Installing Door Strikers On Pickup

[Dodge68charger]

Any Tips? How Many Shims Do I Use And Can It Be Done After i Install The Gas Tank Behind The Rear Bench? Thanks
Posted via Mobile Device

[sick472]

Prescribing shim quantities would be a guess on my part really, but I can tell you that using silly-putty, rope caulk, or something that resembles play-dough can be helpful for figuring out how much clearance or lack thereof you have for a proper fit between the striker and latch mechanism. Strategically place a wad of putty on the striker and gently close the door until refusal can be a niffy trick. Then open the door back up and view the smashed putty. It will have a "footprint" of the contact area and you can shim accordingly. The putty will tell you how much room you have to adjust either way.

I have found that the putty can be sticky and goober up and stick to both parts as the door is opened back up leaving a poor representation of the fit. If that happens, apply a light film of WD40 (or grease, Vaseline, motor oil, whatever) to the putty surface after it is stuck to the striker so that it releases from the latch mechanism and leaves a nice clean witness mark. You will have to experiment with the amount of putty, it really does not take very much, but just enough to leave the "footprint". Less is better when it comes to picking it back out of your parts.

I have used this method for valve-to-piston clearance, trunk latch mechanisms, door seal shimming and the list goers on. Anywhere you have a tight spot that can't be seen when closed up.

IIRC, the passenger side has room to adjust the striker with the tank in place, but the drivers side is questionable.