Door won't stay shut - solved

[Zylinderkopf]

I've been living with this annoyance for far too long! The rear passenger side door had to be slammed hard to shut properly and sometimes it would still pop unlocked whenever I hit a bump in the road. This would then cause the door to start rattling as I was driving.

So this morning I finally decided to deal with it. First I took the door handle off (two allen head bolts (one was cleverly hidden behind some carpet the PO had installed in the door pocket).
I unscrewed the three philips head screws and started wrestling with the door lock mechanism to get it out of the door. Took me a while. Tip: that u-shaped part of the lock has to be facing down (locked) and then you just wiggle the mechanism back and forth, up and down until it's out.

The door lock was filthy: 41 years worth of accumulated dirt and grease with some overspray added from a bad paint job ! I sprayed the mechanism with engine degreaser and used some rags, a small nylon brush and some q-tips to get it as clean as possible. Then I sprayed it down with PB blaster for more cleaning and lubrication. I put the door lock back into the door (a bit of a struggle again) and reinstalled the door.

The moment of truth: I gently pushed the door shut - but crap - still the same issue as before!!

I convinced myself that the hour I spent cleaning the lock was not a total waste - had to be done anyway.

I decided to take a look at the striker plate. I loosened the two allen head bolts a little so that I could move the plate around. I moved the plate until that half-moon shaped pin was more or less horizontal with the ground and I pushed the plate towards the inside of the car. I tightened the bolts again and - voila - the door shut easily and stayed shut! So if your door rattles or won't stay shut: start with the striker plate!

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1963 Beetle
1966 Beetle 1300
1970 Karmann Ghia Coupe
1971 Super Beetle
1974 Thing


"A lot of people never use their initiative because no one told them to."