Area around door latch pin cracked, badly.

[gitslashgin]

So, while working with my interior lights yesterday I looked down and noticed the area around my door latch pin in severely cracked. If I wiggle the pin back and forth i can see the cracks open and close. It appears the body in this area has deteriorated to the point of cracking off. I can see no rust around this area and the passenger door does not have this issue. At 264k miles, i know this door has been shut, and probably shut hard for years. My question is, does anyone else have this issue, and if so is there a solution other than welding in a new section?

 

Thanks,

Mike.

[ParadiseMJ]

One day I tried to close my door...it wouldn't close or latch.  So I started investigating, and found this:

 

 

So, after thinking about welding, taking it to a body shop, etc. etc.  I decided on this.  After I fished the striker out of the body B-pillar panel, I made a template out of cardstock, then cut out a piece of 16 ga. sheet metal.

 

 

I marked the striker position and drilled a large hole...about 1" IIRC...with a hole saw ( I thought there needed to be a big hole so I could move the striker around, to adjust it).  I flattened out the area where the striker goes and fitted up the sheet metal piece.  Then I drilled some holes for pop rivets, you could use sheet metal screws too, but I had 2 sizes of rivets and 2 rivet guns, this is how it looked then.

 

 

So then I slid the striker in there, and adjusted it to the door latch.  See the wiggle room in this shot:

 

 

So then I got it adjusted, touched up the paint and it's been like this for 2+ years

 

 

I was really surprised how easy it was to fix.  I was very concerned that I'd need to spend a buttload of $$.  But it worked out fine, and nobody can see it, nobody knows it's there but me (and all of you now)  Good luck however you decide to go.

[Pete M]

neat fix!  is that a DIY thread yet?

[gitslashgin]

I'm really into that repair. I may copy that, but before my door won't close haha. Do you have the dimensions of that plate you cut out?

 

Thanks,

Mike.

[ParadiseMJ]

I never did really measure anything, I just traced the door jamb, and trimmed the template, and fit it, and trimmed again.  BUT since you asked, I went out and measured it.  So the top is 1 3/4"  The bottom is 2 1/4"  The measurement from top to bottom is 5 1/2".  The little jog towards the top just follows the contour of the door jamb, so it takes some cutting & grinding to get it just right.  An angle grinder with a cut off wheel, and another with a flap wheel really made it about a 15 minute job after I made the cardboard template.  The hole in the middle is 1",  A hole saw with a metal blade (aka hack saw) comes in handy too. 

 

Deciding on rivets over sheet metal screws took about 4 hours :hmm: