Doors latching

[mjeffrey-SMB]

How hard do you have to slam your Ford barn doors for the upper latches to really latch?

Both my side doors and rear doors need a solid slam (of the first door of the pair), while holding the door at the top, in order for them to latch tightly. Otherwise, there's play in the doors and they rattle when I'm driving. I took the van in to my local dealer, who adjusted the alignment of my doors under warranty (they weren't lining up together), but they seem no better than before. Of course, I was told, "that's just the way they are." :/

Are your doors the same? Or do they close nicely, without a hard slam?

Cheers!
Mike.

 

[Ford_6L_E350]

My side door needs to have the first one slammed to get it properly latched. The rears are ok.

Mike

 

[pjpvi]

Mine need to be closed firmly otherwise they do not latch fully. Took me a while to learn that.

Phil

 

[daveb-SMB]

On my van The first door that must be shut needs to be firmly closed but not slammed and the back doors are the hardest to close overall. I can usually push the second door closed but it's difficult to do that. I have to make sure the first side door is closed. There are times when I am driving around with it partly open :b2:

 

[Aldercrest]

I have to swing the left hand side door to get it to fully latch. On the rear, I either have a sticky retention bar or hinges, so just swinging the left door is difficult... yet another item on the to-do list.

 

[mjeffrey-SMB]

Thanks! Sounds like mine isn't too far out of the ordinary. It's a pain, but I'll live

 

[yvrr]

I took the van in to my local dealer, who adjusted the alignment of my doors under warranty (they weren't lining up together), but they seem no better than before. Of course, I was told, "that's just the way they are."

I suspect the alignment thing is common due to the weight of the storage box on the side door (if you have a storage box there such as the 50 design). Charlie told how to align the doors here:

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1420&hilit=door

I've had to do ours once already...

 

[LeadDoggy]

"that's just the way they are"

 

[jage]

My side door closes and is not tight- in the sense that if you push on it, moves. When you shut the 2nd door they both flex, but I've always thought that is the way they are- I don't expect them to be like the front or even rear doors where they are rock solid when shut properly.

I think it's a pretty easily confused subject- there is shutting properly and being tight but not appearing tight, and not shutting properly and not being water or dust tight, and/or not aligning properly.

 

[Ford_6L_E350]

My side door closes and is not tight- in the sense that if you push on it, moves. When you shut the 2nd door they both flex, but I've always thought that is the way they are- I don't expect them to be like the front or even rear doors where they are rock solid when shut properly.

When I gently close the 1st side door, that is exactly what I get. When I slam the 1st door it is solid. Grab the 1st door and shake it. If it moves, open and close harder and voila: it is tight.

At least on my van.

Mike

 

[mjeffrey-SMB]

When I gently close the 1st side door, that is exactly what I get. When I slam the 1st door it is solid. Grab the 1st door and shake it. If it moves, open and close harder and voila: it is tight.

Yup, that's how mine is. Rock solid if it's slammed, or a bit loose if closed too gently. In that latter case, the doors will rattle when driving over bumps.

Cheers,
Mike.

 

[charlie56]

Now that we have determined it is normal to slam doors, its time to Hijack the thread.

With all of this door slamming (mine is the same way), has anyone with a 50 plan had a problem with the door pantry? It got to the point that if I used enough (slamming) force to latch the door, the butterfly handle shaped latch securing the pantry, disengaged allowing the pantry to swing freely (more like fly open). I looked for another latching solution but didn’t come up with any off the shelf solutions. (If I only had a milling machine.) I finally ended up installing a spacer between the panty and the door to take the play out of the latch. Anyone else have the same problem?

 

[yvrr]

Anyone else have the same problem?

Yep, for sure. We need to slam the first side door to order to stop the pair from rattling while driving. We have gotten used to closing the first side door with two hands. The right hand holds the bottom pantry door closed as the left hand is used to slam the side door closed.

I have a milling machine...what is the solution you're thinking of?

 

[Ford_6L_E350]

Charlie,

Now we have multiple milling machines, yvrr and myself. What assistance do you need?

Also, 12" lathe, grinders, and much more.

Mike

 

[LeadDoggy]

Define "Slam"

I don't have to slam my first side door, just a firm closing is all it needs. No problem with the rears.

 

[vwteleman]

I've been thinking about this and experimenting, and have the following observations.

If I "slam" the first door (i.e., fling it hard with my hand, hoping it will latch), it generally will be loose at the top latch. The second door will also be loose.

If I grab the first door about half way up the window, and firmly push it closed, it will latch at the top. The second door will then be secure, with no movement.

Hope this helps.

Brent

 

[jage]

An update:

jwintersteller and I each rebuilt our pantry hinges and as a result stiffened the door apparently, as neither of us seem to have this issue anymore.

viewtopic.php?f=13&t=6958

 

[TroySmith80]

I noticed while looking at older vans ('91 and older) that the rear (of the side doors) door handle had 3 positions: neutral (latched), down (to open) and up (to latch and lock). When you close the first door, and then lift the handle up, it would really pull that door into place. When you did that, it went from "latched but wiggly" to "rock solid". Then, when you closed the 2nd door, everything was nice and tight. Locking the latch seemed to be optional, because the 1st door still would not open, though it could wiggle a little, and the 2nd door would still close. But locking the latch made everything very nice and tight.

Too bad they eliminated that system on the newer vans. It was a little more effort, but it's nice not to have to slam to get a tight fit.

 

[Nomadcat]

You know, it was actually reassuring to find this thread.

On my RB 2009 E350, the "40" barn door has always required a good, hard slam in order to shut correctly. After that, the "60" door shuts just fine.

Just a bit off on alignment - and I do not have anything built into the door. It came from the factory this way and I always just assumed the guy who fitted the door was hungry and about to go to lunch. It's interesting that others have this.

Unless we were all fitted by the same guy at the factory...

Which reminds me of a good read that paints a fascinating picture of life on the GM assembly line in the 80s - "Rivethead." There are some digressions that I yawned through, mainly about his personal life, but the descriptions of life on the line are fascinating.

 

[LenS]

Are you talking about Fords or Chevrolet's? Oh, Fords...... My 2000 Chev Express has the same issue with the double side and rear doors. The doors do require a "firm" closing effort to get them to seal properly.