Rear Door Tightness Adjustment

[tkstrong Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close tkstrong]

Hi Everyone,
I have searched high and low for info on how to adjust the tightness of the rear door. I was hoping it is possible to move either the catch/striker or the latch. This way the door could be pulled tighter against the rubber seal. I have had no luck searching this forum and perhaps my issue is unique? Also I have tried to find ways to adjust the other doors so that they press tighter onto the rubbers - as the drivers door has slight movement noise up high on the rubber whilst driving - and its very annoying.

Anyway back to the rear door. I found that when it was closed there was a rattle/ clunk coming from the back when driving over sharp bumps. I found the "door sag" thread and followed the procedure to fix the sag. This is now fixed and the door shuts nicely, but it still does not catch tight enough and a bit of a push on the spare Tyre with your hand & a bit of body weight will cause the door to noticeably move inwards and back outwards and make the familiar faint clunk noise as the latch hits / moves on the striker. If there was a way to move the striker further inwards then the door would come to a tighter resting position.

I hope this is making sense! I have looked at it and also taken the back door cover off to inspect the latch and can find no way to adjust the lateral positions of either the striker or the latch.

Other makes of cars sometimes have a striker that can be moved closer or further from the latch resting position - hence you can "tighten" the resting position of the door.

I have also been experimenting and have an intermediate fix. The Rubber bump stop down below the striker obviously stops the door at the correct position to seal and tightly latch the whole door. But my door is a bit loose and moving so I have cut a small piece of rubber and essentially lengthened the bump stop a few millimeters by gluing the small custom piece onto the bump stop. This makes it stick out further and it means that when the door shuts it has to slightly compress the bump stop - and at the same time means the latch system is under slight pressure and the whole door is now tight. But I am concerned that the door is now not sealing correctly.. But I have no idea yet as I have not been off road to test.

Anyway I was hoping someone could help with a better solution so I can return my bump stop to its original condition and have a nice tight door.

Sorry for the long post - and sorry in advance if this has already been covered.... I just was unable to find any info when searching..

Thanx for looking...

[dustie Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dustie]

Tkstrong,

Suggest you put a piece of felt (sp?). Which has the sticky bit on one side. Alternatively you could also remove the striker plate and squeeze it gently on a bench wise [do not press too much otherwise the door will not close]. This brings the plates closer together and gives that tight fit you are after.

Hope this helps.

[waltec Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close waltec]

Also check to see if the rubber bump stops are still on the door. My rear door is missing the top rubber, and this causes a little door movement (another job on the to do list). Apparently its quite common for the bumper to be bumped out whilst loading and unloading the boot.

Matt

[Daz Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Daz]

Also check to see if the rubber bump stops are still on the door. My rear door is missing the top rubber
Matt

These ones were missing on mine. Also check the door stops as well.
http://www.pradopoint.com/viewtopic.php?t=3969

[tkstrong Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close tkstrong]

Thanx everyone for the idea's.

I might try Dusty's idea. Really I should bet another striker plate and bend that one slightly so that if I stuff it up, I still have my original.

I have checked all the bump stops and the top and bottom one's are all there still. As I mentioned I did modify the bottom one so that it is a couple of millimeters longer. This is holding the door tight but I would say dust may be an issue.

The only other reason I can think that it has come loose is that the rubbers may be weaker then when new - as such they don't put as much pressure on the door when shut and hence the door rattle.

I think I'll also try the stick on felt - but I think the catch mechanism might rip it to shreds after a few weeks.

[nath_aus Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close nath_aus]

Re: Rear Door Tightness Adjustment

Had the same issue with the rear door clunking and rattling over even the smallest of bumps in the road. It took me a while to find out that it was the door moving and making a loud thud of striker. This is after much searching and removing the spare wheel and toe ball tongue. After reading this thread I tried putting the strip of felt with self adhesive back around the striker on the body of the car (actually it was the furry side of some Velcro strap I used). Also put some Armor All Protectant on the rubber seal around the door and some lubricant in the handle/catch and now it is perfect. I think I will still make a slight adjustment for the door sag when I get time, but I will leave the piece of felt on the striker because it just makes the door that little bit tighter fitting eliminating the rattles.

I think I have got most of the rattles in the Prado now. One more to fix that I know about and that is the bash plate/steel cover around the fuel tank in the middle of the Prado. One of the joins/welds has come loose and now pings and rattles over bumps and even when you hit the spare wheel or bumper with your hand. The smallest of vibrations makes its ping.

Thanks for the tips on this one everyone.