Rear side door won't close flush

[chopper_boy007]

G'day Split-screen Family,
Tearing my hair out here... my 1965 Splitscreen VW Bus side door won't shut flush... while the lock engages OK, the bottom quarter seems to be sticking out... This is quite a recent development as it used to shut OK.
I can't see anything obvious that's blocking it, and you can push the door hard enough to bend it temporarily into position, but it just seems to stick out...
Any ideas? The hinges seem solid, no drop in the door... doesn't seem to be any mechanical interference....

The pic here shows the forward of the two rear cabin side doors... It's sticking out about half an inch at the bottom, but is flush at the top.

Help me Obi-Wan.. you're my only hope....

Billy

[zimblewinder]

Have you lost the bottom off your locking bar?
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[chopper_boy007]

Hi Zimblewinder,
No... but your reply got me thinking...
In the sill, there is only one hole for a locking bar, i.e. on rear of the two doors.... I kind of expected there to be two, but I wondered if VW ever made it without a second locking bar...
On looking closer at an oblique angle, I can see where the second hole has been welded up and painted over...
So... this makes me think there should have been another locking bar... the bottom of the door also looks like it's been tampered with.
(We only just bought the bus so I don't know it's full history.)
Weird thing is that it seemed to close OK before, but it's pretty "springy" with the relatively new rubbers that seem to be fitted.
On the other hand, it could be that the bar was previously broken and someone has covered the hole as a camoflage job...

All in all... your answer has definitely helped... I need to do a bit more investigation.. it could be as simple as drilling out the welded up hole and refitting a locking bar.
Many thanks.

See you,

Billy

[ted698]

So in the middle of your floor/cill where your two cargo doors shut - you don't have two holes next to each other? and you don't have a bottom loccking rod on your one door I guess?

Floor should look like this...

[BulliBill]

Welcome Billy,

Open the forward door, and then operate the outer or inner handle. Watch for the upper and lower locking bars to extend and retract properly. If as you say the lower receiving hole for the lower locking bar isn't there anymore (welded or filled by someone?), then I doubt you have a lower bar, or the bar end broke off or has been cut down by the previous owner? On a properly working door the lower operating rod will stick out from the bottom edge of the door maybe 3/4 of an inch when the handle is moved to close/lock the door. Your latch assembly where the handles are might also be malfunctioning and not sending the lower locking rod down enough as it should.

Bill Bowman
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Thanks for any help!

[chopper_boy007]

G'day everyone,
Many thanks for all your pointers...
Yep... there's a hole missing in the sill on my bus... it's been welded up and painted over.
I took the trim panel off the offending door, and found that the bottom locking bar has been disconnected from the lock... this looks deliberate as the screw is nowhere to be found, and with the welded up sill hole... well... suspicions arise...
On closer inspection of the door, and manually pushing the lock bar down, it seems as though there's an extra bit of metal floating around, which could maybe be a guide bracket for the bar that's come loose... this is interfering with the motion of the bar and the metal work of the door bottom.
It makes me think that a previous owner had problems with the lock and simply disconnected it... this is my first splitscreen bus (had a few bay windows, many Bugs and a Beach Buggy), but I don't know specifics of the split screen (yet)...
It seems like another problem compounding the situation is that the wrong rubbers are fitted to the door and to the body... they're pretty thick and there are more of them than there should be, so the door is pretty springy to close...
One new set of rubbers on order...
I think there are a few incidents of "camoflague" on my new Bus... overall, it's pretty good, but there are a few things that don't look quite right...
Fingers crossed it'll all work out OK....

See you,
Billy

[Z]

Post pics of all the areas/things you just mentioned: still, door, lock rod area, seals, etc.

[chopper_boy007]

Gday,
Attached are photos of the offending areas...
Sill with lockbar receiver hole missing

Missing screw between lock and lower lock bar

Damage to bottom of door around lock bar hole

Seals around door (am I right in thinking there should only be seals on either the door vertical section or on the body to match, but not both?)

Thanks again, folks...

Billy

[mandraks]

[easy e]

[EverettB]

Cargo door seal layout from another thread

[DubStyle]

[Eric&Barb]

Cargo door seals you have now are just off the hardware store shelf house door foam tape. The rest is just more bodge jobs done by the DPO.

When you install the new proper seals, do not cut the rubber to perfect length. Rubber shrinks in length over time, so better to have it a bit long and work it into place that way.
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[easy e]

There's not even a channel there to install a lower (rocker) seal in .

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[chopper_boy007]

Thanks everyone... you guys are really helping...

I'm a bit worried about the extent of cover ups now... it all seems like solid metal to the magnet test, but I need to take all that trim off and have a proper look....
When we bought it, we got an official assessors report (gutachten, here in Germany) and they didn't point out any of these anomalies (missing trim slot, missing lock bar hole etc.)... I decided to do that 'cos, although I know Bay windows and Bugs, I've never played with a Split before...
I guess they didn't know VWs like you guys do, but on the plus side, if we've bought a dog, they're liable in German law for any losses...

See you,

Billy

[adriano]

Post a pic of the bottom. This is mine during the restoring process.

[Z]

Post a pic like Adriano’s, but showing more of the bottom of that rocker. I’m guessing they welded in metal, just not the correct metal.