L body door latch

[Turbulence]

Anyone know if other door latches interchange with the L body ones?

My 89 Horizon drivers door is a real pain to open. The door is level (not sagged) and I have adjusted the latch mechanism a few times with little success. At the moment I have to lift the outside handle to the top of its travel and hold it there, and after a second or so the door latch lets go and the door opens. From the inside I have to pull the handle back 3-4 or more times through its full travel before the door latch lets go and the door opens.

My thinking is that the latch itself is worn so its either to the wreckers and hope to find one that isn't as worn as the current one, or get one from the dealer. The dealer still has the outer half (the latch itself) for about $80 canadian. I don't know about the inner half.

Thanks,

Martin
89 Horizon

[cordes]

All the L-bodies do that. You can supposedly fix it, as there is something inside the door that needs adjusting. I would do a search, as I know I posted and got several relpies which should solve your problem. I believe I posted that in the interior section.

[Birddog]

I have the same problem with my Omni, the pivots broke in the handle itself(on mine) and I have to practically lift the driver side off the ground before the latch pops...

As an alternative to the dealer/J-yard you can get aftermarket handles under Dorman, Motormite, Help! brands at most parts stores. Part#77006

[Turbulence]

Thanks for the replies.

Door handle itself is ok. I also have extras. Its the mechaism itself that is the problem. I had it adjusted (when it was last even close to warm out) so it would open properly from the outside (inside was still a pain) but that has gone bad again.

Martin
89 Horizon

[johnl]

The adjustment is still a mystery to me; I've got it to work but I can't see why or how it works.

What worked for me was replacing/fixing the latch rod bushings -

Take the interior door panel off. You can then unbolt the exterior handle - two 10s. With the door panel and exterior handle off, you can disconnect the rods that connect the handles to the latch. There are tiny nylon bushings that are on the rods and go in the gap between the rod and the handle's interior lever. These nylon bushings dry out, crack, and fall away. When they do, the clearance is too great - the leverage of the handle, the travel allowed, is exceeded and the handle cannot lift the latch enough.

Replace the bushings or force some 1/8 (or less?) vacuum line over the rod to make half a**ed replacement bushings.

[Capt'n Dave]

I feel you pain,fellows,i to am plaged with those handles,but i pulled several ones off dodge omni's and i noticed that all most of the dodge ,chysler,cars have the same handles,poor design on their part...If you need a set there is a 89 omni at the local pick and pull i will go and retrieve them for you..,personally i would like to fabricate something that works better,then we would really have something that would be a money maker...

[Clay]

Ive been told (but never tried) to tweak the rod that goes from the handle to the latch mechanism. By tweak I mean give it a bend/twist/kink in the middle to makes its actual length a bit shorter.

Again, ive never tried it, but the idea makes sence.

clay

[cordes]

Here is the thread I was talking about.

http://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3800

[Turbulence]

An update for y'all. I attacked my drivers door problem today. Turns out the latch itself had a broken spring--it would not spring open when released, just sort of fall open when the world was in the proper alignment (and the handle was pulled up and held up for a few seconds). Replaced it with a known good one, cleaned and coated in lithium grease. I also tweeked the rods a bit, some that had what looked like 90 degree bends originalled had stretched a bit. Replaced a few of the plastic clips as well. Now opens without effort.

Martin
89 Horizon

[cordes]

An update for y'all. I attacked my drivers door problem today. Turns out the latch itself had a broken spring--it would not spring open when released, just sort of fall open when the world was in the proper alignment (and the handle was pulled up and held up for a few seconds). Replaced it with a known good one, cleaned and coated in lithium grease. I also tweeked the rods a bit, some that had what looked like 90 degree bends originalled had stretched a bit. Replaced a few of the plastic clips as well. Now opens without effort.

Martin
89 Horizon

Very good to hear. I will probably go after mine in the next couple of weeks.

[johnl]

And a related matter - difficult L body window cranking.

There's a procedure for aligning/adjusting the front doors' window travel.

Look in the factory shop manual. You loosen all of the bolts that hold the glass, roll it up and down, and then tighten the bolts in a particular order. That, with fresh grease on the sliding mechanism, makes a huge difference. One of the other books, Clymer I think, has a better run down than the FSM.