I have a pickup to repair so I can haul firewood to heat the house, a plumbing project that is nearly done, and brakes that squeak.
So what do I do over the weekend? Work on the car's door latch - of course! *smile* A few months ago - quite suddenly - the driver's door began requiring a healthy <slam> to close. Some days it was better than others, but it always required more force than any a W123 door ought to. It reminds me of my mid-`80s Suburban when the little plastic ring comes off the strike post on it's doors. Anyway, a while back I tried adjusting the strike position - no change. I sprayed lots of LPS2 into the latch mechanism. This may have improved it slightly, but not much. So I figured it must be the latch mechanism in the door. So I pull off the inner panel, removed the latch assembly, pulled it out of the door and examined it. Nothing was obviously wrong. The parts all moved well, nothing looked bent, twisted, worn (un-duly), or broken. This is why I keep parts cars. *smile* But before I pulled apart the doner car's door, I decided to try the loose latch assembly against the doner car's strike. It latched easily! I trot back to the daily driver and try there. I can't push hard enough to get it to latch!! The evidence suggested that the _strike_ was bad! So I pulled a strike from the parts car, put it onto the daily driver. After re-assembling the door with the original latch mechanism I confirmed that the strike was indeed the problem. I still don't understand how. That strike is a brass sleeve shaped as a cone in a rubber surround. And mine fail and I couldn't find a reason why. Anyway, figured I should share my experience with you folks - since I _know_ you care! *grin* -- Philip, who got the washer working the next day
