Door does not latch, loose
- Thread starter slshearer
- Start date
-
- Tags
- door latch lock striker plate
Couple of points...including to point you to the search option in the upper right of the forum header. It has two levels of search: to search inside the forum, just type in the slot that pops up, and if you want to expand your search to let Google hit a bunch of GMC sites hit the advanced search in the bottom right of the popup.
I put in "striker plate" and the following thread came up, maybe fifth on the list, it's a good start.
www.gmcmotorhome.org
I did the trick where I took the frontmost (facing it in the doorway) 1/8 inch off the striker plate and that was enough to get my 78 door to grab the second latch again. If you have a GMC upfit, be sure to understand which bolts have hidden backer nuts on the striker plate...as in, if you take the bolt all the way out the backers fall into the door sill. My Royale trim nothing is hidden, but the Glenbrook stuff will get lost.
I put in "striker plate" and the following thread came up, maybe fifth on the list, it's a good start.
Entry Door - Best option for easy closing.
My '76 Royale has a door that is somewhat hard to convince to reach the second latch.. A few years ago I found it didn't reach the second latch at all because the bottom of the door hit first, so I recurved it (2x4 in opening and PUSH). I also elongated the latch bolt holes on the door to help...
www.gmcmotorhome.org
I did the trick where I took the frontmost (facing it in the doorway) 1/8 inch off the striker plate and that was enough to get my 78 door to grab the second latch again. If you have a GMC upfit, be sure to understand which bolts have hidden backer nuts on the striker plate...as in, if you take the bolt all the way out the backers fall into the door sill. My Royale trim nothing is hidden, but the Glenbrook stuff will get lost.
Thanks for recommending the search tool, Tyler. One small correction, the button that searches across several sites is the new "G" button in the middle, which uses Google Custom Search. The Advanced Search button is just a more detailed set of options for the built-in search engine. Details here: https://www.gmcmotorhome.org/threads/search-tips.92706/Couple of points...including to point you to the search option in the upper right of the forum header. It has two levels of search: to search inside the forum, just type in the slot that pops up, and if you want to expand your search to let Google hit a bunch of GMC sites hit the advanced search in the bottom right of the popup.
I put in "striker plate" and the following thread came up, maybe fifth on the list, it's a good start.
Entry Door - Best option for easy closing.
My '76 Royale has a door that is somewhat hard to convince to reach the second latch.. A few years ago I found it didn't reach the second latch at all because the bottom of the door hit first, so I recurved it (2x4 in opening and PUSH). I also elongated the latch bolt holes on the door to help...
I did the trick where I took the frontmost (facing it in the doorway) 1/8 inch off the striker plate and that was enough to get my 78 door to grab the second latch again. If you have a GMC upfit, be sure to understand which bolts have hidden backer nuts on the striker plate...as in, if you take the bolt all the way out the backers fall into the door sill. My Royale trim nothing is hidden, but the Glenbrook stuff will get lost.
There are threads that describe various ways to recurve the door. Jim Bounds may have a video on it as well. I'm pretty sure that the root cause for most situations is that the coach has 'bulged' at the beltline. In that case, for the door/latch dimension to be correct, the door has to be bent out at the center to match the coach.
My coach definetly bulged; you can see it where the bulkhead at the aft of the door opening has a gap between the bulkhead and the coach side. In my case I belive it was 'over curved' so that the bottom of the door touched first and prevented the latch from easily reaching the pin. Once I forced the bottom out a little and filed the pin plate holes a little to allow the pin to move out, it reached the latch but still had to be given a forceful push to properly latch. I took the latch mechanism apart, cleaned it and lubricated it, and it now closes and latches gracefully.
The right way to fix it would have been to pull the coach sides back together and fix them to the shell of the coach, and finally return the door to its original shape. Maybe the next owner can do that.
Bill
My coach definetly bulged; you can see it where the bulkhead at the aft of the door opening has a gap between the bulkhead and the coach side. In my case I belive it was 'over curved' so that the bottom of the door touched first and prevented the latch from easily reaching the pin. Once I forced the bottom out a little and filed the pin plate holes a little to allow the pin to move out, it reached the latch but still had to be given a forceful push to properly latch. I took the latch mechanism apart, cleaned it and lubricated it, and it now closes and latches gracefully.
The right way to fix it would have been to pull the coach sides back together and fix them to the shell of the coach, and finally return the door to its original shape. Maybe the next owner can do that.
Bill
Sometimes it IS the latch side that is causing the problem. I have one of the welded solid strikes that were available for a while. It helped a lot, but on two occasions (over 18 years of ownership) I have had to disassemble the inside of the door and lubricate the latch mechanism and all the various rods etc, in order to get my door to close properly.
You might give that a try, it probably needs it anyway.
You might give that a try, it probably needs it anyway.
I disagree.. sort of. I DO agree that middle aged spread is a problem. But I disagree that is causes any latching problems. what it does do is prevent the top and bottom of the door from sealing.
The latch striker is the real problem. I think it was an issue from the factory, prove me wrong, the striker plate is too wide, it sticks out 1/4 ( or so ) past the door jamb and prevents the door from closing properly.
Cutting a relief in the door gasket does help a little. But the solution is to cut the striker plate back to at least flush with the jamb. I also moved the striker forwared another 1/8th. Now it closes very nicely
Agree that the spread shouldn't prevent latching. In my case, I think the PO overcurved the bottom which then prevented latching. Here's a photo of my strike plate - for some reason it does not protrude from the jamb
Getting the pin closer to the latch would certainly help the door close properly. I elongated the holes in the door for the bolts that fasten the latch mechanism - so moving the latch rather than the pin; perhaps that's why my door now closes with a slight flick of the wrist. (not a satisfying 'chunk' like a car door, but not the neighbor-waking slam of early morning dog-walking either).
In retrospect, shaving the strike would have been the preferrable method if the strike had protruded. Or actually moving the pin. Moving the latch changes the end points of the rod that locks the door, and took some careful adjustment.
In retrospect, shaving the strike would have been the preferrable method if the strike had protruded. Or actually moving the pin. Moving the latch changes the end points of the rod that locks the door, and took some careful adjustment.
I tried adjusting the strike plate every which way and the door still was about 1/8" loose which drove me crazy. I took the latch apart and padded up the ends of the 2 fingers where they grasp the strike plate with a small amount of weld, cleaned the ugly weld up and it now closes smoothly, easily and as perfect as I could want.
Mine is a 1973 so over the years there may have been upgrades as I read above about 1st and 2nd stage latching like a modern car door.
Mine is a 1973 so over the years there may have been upgrades as I read above about 1st and 2nd stage latching like a modern car door.
I had the same problem with my door.I replaced the original striker with the one available without the bushing.That didn’t help but found it would latch around a smaller diameter pin.I used different sockets of various OD’s and pushed them against the latch until Finding the one that allowed the latch to go to the second position.Took the striker off and machined the pin down to the diameter of the socket that I found would work.It now works as it should.The welding of the fingers is certainly a viable alternative.I guess it comes down to what you have to work with but they can be made to work without finding a replacement.
Keith if your question of whether it’s getting to the second lock and two clicks is for me,yes.I get both.The doors been working as it should for the past three years.I didn’t take much of the diameter off the striker pin,a few thousand,which allowed it to go deeper into the lock against the worn fingers.The fingers were not worn equally at their base I assume because the striker was not adjusted properly for years.
When I work the latch with a rod or similar to see how it latches, I have never found a second click. Perhaps in 1973 model year it was not a requirement. I know the idea of second click as all newer vehicles have it.
Hi any chance you could snap a picture of the revised striker? I thnk you have the solution... Thank you and Happy New year! Stewart
I purchased a striker PIN plate but the diameter was too-large
I eventually got my original to work great
How did you reduce the pin diameter?
It was done on a lathe with a 4 jaw chuck.Tooling was a Manchester part off tool holder with the insert ground flat with no radius. Used this to clear the mounting flange.
I didn’t run into that but I had already modified the door frame holes a bit to have more adjustment trying to make the original pin work.This seems to be a common modification and appears to have been started by the previous owner.
