Oh man. I went to open the passenger side door on my 85 Custom Cruiser yesterday and when I closed it, it just wouldn't shut. The latch wouldn't catch on the stud. I can see the problem. The curved piece of metal that is supposed to lock in place once it strikes the stud in the door frame moves freely back and forth. If you push it back into the latch by hand, it should lock into place like the others I tried, until the handle is opened, but it does not. My question is, can this be repaired, or will I ultimately just need to buy a new latch mechanism? I'm asking in case anyone here has already tried and I want to know if I'll just be wasting my time. I am a tinkerer, and a bit mechanically inclined, so I was thinking of taking it out and seeing WHY the latch doesn't lock into place, and then, maybe rigging something up to fix that. But I also have learned that wisdom comes from benefiting from others' experience and if anyone can shed some light on the situation, it would be greatly appreciated. Luckily, the wagon is parked close enough to my barn shed that I was able to nudge a paddle between the door and the wall of the barn to keep it shut. I had to; we were expecting some serious weather last night.
Take,It off and take a look. They are all similar there is usually either a flat or coil spring that pushes they latch back or it could be just sticky and needs to be cleaned and lubed . A lot of times the spring breaks. If not repairable it probably interchanges with a lot of other GM,products and you should be able to fine a good used or NOS one.
I agree with Dan. Begin by removing the old latch to see if the spring broke. I'm sure there will be no repair kit but maybe you can repair what's there. Next head to the nearest "junk yard" or whatever they call them in La and take one from a junker. Start by checking what year cars and wagons interchange. Whatever you do keep the door shut. Alleygators love sleeping in old station wagons.
So do treefrogs! I opened one of the other doors the other day and found a beautiful gray treefrog chilling out in the doorframe. That's better than the time before that when I opened the door and found a paperwasp nest with about 20 wasps in it. Anyway. I'm actually gonna go to a Pull-a-part tomorrow. I figure I'll just go ahead and pull one if I can find it and see if I can repair the old one later. I need to get that door shut NOW and I don't how long it would take me to tinker with the old one. Hey, at least I have an 82 88 Royale and a couple Cadillacs and Pontiacs to try when I get there! And who knows? Maybe I'll pick up some other goodies!
Ooh, been there, done that with the wasps...however, mine were yellow jackets! Have fun and good luck at the PnP!
We've been lucky back in Illinois and here in Florida about mice. But the stray cats that lived under our pool deck moved out and we started getting mice in the food pantry eating my cereal. Lots of rat and mouse poison and keeping cereal and cookies in the fridge seemed to work. Now no mice and the cats came back. I'm sure Dollie's favorite has been gone two years. She gave that stray a fancy name.......... "Meow" . Everytime I go out the back door Meow runs away. Dollie goes out and picks him/her/it up. Lots of RV'ers at the campgrounds have squirrels eating their wiring. What's this got to do with replacing a door mechanism?
I've never come across bugs at the pull-a-parts here. I think they de-bug them during prep somehow. Then they hang about 50 evergreen tree air fresheners from the rear view mirror. Those things will keep anything out, they smell almost as bad as the pimp oil that the people used to put down their defroster vent ducts.
OH the memories. I drove a semi and shared it with another shift driver. He smoked cigars and hung those green air fresheners inside. I hate cigar and cigarette smoke but believe i'd rather smell smoke than those things. Almost every night I either threw them out or put them in the glove box. As for junk yard insects we've been as far north in junk yards as Minn. and Michigan. The midwest, over to the east coast, the Smokey mtns, and Florida. Saw an Iguana, snakes, lots of dogs, millions of mosquetos, flies, and other critters. Poison Ivy, itchy plants, mud, muck, sand, and water. Always had a good time.
