Door sticking

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Longgone

Longgone

John/68 Barracuda & Dart
Joined
Jul 12, 2005
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Location
Newport News, Virginia
I`ve had a hard time getting the drivers door of my 67 Barracuda convertible to open. It would take two hands to open, one to depress the button and the other to sort of lift and pull the door. With the door ajar you could lift it and feel play in the hinges and when you`d open it the door would drop about 1/4 inch. Certain that was the problem I bought and installed a set of hinge pins with new bushings. After the new pins and bushings were installed I greased everything and adjusted the striker. The play was all gone but still the door wouldn`t open without a two-handed effort. Everything looked good on the outside so I looked to the door button/handle to see what gave there. I removed the door panel and got in there with a flashlight. I could see that there was a lot of play in the button linkage. The S-shaped rod that connects the door handle button lever to the striker keeper was only starting to move after I pushed the button in nearly a third of the way. What I did was remove the S-shaped rod and put it in my vise. I squeezed it lengthwise, essentially making it about 1/4 inch longer. When I put it back in ,it went right in fitting perfectly. Trying the door again it shut tight and practically popped open with one hand when I went to open it. So there you are, if you have a sticking door and everything else checks out , you might want to look at your door handle and the S-shaped rod inside the door to see if it may need to be a tad longer.

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Theres a hole in the door where you should insert an allen wrench to adjust that. Loosen the allen screw and the spring will do the adjustment instantly. Then just retighten. Ever see people hit downward on the door handle to get the button to come back out ?
 
LOL you'll need a long allen wrench .I forget what size. 1/4 inch hole in the jamb or edge of the doors. Dunno if you should now though since you bent the link. May not matter , just dunno
 
I just did what Redfish said, and now my door doesn't work right either. I guess the freakin door panel needs to come off now.
Freakin POS car. I hate cars.

George
 
George, Drop it off at my house and I will take care of the car for you. You will never have to worry about it again. Hope all is ok after that storm that blew through your area.
 
RedFish said:
LOL you'll need a long allen wrench .I forget what size. 1/4 inch hole in the jamb or edge of the doors. Dunno if you should now though since you bent the link. May not matter , just dunno
Click to expand...

I`ve got it right where I want it but I`d love to know more. Can you tell me more about this adjustment , where it is, what it does? Please enlighten me, I`ve got two others that may need it.
 
OK here is the deal.........

If the door does NOT open when you depress the button, loosten the allen screw (5/32") and BEFORE tightening the screw down again, MOVE the allen screw TOWARDS the outside of the car. There is some play here, and will take up the "slack".

Adam, I got pissed at the car earlier because I can't for the life of me install the damned windshield stainless trim. Tapping it with a rubber mallet also put a small dent in the trim that I now have to remove. It's always something I guess. I'm so close to being finished I can taste it, and I guess that fact is making me rush.

We fared well with that badass storm about 6PM, and now we have another "tremer" rolling through. No wind or lightening to speak of, just more rain. Hope you and your family did well also.

Hope the door adjustment procedure helps someone, and thanks to Redfish for pointing it out to us in the first place!

George
 
sorry George . It's a 5/32 allen on the earlier models but changed to torx at some point. Anyway... with the door open (ofcourse) loose the set screw . If you push the button you'll feel it move the tool. Wiggle the tool in a circular motion (helps sometimes). Once the rod and button are returned all the way tighten the screw securely. It is a set screw pinching the rod after all. If its not tight it will slide out of adjustment. Close the door and the latch should react to a shorter button stoke.
 
RedFish said:
sorry George . It's a 5/32 allen on the earlier models but changed to torx at some point. Anyway... with the door open (ofcourse) loose the set screw . If you push the button you'll feel it move the tool. Wiggle the tool in a circular motion (helps sometimes). Once the rod and button are returned all the way tighten the screw securely. It is a set screw pinching the rod after all. If its not tight it will slide out of adjustment. Close the door and the latch should react to a shorter button stoke.
Click to expand...

This reads like a sex manual!?!? Where do I find the hole that the 5/32 wrench goes in? There is one hole in the top end of the door about door button height. If I go in there with a wrench, I should find this adjustment screw? I wonder why I couldn`t see it when I was just in there with the flashlight? I`ll give it a go tomorrow on another car and see what happens.
 
Hey, Ive been messing with my drivers door forever and I just tried the adjustment and now my door does just about pop open! Thanks for the tip.
 
second chance dart said:
Hey, Ive been messing with my drivers door forever and I just tried the adjustment and now my door does just about pop open! Thanks for the tip.
Click to expand...

Sweet , that`s what this site is all about, sharing useful information. Seems I did mine the hard way. I always toil away at something, post my results and find out there`s a much easier way to do what I just spent half a day on. :-D
 
I'm too lazy to go look, but will this adjustment work on later A's like a 72 ??
 
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