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Sun May 18, 2025 4:15 pm

Yes i used search. There were 39 hits. If the answer is there I missed it.

1972 Westfalia (the one in the photo) she opens the drivers door on her own on bumpy gravel roads...maybe she is trying to tell me something ?

also occasionally when i try to close the drivers door it acts like it is hitting something solid. the piece that goes in the striker is in the correct position when this happens

as always any help would be appreciated thanks,

Mark

Sun May 18, 2025 4:48 pm

There really isn't a better way to describe door latch and striker check and adjustment than what is in the Bentley manual, it describes not only the latch's interaction with the striker but the part that pull rod and inner handle position plays, it even has pictures.
If you get all those properly dealt with and it still does it then latch wear is the next suspect.

Sun May 18, 2025 4:53 pm

busdaddy wrote: There really isn't a better way to describe door latch and striker check and adjustment than what is in the Bentley manual, it describes not only the latch's interaction with the striker but the part that pull rod and inner handle position plays, it even has pictures.
If you get all those properly dealt with and it still does it then latch wear is the next suspect.

thanks busdaddy. i will check my bentley when i get home. on my ship for another week

Mon May 19, 2025 11:14 am

Lubrication might have something to do with it, I have had a sliding door that bounced and failed to lock until I lubricated the whole lock.
Alternatively the whole lock and striker are somehow adjusted so far out of alignment that it is only catching on the first detent..

All the locks on a VW originally have two detents for safety, quite often a front door can fail to go to the second detent if the rubber seal is stiff and it is closed too gently.

I have also had the striker on my sliding door worn half through causing the lock to bounce or fail to shut..I built it up with weld metal and filed it down.

Mon May 19, 2025 11:39 am

Order seat belts ASAP.

Mon May 19, 2025 11:44 am

x2 on above. This is especially true with a lot of the replacement rubber. Sometimes you get rebound before the second detent catches. Close the door from outside lightly so only the first catches and then again harder so that you can “see” the difference. I would bet that is your problem.

Mon May 19, 2025 2:37 pm

Thanks guys, will try all when I get home next week

Mon May 19, 2025 3:04 pm

Check the M plate to see if the Bus was made with the MIL code' for the military market,

Mon May 19, 2025 8:09 pm

Out of curiosity, do mil spec doors open by themselves to allow faster deployment?

Tue May 20, 2025 5:18 pm

No, but they operate to command “ fall out”

Thanks for playing!