Door Won't Stay Open

phattyduck said:
This is especially annoying to me, as my other Toyota is 10 years older and works MUCH better.... I have a feeling something could be swapped in from another vehicle. Of course, I have no urge to do this now that I have good working door checks. :nod:

-Charlie
Click to expand...

If Charlie feels the same way, then I think we are onto something...

I trust that you are referring to your '89 Camry. If so, that one looks like:

s-l1600.jpg


On those designs, if/when they fail, I recall an an easy and lasting fix is to simply insert something into or around the black rubber/plastic piece on the left, which makes it grab the arm tighter...

I get the impression we cannot open ours up. Some have tabs on them, and once pried open, I wonder if we can slid something into there to accomplish the same, or create our own rubber-like piece that squeezes tighter...

Here's a generic one open and the aforementioned tabs pulled back:

4.jpg


Again, if anyone has an old 3rd gen stop, please share some detailed photos. If you'd be willing to sell, let me know...

With various commitments, I cannot do any wrenching, probably until early October. Stuff like this is different, as much of the "work" is research and stuff like this (talking aloud)... so at least I can do something productive and the family would totally be supportive of such a fix too.
 
TonyB66 said:
If Charlie feels the same way, then I think we are onto something...

I trust that you are referring to your '89 Camry. If so, that one looks like:

s-l1600.jpg
Click to expand...
That's exactly it. The plastic arm on the 4Runner wears out (gets thinner and smoother) with time. The metal arm doesn't. Interesting idea to shim it, too. That wouldn't work if the arm doesn't have the correct contour any more though.

-Charlie
 
It's the bogie man lol

I'll have mine in the garage, no wind , flat surface, and boom it closes. It's possessed. Those spiritual forces are what keep the engine moving forever...don't get rid of them
 
Reinout said:
I was just thinking about [MENTION=198376]4Runner4Leon[/MENTION] and his High-Lift Hood Strut Kit: There is most likely a way to incorporate a small gas support to function for door check. ☺
Click to expand...

Thanks for the shout out, but I think this challenge is above my head. I splurged and bought new door checks, and have been happy ever since :).
 
4Runner4Leon said:
Looks like a good deal! Hopefully you can figure out why our door checks wear out so quickly and if we can do something to save them.
Click to expand...

I guess relative to dealership pricing, it's half price, so a good deal....

Compared to other door stays/checks/stops, still not cheap though. I'm not keen on simply replacing an item that is seemingly inferior. I've heard several accounts that ours suck and fail much sooner than others.

Charlie said that our arms are plastic. I'd like to find a viable option that is metal. So, I'm reluctant to buy that "genuine" one on eBay.

Looks like the 4th gen might have plastic swing arms too.

Door check?

Posted a few questions on Amazon if the swing arms are metal or plastic and the distance between the mounting holes...
 
Feedback received is that the distance between the mounting holes onto the door is 5.2 cm, or about 2". Actually, the guy said 5.2 mm, but that can't be right...

A check on ours shows them at 2 inches of separation. Also, I heard that these swing arms are metal, all metal.

That said, I just checked my 2000, and my arms are metal (magnet stuck). Charlie, I can't imagine your '99 is different. Maybe plastic coated? If so, that would suck.
 
TonyB66 said:
Feedback received is that the distance between the mounting holes onto the door is 5.2 cm, or about 2". Actually, the guy said 5.2 mm, but that can't be right...

A check on ours shows them at 2 inches of separation. Also, I heard that these swing arms are metal, all metal.

That said, I just checked my 2000, and my arms are metal (magnet stuck). Charlie, I can't imagine your '99 is different. Maybe plastic coated? If so, that would suck.
Click to expand...

Mine on my 98 are plastic coated.

I've got a parts rig in the backyard, you can have the door checks off all 4 for just shipping cost (or whichever ones you want if not all 4). My driver's side door check also sucks, the passenger's side one isn't great either so I'd love to see your little experiment work out.
 
gamefreakgc said:
Mine on my 98 are plastic coated.

I've got a parts rig in the backyard, you can have the door checks off all 4 for just shipping cost (or whichever ones you want if not all 4). My driver's side door check also sucks, the passenger's side one isn't great either so I'd love to see your little experiment work out.
Click to expand...

Appreciate you checking Jerod. The minute or so I had looking at mine, I sensed they are plastic-coated... With that, I'm not so keen on making these work better, possibly.

I really appreciate your offer and would gladly cover shipping of one or all four. Would you mind first posting some images here? Curious if there are tabs on the case that I can crack open, rivets or the like.

Thanks again.
 
TonyB66 said:
Appreciate you checking Jerod. The minute or so I had looking at mine, I sensed they are plastic-coated... With that, I'm not so keen on making these work better, possibly.

I really appreciate your offer and would gladly cover shipping of one or all four. Would you mind first posting some images here? Curious if there are tabs on the case that I can crack open, rivets or the like.

Thanks again.
Click to expand...

I'll pull one, probably the driver's side and post up a couple of photos.
 
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This bothers me sometimes also, thought of taking a piece of heat shrink slipping it over the arm shrink it. Rubber on rubber seems better than what it is.
Will be doing it at some point as redneck engineering since I have plenty of heat shrink.
 
Finally got the photos.

Here's a photo of the door check when "open":

h3eGG3y.jpg


And here's when the door is "closed":

d8h3Ls2.jpg


There is no way to remove the rubber grommet from inside the brass housing, it is welded shut. Well, not without getting really creative. The issue seems to be the arm itself, the black plastic seems to wear down over time. I'm not sure any coating would work for long, seems like it would just scrape off. Here's a close up of the wear on the plastic:

sPPxztd.jpg
 
gamefreakgc said:
Finally got the photos.

Here's a photo of the door check when "open":

h3eGG3y.jpg


And here's when the door is "closed":

d8h3Ls2.jpg


There is no way to remove the rubber grommet from inside the brass housing, it is welded shut. Well, not without getting really creative. The issue seems to be the arm itself, the black plastic seems to wear down over time. I'm not sure any coating would work for long, seems like it would just scrape off. Here's a close up of the wear on the plastic:

sPPxztd.jpg
Click to expand...

Excellent photos Jerod. Thanks. Very kind of you.

From those and what you described, there are no tabs or other easy way to open the "box". Between that and the plastic coating on the arms, the OEM solution sucks for us. And dang expensive too...

Unfortunately, what I have arriving tomorrow, I think also might have a plastic-coated swing arm. The feedback received on Amazon was all over the place...

But, at least with that unit, the box has tabs, so the innards are fair game. And, at 12 or 13 bucks a pop, if it works, that would be a huge price-savings...

Jerod, if not much trouble, can you get a measurement, like the length fully extended?

Thanks again.

EDIT/ADD: Think the two bolts might be holding the box together, as opposed to it being welded shut?
 
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TonyB66 said:
Excellent photos Jerod. Thanks. Very kind of you.

From those and what you described, there are no tabs or other easy way to open the "box". Between that and the plastic coating on the arms, the OEM solution sucks for us. And dang expensive too...

Unfortunately, what I have arriving tomorrow, I think also might have a plastic-coated swing arm. The feedback received on Amazon was all over the place...

But, at least with that unit, the box has tabs, so the innards are fair game. And, at 12 or 13 bucks a pop, if it works, that would be a huge price-savings...

Jerod, if not much trouble, can you get a measurement, like the length fully extended?

Thanks again.

EDIT/ADD: Think the two bolts might be holding the box together, as opposed to it being welded shut?
Click to expand...

The threads you see in the photo are not a standard bolt, I forget what they are called. Toyota uses them in a few spots like on the sway bar bushing brackets where it's a flat piece of metal that's welded to the housing, so they are basically just studs for the nut to go on the other side. They could be separated and removed, but you'd want to have a dremel or some other tool that can break the bond.

I'll get a measurement this evening.
 
gamefreakgc said:
The threads you see in the photo are not a standard bolt, I forget what they are called. Toyota uses them in a few spots like on the sway bar bushing brackets where it's a flat piece of metal that's welded to the housing, so they are basically just studs for the nut to go on the other side. They could be separated and removed, but you'd want to have a dremel or some other tool that can break the bond.

I'll get a measurement this evening.
Click to expand...

I follow you. Not worth trying to crack that box... Thanks for the measurement later today. Happy Friday!
 
Looking at this a bit closer, the 4Runner door check is a bit odd. It seems like they use some kind of a texture on the sliding surface, presumably (?) to increase friction. Here is what my ~2 year old front door check looks like, almost like new:

omoKihZ.jpg


In contrast, here is the rear one, which is original:

sGMtrEM.jpg


So I'm not sure how/if a more traditional smooth metal arm would work. I'd think that both parts of the door check (the sliding arm and the spring loaded clamp) have to work as a system; you probably can't just mix and match components randomly. But of course if you can find an all metal one that fits our trucks, that would be ideal - I've never before seen door checks that are basically a wear item.
 
4Runner4Leon said:
Looking at this a bit closer, the 4Runner door check is a bit odd. It seems like they use some kind of a texture on the sliding surface, presumably (?) to increase friction. Here is what my ~2 year old front door check looks like, almost like new:

omoKihZ.jpg


In contrast, here is the rear one, which is original:

sGMtrEM.jpg


So I'm not sure how/if a more traditional smooth metal arm would work. I'd think that both parts of the door check (the sliding arm and the spring loaded clamp) have to work as a system; you probably can't just mix and match components randomly. But of course if you can find an all metal one that fits our trucks, that would be ideal - I've never before seen door checks that are basically a wear item.
Click to expand...

Very detailed photos Leon, thanks.

I imagine you are correct about the rough surface. Once it smooths-out and further wears thinner, they are shot and useless. Pretty hard to add thickness. A thought, for those who want to try though... Clean the worn arm very well. Add a thin layer of JB Weld on the hump/s. Maybe a little on the top and bottom. Not too thick, but enough, possibly add some texture, like by using a toothpick. I actually think that might work, maybe might last quite a while. Just thinking out loud...

That said, I'm really hoping this will work for us. Should arrive in the next couple hours.

51VXwWCp79L._SL1200_.jpg
 
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