Front door latch problems

[monkie]

I've been driving around with gappy doors for ages, but now it's cold and wet I've made a few adjustments and typical land rover, solved one problem but created a new one. 

No gaps in my doors, but the doors won't open reliably from either inside or out. I've been adjusted the striker plates but found I either have gaps or doors that won't open properly. 

My question: is this simply an issue of adjustment and I've got to persiver or is this because my door latches were supplied in a blue box and I need to get the credit card out for a set of genuine latches? 

[oneandtwo]

Where do I start?

If you adjusted the door front to back, you need to add or remove door striker shims to suit.

Other reasons are - cracked b pillar - common when door hasn’t been maintained / sorted sooner - the door is then slammed harder and harder in effort to get it to latch causing the pillar to crack around the strikers; this then causes the striker to flex inward making it even harder to get the door to latch meaning it has to be slammed even harder, This is usually the cause of the inner door metalwork cracking from excessive slamming too.

Worn strikers - the plastic sleeve get worn or damaged so the lock won’t latch correctly leading to slamming and the above. X eng Xtrousers are the best strikers but I have found the allen bolt needs to be remove and loctited in as they work loose and can jam the door.

The door locks themselves get worn making the latch have to close slightly more than it would when new to latch, and when latched, they get play allowing the door to spring back from the seals slightly. The result of this is the striker has to be moved slightly more inboard to get the door to seal against the seal and be flush against the body, but because of the wear in the latch because the striker has been moved inwards, the door will not initially latch.

Rotten doors flexing. Pattern door seals being too hard and causing door to spring back.

I tried a Britpart latch once out of curiosity because it was brand new and came included in spares with a vehicle I bought. It latched fine but when locked it jammed and I had to remove the door panel in situ to release it.

I have spent the last 20 years sorting Defender doors. A pair of revised 2005 one piece doors with new genuine latches, x trouser strikers and decent door seals can be made to be 99% watertight and shut like a modern car.

[Maverik]

I picked up genuine latches on ebay they come up at discounted prices regularly, a bit of patience and genuine doors seals go a long way to having decent latching and sealing doors

[monkie]

Thank you both. This is causing me a lot of frustration. 

@oneandtwo I think all of the above applies. There must be cracks, the strikers are worn, I have cheap door seals. I will look out for some genuine latches on ebay and some 2005 doors as mine are well battered. Really appreciate the advice 👍

[monkie]

Just seen a 2nd hand puma door on ebay which will also come with the original latch. Got to be worth a punt. Problem is that it is in the North West. I may checkout the feasibility of a forum relay

[monkie]

Tomorrow I am going to sort out my doors. I have spent a small fortune on x-eng xtrouser striker plates, genuine seals, genuine door latches and genuine door handles. 

The mechanism on even the genuine door handles seems flimsy to me. I think part of the problem on my current set up is lack of lubrication. 

Is it a good idea to apply some grease or silicone to the new handle mechanism? 

[Bigj66]

16 hours ago, monkie said:

Tomorrow I am going to sort out my doors. I have spent a small fortune on x-eng xtrouser striker plates, genuine seals, genuine door latches and genuine door handles. 

The mechanism on even the genuine door handles seems flimsy to me. I think part of the problem on my current set up is lack of lubrication. 

Is it a good idea to apply some grease or silicone to the new handle mechanism? 

When I fitted the Puma doors to my van I also fitted the x-eng striker plates that you’ve bought. They’re a quality bit of kit and after some slackening off of the hinges and time spent realigning the doors to get them to sit in the aperture correctly, it’s a lot warmer and quieter inside now.

I also made sure that all the rod mechanisms and latches were freed up and lubed with copper slip whilst I had the door trims off.

[monkie]

Thank you @oneandtwo New latches, handles and strikers fitted. The opening and closing has dramatically improved. The genuine latch looked so much more well made than the Britpart one that was fitted. There is however a lot of what I would describe as bounce or play in the doors when closed. I suspect this will be down to the Britpart seals?

I will fit the genuine seals when I get the time. Any advice on the play other than the door seals? 

[Bigj66]

2 hours ago, monkie said:

Thank you @oneandtwo New latches, handles and strikers fitted. The opening and closing has dramatically improved. The genuine latch looked so much more well made than the Britpart one that was fitted. There is however a lot of what I would describe as bounce or play in the doors when closed. I suspect this will be down to the Britpart seals?

I will fit the genuine seals when I get the time. Any advice on the play other than the door seals? 
 

 

When you say ‘play’ do you mean that you can push the door in slightly before it makes full contact with the seal and then it springs back out?

If so then this should just be a case of checking the level of the door edges relative to the opening to make sure it’s not sat outside the door aperture and that the gap between them is equal. If it is then depending on where it’s sticking out then you may need to adjust the hinges or move the striker plate in slightly so that when the door latch catches on it it holds it in against the seal, compressing it slightly.

It’s just a bit of trial and error, unless there is another misalignment between the screen, bulkhead, B post, roof etc.

 

[monkie]

Yes your description is spot on. I can indeed push the door and it will bounce back off the seal. If I remove the seal it latches perfectly. 

I refitted my roof a little while ago and paid close attention the getting it lined up right at the front. 

The striker plate is adjusted right back but I think there is a lot more adjustment to be done on the hinges. The door seems to stick out a bit. 

[Eightpot]

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Edited January 12, 2020 by Eightpot

[Eightpot]

Britpart door seal are awful, and there is zero point trying to set up a door to have the perfect seal and operation with them. To make up for the substandard material,  they put inserts into the seal where it goes round the shoulder curve to stop them going flat which then stops your door closing. Bearmach are slightly better but still worth every penny of the 10 quid they cost.  Genuine seals are far better, even used ones.  

 

[monkie]

40 minutes ago, Eightpot said:

Britpart door seal are awful, and there is zero point trying to set up a door to have the perfect seal and operation with them. To make up for the substandard material,  they put inserts into the seal where it goes round the shoulder curve to stop them going flat which then stops your door closing. Bearmach are slightly better but still worth every penny of the 10 quid they cost.  Genuine seals are far better, even used ones.  

 

I have bitten the bullet and gone genuine. I first realised how awful Britpart stuff could be when I replaced my rear crank seal and it lasted all of 15 minutes before the engine almost pumped the sumps worth out through the seal. 

You'd have thought I'd have learnt my lesson by now!