The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Doors Cant get doors to lock

OK ,I have read the manual and all the write ups I can find seems pretty simple. the little latch catch that the arm is hooked to locks the door. i put the latch in a vise and stand on the handle and it is locked like it should be, every time (about 20)I put the latch back in the door , when i simply pull down on the latch the door opens.I have double checked it the the mechanism is all the way back an d the door wont lock. I have done all I know I know it is something simple but the door wont lock when i put the latch back in the door.I even put the screws in loosely and just stuck the handle in and the same thing. what am I doing wrong ?

is this on a 51?? the key side or no-key side?

Bill

no key side. correct me if I'm wrong, the locking mechanism should work the same on both sides? Does the lock work the same? 51 Chevy 3100.At this point I'm just trying to get the lock to engage and stay locked.

There is an adjustment for that. The Truck Shop Manual says to loosen the 3 screw which hold the remote control to the door, push the handle to the fully locked position, then push the remote control toward the lock and tighten the screws.
Carl

Carl , thanks for the reply and please excuse my ignorance, but I'm trying this without the remote even attached.so does the remote has to be attached for the door to lock ? I'm just physically locking it by pushing the mechanism into the locked position (what the remote will attach to) and then putting the handle in and trying to turn it.

Sounds like you have a bashed up latch mechanism. They get damaged over time as the hinge pins wear, then the door sags, then the rotor mechanism slams into the striker plate. You might just have a bad or broken spring.
I have reworked some pretty mangled up latches to get them working again, but it is not easy to do, and more difficult to explain with written words. I had the passenger side latch to use as a reference to see what a good one is supposed to look like (the passenger door often isn't used very much, so they aren't damaged like the drivers side).
Carl

Both latches are new repro's. they have not been in use long, I even have the old ones and tried them??? not sure at this point ??? Again thanks for the help !!!

If you tried the repros and the old originals with the same result, then I would look at the alignment of the latch with the striker The safety catch tab may not be lowering fully into the striker, preventing the lock mechanism to work properly.
Carl

On my truck, the doors have to be shut before they will lock. When installing my new hardware, I thought that they were bad. I figured out the door had to be shut for it to lock.

You should be able to lock either left or right side doors with
them open, but when you close them they will unlock. They're not
like the new cars where you can easily lock your self out by
pushing down on the lock button.
When you locked up the truck you locked the closed driver door
and slid out the passenger side, locking it when you closed it.
Haven't heard of any other way of doing it.

dg