Right-turn Terror

Cory, ask a mechanic, not a physicist.

A physicist will take two hours to explain why your door flies open.

A mechanic will fix it in ten minutes.

You will surely fall out the door to the ground at a rate of 32 feet per second per second plus centrifugal force until you strike an object of great mass not in motion. It looks like the post latch has moved inward 1/8" at the bottom?

"(I) Put a jack under the Beck's tube frame last weekend to get at the valves, and had it on jackstands for quite a while. After setting her down, the driver's door definitely seemed a little off, but also seemed to settle itself and operate properly fairly quickly."

No, Beck frames are stronger than that (or so I'm told).  Having the car on jack stands for an extended period (My CMC was on jack stands for three months last year) shouldn't disorient your door. Explain how the door was "off".  Something else (probably not the latch) is going on, but it is well worth checking both the latch and the striker to see if either is loose or moveable.  How do the door gaps line up with the body?

Following Wolfgang's observation above, the door jamb post may need to be moved OUTWARD slightly in order to allow the door latch to fully rotate into its locked position.  You can try shaking and pulling on the door firmly to determine if the latch is fully seated. 

If the door jamb post has to be moved outward to help with latching, you may have a problem with the door rattling (this may be why the post was moved inward), then you need to also move the door jamb post assembly DOWN to bring the rubber bumper into contact with the ear on top of the door latch.  This will prevent rattling. 

Look at the black rubber buffer/bumper on other side.  Does it have an ivory nylon plate on it vs just black rubber?  Newer VW had the nylon slick plate.  The black rubber looks a little nibbled on. Rubber striker rubber looks to be replaceable.

Close  the door slowly, you should hear two clicks, then,  w/o using the handle see if you can pull the door open .....if so the mech. probably needs to be lubricated.

2nd thing to check is make sure that when you release the inner door handle it returns to the rest position and isn't hanging up. 

Is it me or is this latch located at the bottom of the door openning?

Yeah, that doesn't look right to me either, Bill.

I've never had a door fly open on my Beck, but I have had them hard to close and latch properly once or twice.  That was due to the latch plate having loosened a bit.  Check everything for tightness and see if you need to adjust the location of that plate shown above.  That hole shouldn't be visible.

 Yes, Gordon, the gaps still look as they always have.

I wish I could describe exactly how the door felt when it came off the jacks, but I'm sure you know what it's like to detect something  on your car that would probably be imperceptible to one who hasn't opened and closed the door a thousand times.  

 Funny thing is, @PaulEllis was with me, and I mentioned it to him as the car was lowered.  Perhaps he will remember what my comment was.  

crhemi (Bill) poboiinhawaii posted:

Is it me or is this latch located at the bottom of the door openning?

 No, Bill… The flat area you're seeing at the bottom of the photo is just a little punch-out in the door frame. 

 Can you guys tell me what lies behind this post setup? In other words, what is securing the allen bolts behind the fiberglass?  I am a little nervous to loosen these beauties, because I'm not keen to have to cut into my wheelwell to find something that might fall into the void  behind the post.  

  It seems that the hole that is visible in the photo indicates a previous owner had some troubles.  I can see into it a little bit, but I just can't determine what the bolt is biting into. I'm not sure if it's a plate on the back side or what.

 For now, I have employed the persuader to tap the post a little bit upward and a little bit  outward, to give the latch mechanism a little more to bite on. As Alan suggested, I also gave the latch a dose of WD-40. 

 Whereas, yesterday, I discovered that just a little push with my shoulder was able to break the latch's bite,  now I really have to give it a pretty good punch, but, unfortunately, it still will open without pulling the lever. 

 As you might imagine, my seatbelt has never been tighter… 

WOLFGANG posted:

Look at the black rubber buffer/bumper on other side.  Does it have an ivory nylon plate on it vs just black rubber?  Newer VW had the nylon slick plate.  The black rubber looks a little nibbled on. Rubber striker rubber looks to be replaceable.

@WOLFGANG... I like, very much, your idea of replacing this rubber striker (my top photo) with one that has a nylon bottom (your bottom photo).

 I think that the power of that thin strip of nylon to drive the door downward just a sixteenth or an eighth of an inch more,  instead of allowing the latch to nestle softly into the rubber, will be enough to cause the bite  that I need. 

 OK, boys… Which online parts service do you think can deliver that piece the quickest? 

There is a metal plate behind the striker plate - most likely with threaded areas for the allen bolts to thread into.  It should be visible once rear wheel is off. The top left allen bolt looks somewhat rounded and maybe the one below it.  I'd get a couple new ones.  WD40 is not a very good rust penetrant - prefer PB Blaster myself or Liquid wrench (WD means water displacement formula #40).  Doesn't the Beck have a door lock button - that might give a little more security.

CIP1 has for $11 and Wolfburg West for $12 - both appear to have the nylon facing.  I see screws at WW but they are philips head - allen is better.

https://www.wolfsburgwest.com/...st.cfm?ID=151837035C

http://www2.cip1.com/ProductDe...de=VWC-151-837-036-C

WOLFGANG posted:

There is a metal plate behind the striker plate - most likely with threaded areas for the allen bolts to thread into.  It should be visible once rear wheel is off. The top left allen bolt looks somewhat rounded and maybe the one below it.  I'd get a couple new ones.  WD40 is not a very good rust penetrant - prefer PB Blaster myself or Liquid wrench (WD means water displacement formula #40).  Doesn't the Beck have a door lock button - that might give a little more security.

 Yes. The back does have a door lock. Unfortunately,  whatever is out of line is preventing the door lock from operating as well.

 It looks like, in the Beck, the area where that plate functions is actually accessible from the interior, behind the drivers seat. Unfortunately, I would have to remove some of my carpeting to get to it. 

When I was rebuilding "The Gold Brick", I found the door latches had been adjusted to compensate for worn out or missing weather stripping.....   When I eventually replaced the weather stripping, the latch pawl would stop shy of fully engaging the striker bar.... The doors would close, but could be popped open with a good swift yank.....

That said, I would look at striker bar movement for starters, as mentioned by others.... Hope this helps....

I bet the door claw not completely shutting (because latch bolt is not out far enough) is what prevents lock from working.  You could push claw with door open to check.  SE/Beck sells parts too - and you could get the hex bolts at same time.  Maybe add new throttle cable and clutch cable for spare to make shipping worth while.  

 And thanks, @WOLFGANG, for the lead on the nylon-faced rubber striker. I wonder if I have to purchase the entire bolt plate, or whether I can find just the rubber wedge with the nylon face. 

 I shall investigate! 

Westcoastmetrics.com is biggest quality VW rubber parts supplier. They only seem to have entire striker plate $7.90.

The Doc is closest to being right based on what you're describing. You should hear two distinct clicks. The claw part on the door clicks closed in two positions. Before you start tearing things apart start with the door open and push on the claw until it clicks once, then push it again and see if it clicks a second time. Once the claw has fully engaged try and push the claw open without operating the door latch. If you can't get the claw open without operating the interior or exterior door latch then the claw is functioning properly. If that is the case the problem is when you're closing the door; the latch (claw) is not fully closing. That would indicate that the stud that the claw latches onto is out of alignment and not allowing the claw (latch) to fully engage.

The rubber wedge is there to keep the door from rattling. When you close the door the door mounted mechanism is secured against the rubber wedge and helps keep everything tight without having metal rubbing on metal causing a rattle.

If the door latch doesn't lock into the two positions or if it doesn't stay latched then the mechanism on the inside of the door may be stuck in the open position and the springs inside may have to be lubricated.

I just went outside and tested my theory. I held the interior door handle halfway in the open position and pushed the latch (claw) closed. I heard two distinct clicks but I was able to push the latch (claw) back open without much effort. So my guess is that the interior door mechanism needs some attention.

It's either that or your right hand turns are a lot more spirited than you think and you're operating the latch with your knee.

I forgot to use @Cory McCloskey so he'd get this message and save himself some headache.

...and when you figure the latch problem out , slow your arse down son :~)

Once fixed, You need one of these for key ring -

Although...........You DO get points for catching the door before it crunched the forward part by being opened too far.   Good move.

"The Madness" also includes 'saving the car at all cost.'

crhemi (Bill) poboiinhawaii posted:

Is it me or is this latch located at the bottom of the door openning?

Corey that striker plate looks moved in an awful lot. Maybe it is not allowing the latch to completely lock. Also, get some seat belts as soon as you can.

Cory, I just looked at mine and there are a couple of plastic spacers behind the latch plate.  There is also no hole visible.  Moving it forward with the spacers might make it work correctly.  Getting to the back of the plate would mean cutting fiberglass after removing the carpet.  Hopefully that won't be necessary.

I have had the door fling out once on a right hand turn, the hard way to find out you have a defective latch mechanism... that was a scary moment ...

New latches installed cured that issue. 

The problem is most likely ion your inner door handle rod and has too much pre-load (i.e. it is almost pulled open already.  Ain fact, I am willing to bet your inner door locks don;t work (they won;t work if the inner handle is partially pulled).  I;d pull your door panel and take some of the bend out of that rod so the latch is fully engaged when the door is closed.

As for access to the back of the striker, there is a pre-cut 4" hole behind the carpet on the B pillar side to access this area.

Also, I recommend getting some JB dry lube.  It is a wet graphite/alcohol lube that leaves a graphite dry lube when the alcohol evaporates.  The alcohol will also clean old dry grease out of the latch.  It is also possible that the old grease is keeping it from completely latching, and it is acting the same as being partially pulled.  Soak it down with dry lube, working it open/closed several times while doing so.

BTW, apologies if I am repeating a bunch from above, busy morning and I do not have time to read through all the thread...

chines1 posted:

The problem is most likely ion your inner door handle rod and has too much pre-load (i.e. it is almost pulled open already.  Ain fact, I am willing to bet your inner door locks don;t work (they won;t work if the inner handle is partially pulled).  I;d pull your door panel and take some of the bend out of that rod so the latch is fully engaged when the door is closed.

As for access to the back of the striker, there is a pre-cut 4" hole behind the carpet on the B pillar side to access this area.

Also, I recommend getting some JB dry lube.  It is a wet graphite/alcohol lube that leaves a graphite dry lube when the alcohol evaporates.  The alcohol will also clean old dry grease out of the latch.  It is also possible that the old grease is keeping it from completely latching, and it is acting the same as being partially pulled.  Soak it down with dry lube, working it open/closed several times while doing so.

Thanks a million, @chines1!  You would know! 

You just confirmed the diagnosis of a 25-year Chrysler Five-Star mechanic friend -- in talking to him yesterday, he prescribed the same solution that you just proposed.

We'll get that panel off soon and unbend that rod a little -- the rod in there now is one that we installed to replace a sad and sagging piece of wire that a previous owner had put in.  Looks like we need to re-adjust the rod that WE put in.

I guess I didn't suspect the rod at first because the trouble occurred immediately after having had the car up on jacks. Perhaps there was just enough flex in the body to compromise the latch.

Either way, thanks for weighing in, Carey.  And everyone!

I love this club...

I know what the problem is..... Cory, you actually drive your car rather than let it sit in the garage.

I'll be back soon buddy.

PaulEllis posted:

I know what the problem is..... Cory, you actually drive your car rather than let it sit in the garage.

I'll be back soon buddy.

LOL My odometer spins like a slot machine!  Catch you soon!

Watch those slot machines - It seems as though they have minds of their own (or so the casino owners would have us believe)!

http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/01/...r-steak-dinner-trnd/

Gordon Nichols posted:

Watch those slot machines - It seems as though they have minds of their own (or so the casino owners would have us believe)!

http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/01/...r-steak-dinner-trnd/

Zoiks!