Advice on door latch post repair

[mpierce9]

I'm looking for advice on how to repair this.

The post for my driver side door to latch on to is. . . loose. The metal on the door jamb is split and won't hold the post in place. This results in the door not closing firm everytime.

Short of cutting the spot out and welding a new plate in, I'd like input on how to resolve this.








Passenger side door, which is working great.

[mrolds88]

I would cut a panel from a donor and weld in the new panel. The integrity of the metal around the latch pin has been compromised. And it is a safety issue. Do it right, do it once be done with it.

[willett]

Cut and weld is the best. If your really opposed to it cut a nice big plate out of 18 ga, drill your 1/2" hole and sandwich it behind the pillar with the pin.

[Jonboy]

There is a plate that is threaded to which the striker bolt goes in to. Unbolt the striker bolt, weld in your repair to the sheetmetal, and bolt the striker back in. I would probably replace the striker bolt while you are at it, and make sure it has the sleeve as well. Makes a huge difference in how the door latches.

[ChevDog1]

Originally Posted by Jonboy

There is a plate that is threaded to which the striker bolt goes in to. Unbolt the striker bolt, weld in your repair to the sheetmetal, and bolt the striker back in. I would probably replace the striker bolt while you are at it, and make sure it has the sleeve as well. Makes a huge difference in how the door latches.

What are you using for "the sleeve"? Is this a factory part that falls off over time, or a fix that someone has figured out to make the doors latch better?

[mrolds88]

Since you are already this far (whether you wanted to be or not) I would cut a whole section out of another truck and weld in. Then all the bracketry and such will be in the right place and you will have no worries.

[mpierce9]

Originally Posted by Jonboy

There is a plate that is threaded to which the striker bolt goes in to. Unbolt the striker bolt, weld in your repair to the sheetmetal, and bolt the striker back in. I would probably replace the striker bolt while you are at it, and make sure it has the sleeve as well. Makes a huge difference in how the door latches.

I'm having a difficult time realizing which piece is what based on some of these how tos. . .

You mention

Originally Posted by Jonboy

There is a plate that is threaded to which the striker bolt goes in to.

Do you see that plate in the image below? From the bottom of the image up I see

• The end of the thread of the striker post
• The Plate you are referring to possibly?
• Three Washers (or Shims)
• The shaft of the striker post
• The tip top of the striker post

Assuming my bold text above is the plate you are refering to. . . How would I secure that to the inside of the truck?

Originally Posted by Jonboy

weld in your repair to the sheet metal

Do you mean weld(attach) the piece you are referring to above on the inner side of the sheet metal. Then weld that sheet metal to the pillar of the truck?

[mpierce9]

So that bolt assembly fell out. Inside the pillar is a device I assume this latch bolt post screws into.

[cadillac_al]

What fell out? I was stumped the first time I read this but I think I would fix it like jonboy said. I have had that retainer plate behind the sheet metal fall out before and I can't remember for the life of me how I fixed it. I hope that isn't what happened to yours. In a perfect world you should be able to unbolt that latch post, fix the weakened sheet metal, and bolt the post back on.

[mpierce9]

The striker post fell out. Take a look at these:




This is where it was. I'm trying to figure out how it physicall attached to the bracket inside the hole. It looks like the PO had this problem and just stuck it inside the sheetmetal and didn't physically attach it to anything.


Same thing, just a different quality image.

[willett]

Like I said before drill a plate and plate an place it on the back. Hold it in place by the nut tension. On the outside of the pillar you will see some shims. Remove a shim and find a peice of 4 x 4 sheetmetal the same thickness, drill that out and run the striker through it on the outside of the pillar. This is really the only conceivable way I can think of without actually welding it up.

[bigwheel15]

A piece of pex tuning, 1/2 inch works perfect as a sleeve.

[GM-power]

Take your door off! No welding required. But really like mentioned before the best route is to cut out one from a donor and weld it in.

[Jonboy]

The plate I was referring to would be what looks like a cross on the striker you have. I guess yours looks like it was caged in there. If you could remove the cage, get a larger piece of thick (at least 1/4") metal, drill and tap threads into it for the striker, and cut it to 4"x4" or so with the hole in the middle. This would let you use it as a backing, but have enough area to keep the sheet metal from cracking out. Seems like Blazers have a larger plate like that already.

[mpierce9]

ok. . I'm not good at welding. I've never welded before. I borrowed a welder from a buddy and practiced on a few piece of metal then I gave it a shot.

I opened up the hole where the original striker post fell out.


I attached the cross shaped nut onto a piece of sheet metal. I believe this is 16 gauge. I practiced with 22 but felt that it was too flimsy.



I cut a hole in the back to access the threads of the nut.



Screwed the post in place.



Finally attached it to the car. This is obviously poor welding but it is attached extremely solid. I'm sure eventually it'll fall off again since the weld is so poor but i'll deal with that when I get there.

[willett]

Way to go. Good enough! As long as your door latches