The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Doors doors won't latch

The doors on my 49 3100 will not latch all the way. With new strikers installed, only the safety latch catches no matter how hard I slam the doors. The latches themselves are clean and appear to have not much ware. Can anyone advise.

Are your latches New REPO or original?


I had a similar problem with New REPO strikers. I could not adjust them to make them work. I ended up reinstalling my original strikers and it worked fine.

Here is a quote from a bolter who had to make shims

Thank you for the replies. The strikers are repos but the latches are original to the cab. I will try to shim the strikers out. That is the only adjustment I have not tried. There were no strikers on the cab when I got the truck. The stovebolters in my area have shaved the door handles and chucked the orginal hardware, so my only option was repos.

Hi fubar49 -

Here are two Stovebolt Tech Tips that may help ...
> Adjustment tips by Alan Horvath
> How latches work by Roy Marks

And here is a discussion about latches, strikers, and adjustments ...
> Post by John Hill on Stovebolt

Note: You only need to move the striker a very small amount to make a difference.

Fella's I have tried all the suggestions that were given and checked the latches for any malfunctions and still can not get them to latch. I do not have anything to compare them to, so back to square one. This is a long shot,but not having the latch arm and handle connected, could that cause this problem?

Come on guys, don't give up on me. I need more suggestions as to why my 1949 doors will not latch all the way with original latches and new striker plates.

I did not mention that there is no rubber weather stripping on the doors. Could this be a factor?

my truck is a 52,so the latches and strikers are different.To get my doors to close properly,I had to replace both pieces.mixing the old and new didn't work

BC52, my strikers were so worn that I had no choice but to buy repo strikers. Every one im my area shaved their handles and chucked there latches and striker plates.In one of my previous post I said I don't have any old ones to compare the repos to.

Try posting an ad in the "parts wanted" section of the forum
Might be able to get some originals at a reasonable price.

Do you have the bumper pads installed on the strikers?

DADS50, thank you for your input. The rubber bumpers are not on the strikers. I tried it with them on and it made no difference. The only two things that I have not tried is, like you said, is to find some good original strikers or cut off the ears where the bumpers go, this should allow the striker to go further inward.

When I dismantled my truck doors, I noticed the door hinge pockets were very sloppy & had enlarged holes and bad door pins. The pockets were repaired and new pins were installed. When it came time to align the doors with the cab belt line,strikers & locks everything went together very well. Also the doors were from a donor source & not original to my cab. Not sure if this may be a part of your problem but I think its an important step to consider. If there is a hinge pin problem there is no way the doors will line up to ever shut properly. Hope this can help.

fubar,
what shape is your cab in?
I had a heck of a time with my doors not latching, no matter how I adjusted the latches or latch plates and no matter how hard I slammed the doors, they just wouldn't latch. I could get a door to latch if I was standing outside the truck, but as soon as I got in it wouldn't. I replaced the latches and plates with new ones with very little improvement.

Last fall I made some patch panels for the floor of my cab and had a guy weld them in. He also rebuilt the cab mounts. believe it or not, with just a little adjustment my doors now latch great. I don't have to slam them! It seems my cab was so sloppy that it didn't matter how I adjusted ANYTHING. If your cab mounts are questionable that could be a contributing factor.

The hinges have both been rebuilt and are tight. All the normal patch panels have been installed along with a new floor. the belt line lines up perfectly. The latches are spotlessly clean. The cab is level in all respects. I tried enlarging the striker holes in one of the door jams, but still no difference. The safety latch is what catches. The rubber bumpers are not on the repo striker plates and there is no weather stripping. I have tried everything that has been suggested for me to try. The latches themselves do not look that worn to me, but maybe they need those repair clips. I hate to go to Bear Claws, I want to keep the inside and outside handles. Thanks fellas.

I bought new after market latches and strikers for my 55.1. The old latches were worn. The strikers were ok but I figured as long as I bought the latches I may as well buy the strikers. I installed the new parts. The old parts worked better than the new parts. A fellow Stovebolter suggested looking for a set of NOS latches. I found a set of NOS latches and installed them. Problem solved. Hard to find NOS latches but well worth the effort.

Also forgot to mention that cleaning,soaking & greasing my lock mechanism helped a great deal to hook & release during the regular opening & closing of my doors. Also I did use original strikers.

Were the repop door latches made by Counterpart in China?

If so they are probably defective. I had an issue with making their repop latches work on my 52 and returned them only to find out that they knew they were bad. I could not get them to latch consistently or lock from the inside. They sold them anyway hoping most would not be returned.

I degreased by originals, bead blasted them, tighened all the pivot points and sprayed them with clear. They work perfectly.

My original strikers were badly worn so I bought the China reproductions and had to look through about 5 sets before I found a set that were correct. So much for quality control.

NOS is always the best way to go. Even if it costs you.

rick52, The latches are original and were cleaned recleaned and greased. The striker plates are repos made somewhere in China. I have put the word out in my area in E. Tennessee and have begged on this forum for some usable originals, but have struck out in both areas.

I had trouble with my driver's door popping open to the safety catch (I think that is what is called) every time I hit a bump. A buddy who is an amateur machinist with a complete shop removed the latch and welded and ground the ratchet very meticulously. It works better than new. I cannot say how he did it but it was in pieces on his bench when he started.

Try adjusting the striker plate outward. I was having the same problem adjusting my '52 GMC - it would only latch in the "safety catch" position until I moved the striker towards the outside just a small amount. I know it almost seems counter to what you would think, but the downward angle of the top portion of the striker plate has to cam the rotating portion of the latch to the fully locked position and it cannot do it if it is moved too far inward. You may also have to mover the striker down slightly to accomplish the same thing.

I thank all you fella's for your suggestions. I became fed up with these doors and did what I said I did not want to do and that was purchase the Bear Jaws by Altman. Yes they are pricey, but in my opinion worth every penny. Not difficult to intall and my doors close unbeleavably easy.