911SC Door need to be slammed to close? anybody seen this?

[rpo420]

On my 78 SC Coupe. My drivers door requires a serious amount of smash to fully close. I checked the door latch yesterday, greased everything up, made sure that the pin plate, striker plate, whatever you want to call it, the part that bolts into the car body in the rear of the door opening in the car, that actually catches the revolving part of the door latch, lines up correctly, up and down, and is in far enough that the door is flush with the body when the door is fully closed. The problem is that you have to really slam the door shut to get it to close all the way. The passenger side door closes like a refrigerator, smooth and seals up with little pressure. I have just done a head liner, and all the new seals are in place and correct. With the window frame out of the car, it does the same thing, already tried that to rule out the window frame being in the wrong spot. The door is lined up well, the gaps between the body and the door are uniform all the way around. Is this a door latch problem? when you twist the latch manually, there are 2 clicks. The second click is harder to get to, but not impossible. the first click, I would imagine is half closed, the other is fully closed and it seems that my door requires a serious slam to get to full closure If you close the door with a less than massive amount of speed, the door hangs up on the first click in the latch and doesnt fully close??? Any help on this would be greatly appreciated!

[Milo2361]

mine sorta does that too... passenger side mostly ---- i just say to whoever's shutting the door "just push on it as you shut it rather than just let it fly. less damage to the car, more force behind it without actually slamming it"

[carrera turbo]

try moving the latch in the door jam towards the door just a bit and see if that helps. i just went through this one of my 911s and it closes easy and is still lined up flush. also try and close door flush with holding the latch in the open position as you close and see if there is resistance around the weather striping.

good luck

ed

[davidbir]

Could it be due to air pressure inside the car? Does it make any difference if the window or s/roof is open?

[midlife]

Check that the screws holding the latch in the door are tight. If these come loose, it takes repeated closings to latch. I had this happen on 2 different cars.

[rs6er]

I had the same problem. Make sure your handle is tight and the latching mechanism inside the door is functioning properly.

[Ron.G]

Use a grease pencil and trace around the door strike in the jamb area. Then loosen the triple squire bolts just enough to move the strike. I think they are 8mm if my memory is correct.
Move it outward a very small amount then tighten them and try it out.
Repeat untill it closes nicely while keeping the door flush with the quarter panel.

It takes a few tries to get it right but it's not that hard. The grease pencil marking can get you back to squire one if the striker plate moves to much by mistake.
make sure you use the right tool for the bolts or you will strip them in the process.

[ossiblue]

+1 on adjusting the striker plate a bit closer to the outside (door side) of the pillar. Be absolutely sure that the latch on the door pivots freely. You mentioned greasing everything but does the latch (when you turn it two "clicks") move freely? Yes, it will have more resistance but is it spring resistance or friction? Does the latch spring back rapidly when you pull the trigger on the handle? It should. I have found that it was necessary to lube the latch mechanism from inside the door frame (with window channel removed) to effectively get a smooth moving latch.
Keep us posted, please.

[Gogar]

Did you say you just replaced the door seals? If so, check to make sure the seals got all the way in the channel. If they're not all the way in there they can add a whole lot of resistance in that last quarter-inch of the door closing.

[darshie76]

with little pressure, my door does a "clank" but still stays half open, then i simply put pressure on the side of the door and it closes without any problems; but sometimes i have to slam it, especially when i have the targa top on it; so i would say that maybe is time to change the seals, to get again the "refrigerator door effect"

[rpo420]

Guys, thanks so much for the input. heres the rub. I took out the window rail, so that the weather stripping is not in question and the door still wont close properly. Keep in mind we did the weather stripping on both sides of the car and the passenger side looks identical and that door works perfect. In so far as the striker plate goes, I also adjusted the striker plate in a few directions. I put it outboard of where it was, and the door still doesnt want to close, it still requires a big smack, and when it gets into the second position on the latch, fully closed, the door is not lined up with the rear quarter panel, so I know that it has to be too far outboard. I have adjusted it so that the door is flush when you slam. the latch was what I thought was the problem, it is spring loaded and has a cam that rides on another plate with 2 indents, that gives you the two clicks. When I took off the window rail, I greased it very well, and it began to move better, ossiblue said that if you rotate the latch and then use the trigger handle, that it should spring back rapidly and mine does not. For sure. So I am still of the mind that its the actual latch. I want to get deeper into this, and I want to thank you all for your input. I am going to be working out of town till thursday, but I will be working on the car again on thursday and I will let you know what I find. I am going to remove the striker plate all together, and see how the door fitment is first. that should rule out window rail alingment, door alignment, and weather stripping. My thoughts are that it will close nicely without the striker in place.. so then I will have a problem with either the striker itself, or the latch. I will report back as soon as I get into it. Thanks again to all!

[rpo420]

yea but with this door you cant put enough pressure on it from the outside to get it to fully close.. not with simple pressure.

[rpo420]

Originally Posted by Milo2361

mine sorta does that too... passenger side mostly ---- i just say to whoever's shutting the door "just push on it as you shut it rather than just let it fly. less damage to the car, more force behind it without actually slamming it"

yea but you cant put smooth pressure on the door and get it to close. it needs to be slammed to get fully closed.

[rpo420]

Also, maybe this is important, when the door is closed, it takes a big tug on the trigger to release it and it almost pops out of the striker. its like a poping sound. you can tell that its like a spring that wants to be released.

[rpo420]

???

[rpo420]

Update.. I worked on the car this friday. I took the window rail out, and lined up the door, with the rail out it closes perfectly. the striker plate is set correctly, and the latch is working properly. Problem is when you put the window frame back on, its too tall, it has too much friction and its causing the door not to close all the way. The window seals, that run along the top are were they should be, and although the frame is adjustable, it wont go any lower into the door than it already is. Seems like a bad fit. I believe that this problem is fitment, and I will just have to keep working on it. A local friend who also has a 911 said to lower the door, but if I do that, then the gaps in between the car and the door change, the bottom gets real tight, and then you have alot more gap at the front of the door, letting in the wind. i wish I had some great answer, but it just seens like something I have to fiddle with to get set correctly. Maybe the frame is bent? I dont know. but we will figure it out.

[glennspiegler]

Driver door has to be slammed and when I try and throw the door latch manually I only get one click. Passenger door has two clicks. Suggestions on why the second click is not functioning? Thanks everyone in advance.

[DavErb]

Had the same problem in my '83 when I bought it, As I recall I fixed it by removing the inner door panel to get at the interior release mechanisms. Did a thorough clean and test of all components. The bowden cable that accuates the latch was sticking slightly so that the latch could not easily set when the door closed. Removed the cable and immersed it in light oil working the cable back and forth until it moved freely in its sleeve. Reassembled the mechanism and it works fine now with the door only requireing a gentle (normal) push to latch properly

[glennspiegler]

Just had the panel off for another reason. Will look this weekend after I learn more about the "bowden cable". Can you describe it further? Don't quite understand the mechanism yet. Appreciate your help. Glenn

[Head416]

I had always put this in the same category as "sometimes after my car sits for two days I get smoke on startup" - now I guess I've got something to look into.