have to slam door
 

hello all, for the past two years i have been having to slam the doors on my 84. the truck was painted and had new seals installed, i figured after a while the seals would be broken in but still nothing. it is not my daily driver so it never really bothered me but i'm wanting to figure out the problem now. the truck has been set out in the sun so the seals can "form" but still nothing. i figure maybe the doors weren't aligned correctly. i'm nervous to try to realign the doors (never done it before), especially having to rematch the body lines.

does anybody have any idea of what is maybe making the doors hard to close? or is the door alignment probably the main cause?

of course rolling down the window helps significantly with the door closure. any help will be appreciated.

Re: have to slam door
 

You need bushings on your striker pins. This one here DOES NOT have the bushing. There's a thread on this, I'll find it and then post it here.

Re: have to slam door
 

Here it is:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=724429

Re: have to slam door
 

Thanks for the info!!!

Re: have to slam door
 

Your welcome!! When you do the repair, let us know if it helps.

Re: have to slam door
 

And don't forget, once you add new Strikers, they do have to be adjusted. Plus, you might want to replace hinge pins as well if there is up/down play in your doors. Both are a very worthwhile and somewhat easy upgrade.

Re: have to slam door
 

+1

Re: have to slam door
 

go to home depot and buy a couple feet of "pex" plastic tubing, it is the perfect size to replace the ones on your existing strikers...I am lazy, so i just cut the correct length I need and split it and slide it over the striker....

Re: have to slam door
 

Pex pipe! Used that also. works like a champ! but you'll have to by a 6 foot stick for the 3/4 inch you need...

Re: have to slam door
 

These doors never closed well, because there is not a lot of "mass" to them to help generate momentum, and because they are pushing a lot of air into a small cavity (the regular cab volume) and it can't vent quickly enough.

If rolling the window down slightly helps significantly then I predict it is an "air" problem rather than a mechanical or adjustment issue with the hinges/pins/latches. You can remove the PRVs ("pressure relief valves") in the bottom of the doors and that may help, but you may notice a bit more road noise and dust intrusion.

For over forty years now (our first squarebody was a '75) I just always planned on pushing the door home, rather than swinging it and expecting it to latch.

K

Re: have to slam door
 

Keith - I think you would know this - I had my doors apart this last weekend. I noticed they had a square piece of heavy paper duct taped over the larger opening in the door inner panel - is that just for dust control? Mine both fell off right away and I didn't replace them.

Re: have to slam door
 

Yes - dust and water.

K

Re: have to slam door
 

I have new, rubber, new bushings, and hinge pins, on my '85 and my doors still need a little persuasion to close them. Kieth is right, it is the nature of the design.But when my window is cracked, it is very easy. You cant fight Newtons laws....

Re: have to slam door
 

I will say I was one of those guys that was skeptical about the plastic bushing making a difference on shutting door. So I went cheap route and bought a 6 foot piece of 1/2 pex for 3.00 at Lowes. I also took the lazy way and just cut one side of pex and put on striker. WOW what a difference, I cant believe it. I have a 79 truck and a 82 Van and they have different diameters on striker neck but did not matter they both shut like a dream, no more slamming the doors. One day I might take striker off and slide a piece of pex over it but for now, a slit on 1 side of pex and doors work great. Well worth time and effort no matter which way you go, pex or OEM bushing.

Re: have to slam door
 

I you grab the end of the doors and move it up and down and the door visibly moves in the hinges, you will benefit from new hinge pins and bushings. Make sure you get genuine GM hinges. It is not difficult, just time consuming. You can search on this forum for hinge pin removal and get some good tips on doing it. I built a small platform out of 2 x 4 s to support the bottom of the door and it went well. If you have power door locks and power windows you will have to deal with the wiring.

Re: have to slam door
 

I agree with Tucson....better yet get a buddy to help. I did this solo and it was not easy!

Re: have to slam door
 

I did the same. I also had some of that VERY stick poly control arm bushing grease left over and put some of that on the pex and doers have closed without any problems.

Re: have to slam door
 

Re: have to slam door
 

I had some PEX left over from a plumbing project. Took less than 10 minutes to do all 4 doors. Best 10 minute, <1$ project ever.

Re: have to slam door
 

Does someone have a picture of a striker with PEX on it? Thanks.

Re: have to slam door
 

I don't have a picture because my cab and doors are at the body shop and have been for awhile, but I can vouch that the pex does work and made my doors close tight. They felt solid.

Re: have to slam door
 

The "HELP" product is shown, but the PEX tube would be where the grey part is on the striker.

K

Re: have to slam door
 

Here's my after & before pic. I replaced the whole striker with a new one, already has the pen on it. My strikers were pretty tore up.

Re: have to slam door
 

Thanks, I understand now.

A little update for you guys, I ended up buying new strickers. The old ones were pretty bad looking so I'd thought I'd just replace them, just $7 a piece. Man did those did those new bushings help, the doors close with ease now. Except for the passenger, it still struggles a bit. I was looking inside the the door jam and there is something that sticks out, im guessing it helps push the door open? Can It be removed?
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