Door latch mechanism, who's working either fixing them or reproducing them? (L body)

[minigts]

Ok, this is starting to get annoying. Most of us with an l-body have the issue with the door handles eventually breaking or at the very least it's hard to get the handles to open the door properly. I could be wrong but it seems to be an issue with the mechanism that bolts to the door by the three screws. This piece wears over time and the plates that are riveted together eventually loosen causing more tension required to move the pieces correctly.

So it seems this problem could be rectified if someone were to either rebuild these or remake the pieces and reassemble them with say a bolt or something that is adjustable in the event it becomes loose again. I don't have any pictures handy, but if anyone has ever pull this piece out of the door you know what I'm talking about.

Currently this is how it is for me. My door handle broke last night and the interior door handle would only work if I turned the lock part partially and then tried to open the door. So NOW if I want to get in my car and it's locked, I have to climb in on the passenger side, use BOTH hands to hold the lock control and pull the handle and then the door will open. This is beyond frustrating to say the least and embarrassing as well.

So has anyone a solution to this besides just buying handles that will eventually break? A good solution will cost $50-75, but will save you the trouble of buying new $10-20 handles every few years and the hassle of pulling the door apart to replace it. Personally I'd rather have a mechanism that works properly. Maybe we can get Bender to work on it.....

[DodgeZ]

Ok, this is starting to get annoying. Most of us with an l-body have the issue with the door handles eventually breaking or at the very least it's hard to get the handles to open the door properly. I could be wrong but it seems to be an issue with the mechanism that bolts to the door by the three screws. This piece wears over time and the plates that are riveted together eventually loosen causing more tension required to move the pieces correctly.

So it seems this problem could be rectified if someone were to either rebuild these or remake the pieces and reassemble them with say a bolt or something that is adjustable in the event it becomes loose again. I don't have any pictures handy, but if anyone has ever pull this piece out of the door you know what I'm talking about.

Currently this is how it is for me. My door handle broke last night and the interior door handle would only work if I turned the lock part partially and then tried to open the door. So NOW if I want to get in my car and it's locked, I have to climb in on the passenger side, use BOTH hands to hold the lock control and pull the handle and then the door will open. This is beyond frustrating to say the least and embarrassing as well.

So has anyone a solution to this besides just buying handles that will eventually break? A good solution will cost $50-75, but will save you the trouble of buying new $10-20 handles every few years and the hassle of pulling the door apart to replace it. Personally I'd rather have a mechanism that works properly. Maybe we can get Bender to work on it.....

Clean and the lube the mechanism. Also check your door pins. A well lubed mechanism should spit the door open.

[minigts]

Clean and the lube the mechanism. Also check your door pins. A well lubed mechanism should spit the door open.

Well I have tried that too, but you can see the pieces flex sideways instead of rotating. I may get a big punch and see if I can flare out the rivet some and compress it a bit. I mean at this point I have nothing really to lose since the door doesn't open anyways.

[DodgeZ]

Well I have tried that too, but you can see the pieces flex sideways instead of rotating. I may get a big punch and see if I can flare out the rivet some and compress it a bit. I mean at this point I have nothing really to lose since the door doesn't open anyways.

take the mechanism off of your parts car

[minigts]

take the mechanism off of your parts car

Blasphemy!! Get THEE BEHIND ME SATAN! I don't have a parts car....I have a car that is incapacitated at the moment and will be for several months, potentially a year(s). Sheesh...

[shelbymonster]

i had that problem with my charger , there is a little hole where is the lock when you open the door, big enough for a wd40 tube , lube there and beleave me it fixed my problem right away ! , i had broke 2 handle before trying that

[135sohc]

Good luck finding something, $50-75 isnt gonna go far getting something like that reproduced. Not to mention the very high liability of a part like that, its got to be STRONG and capable of holding a door shut in an accident. I've looked at newer cars like the intrepid and neon to see if the latching/locking mechanism can be used but so far nothing really lines up very well.

Get the p/n and go searching... someone out there has one hidden away that you can buy for a highly inflated price

[supercrackerbox]

It might be a good idea to grab a few latches from the junkyards. Try to find ones where the plastic covers on the jaws isn't broken. Clean all the gunk out of them with a toothbrush and some cotton swabs, and grease them back up. I use white lithium grease personally. Also make sure the door strikers aren't severely worn. If they are, buy them from the dealer. The Help! ones are crap and like to shatter in freezing weather.

Also, while you've got the door panel off to replace the outer handle, inspect all the plastic clips that hold the rods in place and replace as needed. There are assortment packages sold in the Help! sections at most parts stores, but you'll have to buy several and mix and match for the ones you need. Last I knew, they were available at the dealer too, but that was a decade ago.

Also, sometimes you have to tweak the rods a bit to restore their alignment. They start to sag over the years, which effectively makes them shorter, requiring more leverage on the door handles to open the latch. Try to get them to the point where they start putting pressure on the latch as soon as you start lifting the handle.

[DodgeZ]

open your door. grab the bottom of the door at the very end of it and lift up. if you can move the door up and down without moving the car your door pins need to be replaced.

[minigts]

Good luck finding something, $50-75 isnt gonna go far getting something like that reproduced. Not to mention the very high liability of a part like that, its got to be STRONG and capable of holding a door shut in an accident. I've looked at newer cars like the intrepid and neon to see if the latching/locking mechanism can be used but so far nothing really lines up very well.

Get the p/n and go searching... someone out there has one hidden away that you can buy for a highly inflated price

Well I was referring to building the plates that move, not the piece that actually grabs the pin to hold the door closed. I agree with you that making that entire piece would be difficult and expensive, but replacing the plates or at the least ensuring the plates don't flex would greatly help with that mechanism. I'd have to pull one out and take pictures to describe what I mean for those not familiar with the look of this piece.

It might be a good idea to grab a few latches from the junkyards. Try to find ones where the plastic covers on the jaws isn't broken. Clean all the gunk out of them with a toothbrush and some cotton swabs, and grease them back up. I use white lithium grease personally. Also make sure the door strikers aren't severely worn. If they are, buy them from the dealer. The Help! ones are crap and like to shatter in freezing weather.

Also, while you've got the door panel off to replace the outer handle, inspect all the plastic clips that hold the rods in place and replace as needed. There are assortment packages sold in the Help! sections at most parts stores, but you'll have to buy several and mix and match for the ones you need. Last I knew, they were available at the dealer too, but that was a decade ago.

Also, sometimes you have to tweak the rods a bit to restore their alignment. They start to sag over the years, which effectively makes them shorter, requiring more leverage on the door handles to open the latch. Try to get them to the point where they start putting pressure on the latch as soon as you start lifting the handle.

I've done this and what not, the piece is just worn out. The guy that sold me the car replaced the handle last May and it's already broken. I'll see if I can get a spare to work on, but I don't see many L bodies in the yard anymore, if at all.

open your door. grab the bottom of the door at the very end of it and lift up. if you can move the door up and down without moving the car your door pins need to be replaced.

Doors sit fine on the car. They close even nicer and there is no binding on that, it's the piece inside. I know this because I've pulled this out of both the cars I have and both you can see uncommon movement on the plates. They should only rotate to trigger the latch, not wobble and that is what they are doing. You can even see it as you pull the handle inside or lift the one outside. the plate doesn't actually move until about half way through the cycle. You can literally see the plate twist as you lift up on the handle. Like I said, I may just take a punch and try and flatten the rivet to see if that closes the gap between the plates.

[TheCanadian007]

On the L-body vehicles they use roll pins to hold the door on.....any sources to find correct replacement ones? How about tips on replacing them?

[minigts]

On the L-body vehicles they use roll pins to hold the door on.....any sources to find correct replacement ones? How about tips on replacing them?

Someone on here posted the part number. They're not expensive, like $5 a pair or something, but they were only sold in packs of 10 or something like that? I don't remember, but it was posted on this board.

[135sohc]

That was probably me. There listed in the auveco catalog.

[stargazer7467]

my new GLH has the same problems with all the door handles, you could just barely get into the driver door if you pulled on the backside of the handle. I removed all the door panels and hosed them down with PB blaster and the pop right open now.

[PunKid]

Yup I spent last night working on my drivers door. From the outside you had to pull straight up with steady pressure for it to open, on the inside it just did not work.

the previous owner replaced the outside handles and lubed everything up. The door shut great, nice and smooth. The door pin do have a little bit of play but nothing terrible. I had previously messed with the inside handle trying to get rid of the slack in the rod to allow it to release but with no luck.

This time I removed the rod and just pulled on the lever on the mechanizm and I still could not get it to pop. I finally pulled the assembly out of the car and on the work bench where I used PB everywhere and cycled all the arms and levers. Everything moves great now but even bench testing (you can bolt it back together) I still could not get the lever from the inside handel to pop the latch. my final determination was something was very warn or bent. So i bent the little limiter tab out of the way which allowed the lever to move that extra 1/16" of an inch and POP! it works great.

Both the outside and inside handle needs to be pulled out kinda far but because everything is moving freely it feels semi normal. I will let the PB sit for a week and then I will spray some real grease over everything.

1 door down 3 to go.

[audiomaninc]

I know my Daytona's have adjusters built into the latch mechanism to allow for slight door sag. Maybe L bodies have this too? It's a torx screw from the side of the door, just under the latch.

[minigts]

Yup I spent last night working on my drivers door. From the outside you had to pull straight up with steady pressure for it to open, on the inside it just did not work.

the previous owner replaced the outside handles and lubed everything up. The door shut great, nice and smooth. The door pin do have a little bit of play but nothing terrible. I had previously messed with the inside handle trying to get rid of the slack in the rod to allow it to release but with no luck.

This time I removed the rod and just pulled on the lever on the mechanizm and I still could not get it to pop. I finally pulled the assembly out of the car and on the work bench where I used PB everywhere and cycled all the arms and levers. Everything moves great now but even bench testing (you can bolt it back together) I still could not get the lever from the inside handel to pop the latch. my final determination was something was very warn or bent. So i bent the little limiter tab out of the way which allowed the lever to move that extra 1/16" of an inch and POP! it works great.

Both the outside and inside handle needs to be pulled out kinda far but because everything is moving freely it feels semi normal. I will let the PB sit for a week and then I will spray some real grease over everything.

1 door down 3 to go.

Take some pictures of whatever you change and post up, if you don't mind. Glad to hear someone has been able to fix theirs!

I know my Daytona's have adjusters built into the latch mechanism to allow for slight door sag. Maybe L bodies have this too? It's a torx screw from the side of the door, just under the latch.

We're talking about an L body here. We were lucky to get working ANYTHING on these cars compared to the other models. I'm honestly surprised they spent the money and time to install a rear hatch release button in the dash.....or a dash!

[supercrackerbox]

That's no joke. As I've said a thousand times before, the Daytona is a superior vehicle in every aspect except for weight.






But the weight really makes up for it.

[shelbymonster]

That's no joke. As I've said a thousand times before, the Daytona is a superior vehicle in every aspect except for weight.






But the weight really makes up for it.

realy true , i miss my gocart charger , but love the comfort of my tona's

[PunKid]

Take some pictures of whatever you change and post up, if you don't mind. Glad to hear someone has been able to fix theirs!

Sorry Still have not got any photos because its working perfectly! I have put over 400 miles on the car in the last week and opened that door a bunch. I think that PB blaster has really soaked through and now on the outside it opens perfectly and just about the same on the inside. It feel like a normal car door now, haha.

I Need to do one of the my rear doors so when I do I will take some photos.