WMimms

Hello, first post here. My driver door when closed will latch but the door will not come flush with the body. I can push on the door and it will come flush to the body but fails to latch and stay in that position.

When compared against the passenger door the passenger side has 2 audible clicks. After the second click from the latch mechanism the passenger door is flush with the body. The drivers side door will just click once. Any suggestions on how I might adjust the mechanism? Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated. If pictures would be helpful I’m happy to upload some. Thanks, Bill

silfox

Bill,
Just a thought. When those mechanisms were installed, they were lubed with old lithium grease which really hardens with time. You might want to try a "degreasing" and cleaning of all the door latch parts, and then relube with some synthetic grease.
Bob
59 245hp ragtop
waving in San Diego

Panama 58

There are three areas you need to consider. The first are you door hinges. Check all of the bolts and make sure they are tight. I don't think it's your hinges because the door is shutting properly, but not all of the way. Second, you door latch in the door. This usually isn't the problem but remove all old grease as suggested and check the pan head philips screws that hold it in place. Thirdly, I suspect your door "catch" mechanism has moved around on you a bit. That would be the odd shaped piece that is bolted to the rear inner door jamb. Check to see if it has pulled outward a bit and or shifted in any way. You can sometimes tell by looking at the paint around it. By loosening the three large screw bolts and making "minor adjustments to it's positioning, you might solve your problem.

When you are working on a door fitment ALWAYS make minor adjustments because a little goes a long way. Go slow and be sure that your door is still able to open and close so you don't break any edges or mess up your paint. It is a time consuming and tedious job, but you can get it.

thoyer

Have you changed the door gasket recently? Some of the gaskets on the market are thicker / denser and lead to door closing issues if the door is not adjusted properly.

Otherwise, Panama58 is on target with making adjustments to the door latch mechanism.

Tom

cbernhardt

Perhaps my doors are not adjusted correctly, but if I gently close the door the catch clicks and the edge of the door is about 0.5" from the body as measured at door handle height. If I then push on the door inward it will not latch the door even with the body; however, if I gently slam the door from an open position, it will close and latch with a nice solid "thunk" and the door is latched even with the body.
I would suggest moving the door latch mechanism in the door jamb outward slightly and see if the door will close and latch properly. If it does, move it inward until the door is even with the body. As Panama 58 noted, sometimes it takes a lot of adjustment to get the door alignment correct.
Charles

WMimms

Thanks guys! I will move forward with all of your suggestions and circle back here to let you know what worked. Have a great weekend! Bill

njfl

The OP didn't say whether this is a new installation or that it has been working in the past and suddenly went bad. Regardless, one other thing to try would be to remove the rubber "rebound" bumper in the striker plate on the door jamb to see if this allows the two click closure.