Why are my doors hard to close

[JBurt]

Searching didn't yeild much. So this is a recent problem. Both doors on the drivers side seem to need to be shut very firmly. Not necessarily slammed, but it takes more force than it should.

The latch on the door had a plastic covering that has deteriorated off of both doors. Could this be the problem? Any way to fix this or order a new latch assy? I took the door panel off the rear door and couldn't see any obvious way that the assy comes out, but then again I didn't take off too much plastic in there because I didn't want to start a project without doing enough research.

I'll take a picture of the part of the latch I'm talking about in the morning when it is light outside. Thanks.

 

[TheKorstjens]

Do the doors sag or drop a little when opened? Common problem on older rigs. May just need some adjustments. Also white lithium grease on latch mechanism helps.

 

[Dezert4Runner]

I dealt with this a few months ago. For the longest time I had to almost slam my driver's door because the latch was worn out. The plastic covering the latch was worn, and unfortunately that mechanism is one piece and is part of the lock actuator. I sourced one from a partout in the classifieds. You have to go into the door panel and disassemble a few things including part of the window track and you'll need some torx bits to remove the bolts holding it in.

 

[IBallEngineer]

Don't rush to condemn the latches(especially two at once), it may be the striker needs a little adjustment, or the door is sagged down a little. The latter is the most common thing, and the easiest to fix. Since you don't have the tool, you can substitute a long 2x4 wedging it under the door and above the rocker with the door open as little as you can while still fitting the wood in there. Protect your paint with towels, and then lift the door a little bit at a time in until the striker meets the latch correctly. Sounds like you aren't very far off anyway.

 

[NCrunner2012]

I always notice that my doors are harder to close than any previous vehicle ive ever had. I also notice that when the windows are down or even one window is open the doors are easier to close. I think it has something to do with the pressure in the cabin. I guess that means that the weatherstripping is still holding strong. Im not sure that it applies to this situation but...

 

[JBurt]

Thanks for all the advice. The doors don't seem sag when I open them, but I checked where the latch was hitting the catch. Here's what is looks like:

Seems pretty good to me, but maybe 1/16" or so to low. Thoughts? The rear door looks about the same, but harder to take a picture of.

Heres what the latch looks like:

Does this look any different than anyone else's?

 

[PitbullRescuer]

Just lube the latches with some white lithium grease. Should free them up a little bit after opening and closing a few times.

 

[IBallEngineer]

They do look good, you could tap the striker down a little with a hammer, see if changes, tap it back if it makes it worse. Definitely clean and lube!

 

[JBurt]

I have recently cleaned and lubed with marine grease which seems to have disappeared. should i take the latch out to lube it? good idea about moving the striker.

 

[01thunder]

the striker doesn't move. the latches wear. lube everything; hinges, checks, latches, etc. then check.

 

[nissanh]

Spray some WD 40. The latch seems terribly dry!

 

[wc11]

I had the same problem with my doors.
In the end, for me it was years of lithium grease built up on the latches.
It got hard and started binding.

I used a screw driver to move the striker back & forth while opening and closing and used a small pick to pick out the grease chunks.

Then it was a complete relube.
Now all is well.

 

[JBurt]

A sever cleaning and lubing did help, but not much. After thinking about the problem some more this is what I came up with, but I don't think it is a permanent solution. Easy though, but I can't think of anything else.

You'd pretty much have to slam them, otherwise they would close but not all the way and you couldn't apply a small amount of force to close them. You'd have to open it back up and slam it. Then the plastic came off of the latch on my passenger door as well so three out of four were a pain to close.

I thought that the plastic that came off was probably about 1/8" thick and this would help the latch engage. So then my problem was that there was a gap between my latch and the striker. But how to coat either the moving part of the latch or the striker so that the gap wouldn't be there. The only thing I could think of was putting electrical tape like so:

This worked but it was too tight, so I removed some of it and it works like a charm. I did the other two doors and it does take a little bit of trial and error to get the thickness right, but now my wife can actually close the doors. I don't think the electrical tape will hold up for very long but I'm at a loss of a more permanent solution. Any ideas?

 

[IBallEngineer]

The only thing I could think of was putting electrical tape like so:

I don't think the electrical tape will hold up for very long but I'm at a loss of a more permanent solution. Any ideas?

Man I thought this fix was outdated! We used to weld directly to the latch on Celica's in the early 80's to achieve this same thing. On GM products we would take a piece of plastic hose and slip it over the striker. In your case some PVC tubing split at an angle may help. I have used electrical tape on strikers before, but to quite things, not for fit or effort. I'm shocked this did anything.

:couch2: