Door locking conundrum

[beaterku]

Good morning all,

I have a perplexing problem with my door latches. I am thinking that they are just worn out but I thought I'd ask the question here to see if there was something I am missing.

The problem I am having is the doors will not lock when the are closed. They will lock when open, but not when closed. The latches appear to be original and are a little loosey goosey. I've to the glass out of the doors right now to replace the wing windows so I thought there is no time like to present to fix this issue.

Any ideas?

If they are indeed old and busted, where is the best place to find new latches that are complete junk? I am going to replace the keyed locked mechanism as well since it is pretty loose too.

Thank you everyone!

-Nick

[bs46488]

I have this same problem.

I read somewhere that you can put a little inward pressure on the closed door and it will lock with the key.

You need to replace the door latch on doors because the latch is worn

[beaterku]

That's what I was afraid of. Who sells latches that are worth a poo?

[NC_John]

Originally Posted by beaterku

That's what I was afraid of. Who sells latches that are worth a poo?

Good question. I have the same problem and are sure my latches are shot too. All i've found is chinese junk and insanely expensive NOS parts.

[beaterku]

I'm torn. I emailed a couple local C10 guys who have tons of parts laying around to see if they have and NOS latches.

What are all of the guys building show trucks using? Rebuilt stock units? Chinesium latches?

[D.PASSMORE]

If the latch rod is bent slightly, it could cause that symptom. I had one that would lock from inside (push down on lock knob) but key would not lock from outside. Played with rods to latch mechanism. Between lube a slight adjustment, works perfect now.

[beaterku]

Originally Posted by D.PASSMORE

If the latch rod is bent slightly, it could cause that symptom. I had one that would lock from inside (push down on lock knob) but key would not lock from outside. Played with rods to latch mechanism. Between lube a slight adjustment, works perfect now.

Good idea. I'm going to remove them and see if there is something obvious. There has been some squirrelly stuff I found over the years from previous owners. Right now, neither the lock nor the knob will lock it when its latched. It will lock no problem with the lock or knob when open. I'm going to clean it up and lube it and take a look at the rods and see if that will help

Thanks for your insight.

[beaterku]

I did some digging and it looks like the options are counterpart, goodmark, OER and auto metals direct. Im curious as to why the AMD is quite a bit more money.

At any rate, I'm going to see if mine are salvageable. I appreciate the help.

[tlman]

driver door only for me is this way and the problem is my body guy put a little too much filler on lower corner and is hitting cab the door has to sit at rest no tension any where so the locks will work check adjustment and door stops (little rubber bumpers ) any thing to prevent door from closing with out tension

[4oldcars]

I too had this problem. H-A-D. Patience and careful adjustment of the latch solved the problem. If you can push on the door and it works - - the latch needs adjustment. Just sayin - - - I've been wrong before.

[beaterku]

I went down and fiddled with the striker plate and door alignment and was able to get the doors to close much much smoother. I still have to push in slightly on the doors to lock, but that is due to the brand new door seals. I went ahead and order a new lock set for the ignition and doors since my key didn't operate the door lock as well as new repop felt seals for both side. I also found that the driver door relay spring was broken and completely missing. That explains the clanking when I close the door. Figured this was easier now that it's all torn apart.

I appreciate the help all!