Door adjustment

[Don66bus]

A question ...

My passenger side front door never closes tightly and has to be slammed to latch.

There is very little that I can see to adjust. The closing mechanism on the door has none (as far as I can tell):

and the catch/pin on the frame is adjusted as far in as possible.

I can see where new gaskets might make door closure more difficult but shouldn't there be a way to make adjustments so that the door closes flush to the body? The pin has some wear but not enough to make a 1/4 inch difference. Hmmm ... maybe the combined wear on the pin and latch are enough.

I suppose I could remove them both and have them built up again. Does anyone have an easier solution?

[BarryL]

Take out the gray door seal on that side and try the fit. Still proud? Take off top and bottom and try. You may have to trim the hidden side of the gray seal.

[Who.Me?]

Check that the lip black seal around the top of the door frame (on the door frame) is pointing outward all the way round.
Whoever assembled mine got the driver's door top seal twisted. The seal lip on mine points inward at the leading edge. That makes the door hard to close. One day I'll fix that.

Also, try 'lubricating' that black seal with talcum powder, and grease the latch and pin.
_________________
Andy


Looking for info on my truck's history. Are you from Campbell California or nearby. Do you recognise it? ... http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=636786

[Don66bus]

I greased the latch and pin. I will remove the gray seal when it stops raining and try the closure then. It still makes more sense to me that the gaskets will control the ease of door closure but that the hard metal parts - latch and pin - will determine how far the door sticks out.

I could be wrong. I will update on a sunny day.

[Daddybus]

'67 Bus? if so, '67 buses have a 2-position latching system designed to prevent the door from flying open. It looks like your door is only on the first position (and could fly open). You have to slam (push solidly, follow through and don't let go) to engage the 2nd position...one year only.

[Eric&Barb]

Have had same problem with our 1960 walk thru panel camper conversion with the passenger door for now three decades. Thinking it could be the hinges or perhaps just the upper hinge needs to be slid out ever so slightly.

Other possibly is that the door has been somehow bent.

Or a combo of both.
_________________
In Stereo, Where Available!

[Don66bus]

1966 bus and the door, even with that offset, does not fly open. I had a 1967 but it was about 20 years ago so I had forgotten the double latching.

[NUTSFORBUSES]

If all fails, look at the hinges. Those pins and/or the pin seats may be worn. it's usually the driver door, but you never know with old cars. Replacing hinges may solve many issues. Throw some grease on the door hinge on the door and the body and see results. I've seen these doors have to raise up slightly to close and it's usually the hinges are worn-out/even bent
_________________
kaiser kills kids.com

[ted698]

I had a similar problem - and as pointed out above, after checking, it was only going on the first latch.

You may find, peversely, that your striker plate on the B pillar is actually TOO far in - preventing the door latch mech going over onto 2nd latch position.

Try adjusting your striker plate back out.
You can tell if its on the 1st or 2nd latch by shining a light into the door jamb by the striker plate and looking at the latch lever on the door mechanism - the lever part which hits the striker *should* be completely vertical up & down when latched on 2nd latch - if this lever plate is at an angle - its only on first latch.

I found moving my striker plate outwards made the door shut more, as it could then go over onto 2nd latch position, pulling the door in closer to the body.

Somebody told me this a few years ago and I was highly sceptical - but they were dead right!

[71whitewesty]

Mines a 66 and I had the same problem and tried fixing it by adjusting the striker as Telford and others mention above. Airschooled Robbie was here and showed me the issue with the two position catch and how to adjust it. Works great and closes nicely now.
_________________
71 Westy 1600 DP, all stock Bus 1
1970's Snow Trac 1600 SP (sold 12/2016)
1968 Tucker sno cat, sold 2021
1969 Tucker Sno cat 542
2017 VW Alltrac
71 tin top stock 1600 DP (project but runs)
Twin 71 White Westy, Bus 2, that I pulled from a 15 year slumber in a dry eastern WA field in 2015.
1966 Sundial Camper "Boomer"

[Don66bus]

This is why I love theSamba. Moving the pin closer to the outside seemed so improbable a fix that I rushed out with my big Phillips and tried it. Didn't work though. It feels as though there is only one latch position.

I moved the pin as far up and down, and in and out, as there was adjustment. The door closure looked the same regardless of the pin position. That result suggests I should try the (sunny day) solution of pulling the gasket and seeing if that allows better closure.

[Lind]

One thing to check is if the door/hinge is bent making the hinge close before the door closes. Close the door with the button pressed in on the handle. See where it closes. If you are fighting with fit issues, then you are trying to flex the door when it closes. This makes it a bit harder to close, and also leads to cracking out the sheet metal of the door where it sandwiches the hinges.

Next, see if the part of the latch that hooks onto the post is loose. These can wear over time. You can wiggle it with a pair of pliers, and/or close the door and make sure it is fully turned, and then will the door move in and out?

As previously mentioned, remove the weatherstrip and see if it closes without the weatherstrip in place.
_________________
.
Wanted:
Idaho VW license plate frames or other dealership items.
VWoA literature and early dealership or distributor literature/pictures/information
.

[Larmo63]

Did you take the mechanism out of the door and inspect it?

These are often gummed up and not functioning properly because they don’t get serviced, ever.

Try soaking the whole latch (remove it completely) in gasoline or solvent, then lubricate with light oil and grease as needed.
_________________
Lawrence
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
‘61 Mango Green Single Cab
'62 Pearl White Ragtop sedan
'66 Ruby Red Cabriolet
'86 Porsche 911 Carrera

[Pepperbilly]

From your photo, the grey door/body seal appears to be too far out of its mounting channel. If so, the door will not close all the way and consequently not latch to it’s second position. Sometimes it’s as simple as this.

Bill

[ted698]

Just for those interested - I have taken some pics of my First and Second latch positions - this is 67 bus.

First Latch the latching lever is not fully vertical, its still at an angle.
Second Latch position the latching lever is fully vertical and parallel with the door edge.

Hope this helps someone one day!

FIRST LATCH:

SECOND LATCH:

[Don66bus]

Thanks for the great photos. I went out to check mine and my 66 bus appears to have only the one position closure, not two. The latch when closed sits vertical even with the door slightly out of adjustment.

I am still waiting for a sunny day to pull the gasket (it rains a lot here in fall). One thing I did try was to use a piece of paper (I also used a thin cloth) and shut the door with the paper squeezed in the opening. I found that either the paper or the cloth was free to move (i.e. the gasket was not tight) all around the door except for the top of the door and six inches of the bottom by the floor. My first attempt, based on this, will be to remove the gasket at the top of the door and see if that affects closure. I don't think there is any way the window assembly could have been put in at an angle which would make the top contact the gasket first. If I could crank it out slightly, that might resolve the problem.

[Pepperbilly]

I have taken another close look at your photos. It looks like there is some unwanted contact between the door latch area and the body. You can see paint that has been touched up on the body on top of the latch. Also, looking straight on at the latch, there is paint gone and down to metal. There is metal to metal contact here. The metal where the mount screws are also looks bent. Its been mentioned before but now i’m thinking something is bent or you have a hinge problem or bigger door issues.

Bill

[Don66bus]

Bill, the missing paint on the door is from contact with the rubber stopper, which is a bit proud of the metal holder.

I tried adjusting the window section by loosening the front two bolts and rear Phillips screws and then tilting it outward as I tightened the fasteners. The door closes a bit easier but the gap still remains. Now I am noticing that the front of the handle is moving the door skin as if all this door slamming has broken a weld between the skin and the door frame (if such welds exist). Maybe it has always done that, although the driver's door is solid.

I think I'll stop. It is not perfect but it works as a door. I may screw things up further by trying to close that gap. If I run into a knowledgeable body man, I can take it up again.

[Don66bus]

So I bit the bullet and bought some more gaskets from CIP (supplied by C&C). Instead of a top and bottom door gasket, there were four pieces per door with three profiles:

Took a while to sort that out. There is some good information for the front door gaskets of 1966/67 buses in this thread: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...p;start=20

I checked the door closure as I removed each section of my original gasket. Here is the door typically a bit ajar:

It wasn't until I removed the gasket at the bottom that the door was able to close fully:

However, a slight tug on the handle or a push from the passenger would move it out to the previous position, about 3 mm proud at the back edge.

I put the new gaskets in and the door sticks out about as much as it did before. I did try the gasket fits with paper:

and it seems tighter all around with some gaps on the trailing edge.

I think I am back to my original assertion that the catch and post do not cinch the door in fully, and that the amount of slop might be due to the wear on both those components. If they were brand new (or remachined), I imagine the door would close tightly, even if it took a bit of a slam against the new gaskets.

[zozo]

The little angled rubber block on the body latch “post” may be an issue. I replaced mine with a new one, and put the old one back on because the door wouldn’t close right. It’s got screws that you can easily remove it for a test. Just a thought.