck as far as I know but Im the umpteenth owner of a 26 year old car.

I do need to get the rear window alignment correct, but even with the driver window down it is only marginally better. I removed the seal along the door jamb and it makes the door rattle.

the passenger door works beautifully, rear window alignment on that side is a little better.

as far as marking the striker before removal, that boat sailed long ago, and it was bad before I replaced the striker 8 months ago. I was hoping since my old striker was missing the little plastic thingy it would fix the issue.

this is, by far, the most frustrating issue on my entire car.......