Any tricks to getting your SB doors to close easier?

[Edelbrock]

Alright - just spend an hour or so working on it. Passenger side: installed 1/2 PCV (all i had on hand).
Result: A-mazing difference! Welp, that side is fixed! Sweet!

Driver side: added PCV, lots of hinge adjustments, several shims, several striker adjustments, hammer, etc.
Result: About 50% better than it was. A definite improvement, but not as good as the other side.

The PCV helped a lot for sure. Drivers side wont get any better than it is because of my new door seals. The door seals dont "squish" easily and are not molded to the door shape, like the OEM ones on the passenger side. Striker wont move out far enough to solve this. ideas?


Overall: PEX idea: Awesome! Made a huge difference all around. Thanks to you all!

 

[Ricko1966]

Alright - just spend an hour or so working on it. Passenger side: installed 1/2 PCV (all i had on hand).
Result: A-mazing difference! Welp, that side is fixed! Sweet!
Positive crankcase door strikers,Hmmm

 

[HotWheelsBurban]

My drivers door has always been a PITA to close all the way. I hate slamming doors or anything else for that matter, but that’s what it took to close it all the way. Then I found the thread here about using 1/2” PEX to make new sleeves for the door catch. Some of my original sleeve was still there but not much.

Bought a stick of 1/2” PEX and made and installed a new sleeve. HUGE improvement!! Door shuts normally again!

Plus I have enough left over material to make replacement sleeves for the next 1268 years.

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Yup, Dad used something similar on our Burbs. 20 doors, on old trucks, ya gotta figure something out....

 

[Edelbrock]

Hmm. I think the plastic allows the door latch to "shim" its way further out. Allows it to "click" the latch earlier in its rotation. Can anyone corroborate this?

 

[RanchWelder]

Was about to tac weld the new pins because they keep riding up from the new bushings and slipping out the bottom stake.

3-4 door closes and they move up and rack the door again.

I'm going to try this.
Very cool!

 

[AuroraGirl]

the latch on the door is probably worn or needs lubricant (not a petroleum kind... something long term and shot into the innerds with a very small hose , maybe even done off the door.. something specific. OEMs use specific lubricants like these nowadays , they help keep noise down too and dont migrate out

If the door was slammed a lot into the striker, there is very likely damage from hammering the latch all those years, so thats why i say maybe a new one. the door alignment was discovered by you to be a big deal. are the door seals new? Worn out? Is the door equipped with the secondary weather strip on the door?

is the pressure relief valve operating? I think original ones sometimes stick closed and then the flaps themselves will break over time too

 

[AuroraGirl]

Hmm. I think the plastic allows the door latch to "shim" its way further out. Allows it to "click" the latch earlier in its rotation. Can anyone corroborate this?

it also opens the latch when you open the door, if you ever had the latch need to be flicked down while holding the button on the handle youll know what i mean

 

[SquareRoot]

Hmm. I think the plastic allows the door latch to "shim" its way further out. Allows it to "click" the latch earlier in its rotation. Can anyone corroborate this?

You need to look at it closely while opening and shutting the door. Like when you were a kid with the refrigerator door and the timing of the light.

 

[Sad Sack]

Gotta slam the doors on the K5 to get them to close. Its annoying.

I tried messing with the door seals, adjusting the striker, lubing everything, etc. No luck.

Thoughts?

If I leave at least one window or wing cracked open, mine shut easier. Same process I use on my newer Kia, no slamming needed.

 

[WFarm]

If I leave at least one window or wing cracked open, mine shut easier

Never thought of that…….

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[Sad Sack]

Never thought of that…….

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Airtight vehicles are always a blast with doors.

 

[Grit dog]

Door bushings are OK. Plastic is gone, but the stikers are greased. Does the plastic help?

Greased? Yuck.
Find the recent thread post by @WFarm. Or any other host of them.
Cliffs notes, unless your hinges are worn or sacked or other obvious damage or misalignment, a new bushing in the striker and shimming the bottom hinge up slightly to keep from dragging on the strike does wonders.
Any more than that is basically replacing the door latch. But that’s not been the issue with my trucks. Although both were/are in good shape.

 

[Edelbrock]

the latch on the door is probably worn or needs lubricant (not a petroleum kind... something long term and shot into the innerds with a very small hose , maybe even done off the door.. something specific. OEMs use specific lubricants like these nowadays , they help keep noise down too and dont migrate out

If the door was slammed a lot into the striker, there is very likely damage from hammering the latch all those years, so thats why i say maybe a new one. the door alignment was discovered by you to be a big deal. are the door seals new? Worn out? Is the door equipped with the secondary weather strip on the door?

is the pressure relief valve operating? I think original ones sometimes stick closed and then the flaps themselves will break over time too

Shimmed, lubed, adjusted, PCV on the striker. I think its narrowed down to the door seal being new. Once its closed, it forcefully "pops" open when you press the button to open the door. It quickly pops open about an inch and then stops. So I need to somehow "wear out" my new door seal. I wonder if using a razor blade to cut slits every other inch down the side of the seal would lesson its "spring" effect. Make it more squishy. That would probably shorten the life of the seal though, allowing it to crack along that seam. Its much better than it was before, so I might just live with it. The passenger side was knight and day with that PCV on the striker and old door seals.

 

[KSSB]

Shimmed, lubed, adjusted, PCV on the striker. I think its narrowed down to the door seal being new. Once its closed, it forcefully "pops" open when you press the button to open the door. It quickly pops open about an inch and then stops. So I need to somehow "wear out" my new door seal. I wonder if using a razor blade to cut slits every other inch down the side of the seal would lesson its "spring" effect. Make it more squishy. That would probably shorten the life of the seal though, allowing it to crack along that seam. Its much better than it was before, so I might just live with it. The passenger side was knight and day with that PCV on the striker and old door seals.

I had the same issue when I put new weather stripping on. Just let is settle in on it's own. Especially with warmer temps, it'll set in pretty quick.

 

[AuroraGirl]

Shimmed, lubed, adjusted, PCV on the striker. I think its narrowed down to the door seal being new. Once its closed, it forcefully "pops" open when you press the button to open the door. It quickly pops open about an inch and then stops. So I need to somehow "wear out" my new door seal. I wonder if using a razor blade to cut slits every other inch down the side of the seal would lesson its "spring" effect. Make it more squishy. That would probably shorten the life of the seal though, allowing it to crack along that seam. Its much better than it was before, so I might just live with it. The passenger side was knight and day with that PCV on the striker and old door seals.

is your door appear aligned with the cab depth wise? if so you can move the striker out if you dont mind the sticking out a bit until it wears a bit
Or you can adjust the flange the weatherstrip is on with a mallet to sit in a bit