Time off=hobby time--door striker repair

gokstate74

It's been a fun week. Today, tackled door striker problem that was causing the driver door to rattle when driving down the street. I thought maybe my hinges were weak at first, but someone knowledgeable pointed out to me that the grey bushing was gone on the door striker which keep the door from moving around.

First pic is the striker which I've already loosened with the torx wrench. There should be a grey bushing over the brass part.

Also notice the black outline--this was recommended to me to outline around the striker to be able to line it back up correctly (so the door closes the same after repair. I used dry erase marker. Grease pencil would work better.

gokstate74

I had googled some forums and through hard luck was told that the piece that the bolt goes into in the frame can fall down after removing the bolt--necessitating removing interior panels to get it back (and adding lots of time to the project!). I didn't have a magnet, so I twisted a coat hanger to stick in the hole as I pulled the bolt out (not the best method, but it worked.

gokstate74

Here's the new bushing ready to go on (courtesy of latemodelresto). And finally, the finished part put back on.

Used lithium grease to grease the door catch and the door hinges (which really needed). Good to go!

white6468

I too had replaced the gray bushing after mine split. I only had to do the drivers door. The passengers side is in great shape. After I replaced the bushing I did notice that the door mechanism was leaving marks on the new bushing. I realized that my door hinge pins were a little worn (I can move the door up and down a little more than the passenger door). I know there are repair kits out there with a bushing to take up the extra room in the hinge.

Has anyone done this (hinge repair) and how hard is it? If you have instructions – please share. The last thing I want to do is to start a repair and then find out that I cant finish the project or worse - damaged the car.

Thanks,
Kevin

gokstate74

I've read on other forums it's kind of a bear to do--i.e. cutting out the existing hinge pin with a dremel drill, pounding in the new ones, then not having them match your car paint color. The kits are easy to find on LMR and not expensive though.

http://www.latemodelrestoration.com/ite ... ushing-Kit

Roughneck

If you are into functional vs OEM, use a piece of copper water pipe to replace the grey bushing. Lasts a lot longer and takes up the slack on the door strike post.