The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Doors rattling doors

I restored my 49 chev. truck and my doors rattle alot. I installed new hinge pins, new weather stripping, And new striker plates. The seams on my doors are nice and straight. Could it be the door latches? And if so who is a good vender for this part? Thank you.

if it's the actual door in the opening, not something inside the door, you need to do some adjusting of the striker or get some better quality weatherstrip

Bill

Not sure if this will help but I had a very similar problem. If you take a close look at the lock mechanism, you will notice a small caul with notches to lock it in place when the door has been closed. Its kind of like a ratchet action. Mine was worn so bad that all that was left was lines where the notches should be.
I took a punch and removed the caul, put it in the vice, re-filled the teeth put it back in, and what a difference. My door shuts really well, no more rattling!! I could be wrong but I think most of us could avoid buying after market locks if we would rebuild them. I don't think alignment is always the problem. Hope this helps

vickraft -

Do you have any pics or links to diagrams that can help me visualize how you fixed your rattle?

Thanks,

- Lonnie

You just need to remove your lock mechanism from the door. You will see the notches right away.
http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s107/vickraft/003-4_zpsf3a48171.jpg

The attached pic shows the repaired portion. If the ratchet mechanism is worn it cannot hold the door shut and sometime we think its an alignment problem. It will never line up if this part is worn. Once this is corrected alignment will be just a few tries.

Thanks. I may need to do that on my '54.

- Lonnie

Does the door rattle when you grab the outside handle and jerk it around? If not, take the cardboard cover off and see if the flat rod that goes between the inside door handle and the door latch is making the noise. I have seen where someone has rapped a portion of this part with tape -and I'm guessing- to stop a rattle. I have seen this done on two different AD trucks. Also, check for debris, dropped tools or door parts that fell and ended up in the bottom of the door. A good way to isolate the source of rattles and noises anywhere on a vehicle is to use a rubber mallet and bang around the suspected area.