86 911 door catch

[PandA]

I got a door catch for the drivers door, put it on and the door was as good as wedged. Took the catch off and even in my press, could not get the catch to actuate. I remember something about you need re-enforcement blocks or something, but that was one child, one cross county move and one battle with cancer ago. So, to that end, ordering all new stuff, what are the tricks for a drivers door catch? PET pn: 911-531-057-05

Thanks!

Andrew

[PandA]

found it.
PN updated to 911-531-957-00
Rennline door stay reinforcement kit REN_DH18

[PandA]

Ok, now I need real help.
So a million years ago the door catch mechanism blew out the inner part of the door.
so I did something and got a new door catch. Well, that thing was so stuck it just ripped the rest of the door catch area to nothing. Looks like it took a square shell.

I was told that the rennline door stay re-enforcement was the ticket. So we ordered it and well, the new door catch, does not move and the re-enforcement is seemly poorly designed.

On the door catch first. I read somewhere that part needs to be shaved down, like .030. IS this true? What is a brand new genuine door catch so terrible?

The re-enforcement plate, if you put the inner plate where it is supposed to go, it wedges the outer plate into the curve of the door. Oh yea, and you tighten up the supplied bolts and you bend the plate and warp the washers. Come on people!

[PandA]

And the catch mechanism.

[PandA]

Which part of the catch mechanism should I reduce so it actually functions?

Thanks all!

[brighton911]

I found the rubbing blocks apply too much friction to the arm so I thinned them down till the action was smooth yet still held the door in position.

[PandA]

Which part are the rubbing blocks? The white ones? Did you turn the metal shaft down? Sand opposite the metal shaft?
I don't know why this is being so hard for me to grasp. Sorry for my ignorance, and I really appreciate the help!
Andrew

[dtwa]

The two black rubber wedges shown below compress as the tongue moves through the assembly. They are very stiff and turn rock hard in a Michigan winter.



To introduce more compliance, I cut the black wedges down, as shown below. The corner was cut off, parallel to the table surface, creating an air space behind them. I used a razor blade and a bench vise (watch your fingers).



Here are the cut-down wedges in place.



I have had this modified door stay installed for two months now. Works fine; still holds the door open when parked on a slope. Easy to open the door; no more snapping. Will see how it works in January.

Final note: I think these door stays are made for 964s which I think have redesigned/reinforced doors. They are too stiff for the early doors without some modification.

—Hope this helps, Dave


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[PandA]

Dave,
Thanks for the guidance!
I ended up using my oscillating belt sander which only sent me searching for the part once.

Seemed to work quite well. I can now actuate the slider part with a light tap of the hammer. Before I was pounding it and no movement.

Follow up question: does anyone know of a weld in repair plate? Pelican turned up nothing but that means nothing.

[PandA]

Frustration!

I decided that if the little one is still sleeping might as well try with the reinforcement kit. Well, that went terribly. The catch goes from the back (outside) of the re-enforcement plate to the front (inside) then jams and you cannot close the door fully. Oh yea, and the door area around where the catch comes through severely flexes.

There have to be better solutions.

https://youtube.com/shorts/YHmKOpYTdmM?feature=share

Thanks!

Andrew

[john walker's workshop]

There's a point where you just have to find another good door.

[PandA]

I can not believe I am the first person to need an actual solution instead of the rennline junk.

Anyone know of any actual solutions?

[dtwa]

So a month or so ago, my door looked like this, and I was under the gun to get it fixed. I had the Rennline reinforcement kit installed, but the inner sheet metal had cracked through the bolt holes and then the spot welds gave way. Pretty ugly.



Comment: Rennline’s reinforcement kit is well supported on the outboard side by the door structure, but does not tie into the inboard side of the door, so it can end up effectively ‘flapping’ under the (extreme) force of the replacement door stay, causing fatigue and failure.

So what to do? I had some heavy aluminum sheet handy (14 ga/1.6mm) and I made this repair plate using a small bench-vise sheet metal brake.



The bend that is less than 90 degrees and the square hole/slot placement were patterned after the Rennline reinforcement plate. The 90 degree bend on the other side needs to have a 2-3 mm radius (a square corner won’t work).

Here it is in place.




It’s hard to see, but the steel Rennline reinforcement plate is on top of my aluminum repair plate, which is bolted through the inner surface of the door. The fact that it bridges the dip in the door doesn’t affect anything. There are four 6mm socket head cap screws with nylon locking nuts and flat washers holding it in place, along with the bolts for the door stay and both parts of the Rennline kit. The intent here is to support the inboard side of the reinforcement plate by tying into the inboard side of the door.

The plate was first aligned and bolted in place via the door stay bolts. Then the 6mm holes were drilled through the door and the plate simultaneously to ensure exact alignment. One complication is that the structure of the inboard side of the door is double-wall with about a 10mm gap between the walls. After drilling the 6mm holes through both walls, the holes in the exterior wall were opened up to clear the heads of the cap screws. The repair plate is bolted firmly to the inner wall of the door.

Here is a picture of the inner surface of the door. While there are now four new holes, nothing will be visible once the door panel is reinstalled.



Like I said I was in a hurry when I did this, so I didn’t document it other than the pics (no drawings or measurements). The bolt placement could have been better (neater), and I probably would have used steel if I had it on hand. But it feels sturdy, and the car has been driven almost daily in the month since it was installed, without any issues. I did use a modified door stay.

Consider this report preliminary. Time will tell on durability. BTW the car is an 85 Carrera coupe.

—Best, Dave


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[dtwa]

Originally Posted by PandA

Frustration!

I decided that if the little one is still sleeping might as well try with the reinforcement kit. Well, that went terribly. The catch goes from the back (outside) of the re-enforcement plate to the front (inside) then jams and you cannot close the door fully. Oh yea, and the door area around where the catch comes through severely flexes.

There have to be better solutions.

https://youtube.com/shorts/YHmKOpYTdmM?feature=share

Thanks!

Andrew

I think my earlier post missed the mark.

I looked at your video and saw that you have the reinforcement kit installed incorrectly.

There is a triangular hole in the outer skin of the door that the door stay emerges from. Inside that hole there is another layer of sheet metal (about 10mm deep) with the slot and bolt holes that the door stay and the reinforcement kit bolts up to. You need to put that plate inside the triangular hole, not on the surface of the door.

Look here: https://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/101_Projects_Porsche_911/74-Door_Stay_Reinforcement/74-Door_Stay_Reinforcement.htm

If there is no second layer of sheet metal inside the triangular hole to bolt to, I don’t know what you do other than find another door.

Also the door stay can be mounted two ways (since the tongue curves). Only one way will work.

—Best, Dave


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