Re: IML: NOW Door Won't OPEN 1960 & 1962 Back Door Latch Assemblies

[randalpark@xxxxxxx]

It sounds like the latch is frozen from the inside of the door from 
lack of use. Make sure that the lock are in the unlock position (UP). 
Since these were originally coated with grease, I doubt if corrosion is 
the problem. I would only attempt opening the door by having a helper 
pull on the outside door handle gently, while you push hard on the door 
from the inside. The inside handles are more fragile, so they should 
not be operated in a stuck door situation.

Prior to this try to spray lots of penetrating oil into the inside of 
the door between the window and the "cat whiskers". You should be able 
to do this with the little red nozzle that comes with these cans, and 
presses into the sprayer. Do your best to aim the spray around the lock 
lever area, and down the back side of the inside of the door where the 
latch mechanism is. Don't be afraid to use the entire can to insure a 
good soaking. It really won't hurt anything. If you are able to move 
the nozzle around a bit, spray everything as much as you can.

I don't think you will have to worry about the oil bleeding through any 
upholstery on the door panel, there should be a vapor barrier between 
the panel and the inside of the door. If the vapor barrier is gone, the 
inside of the door panel might become soaked. Electrically, this stuff 
won't hurt anything short term, but once everything is apart, I would 
clean off the wiring, switches, motor, and particularly the rubber 
coupler.

I think you will get it open if you are careful and patient. After 
that, I would suggest removing the latch mechanism for service (clean, 
tighten if needed as per Eric, and relubricate) in order for it to 
operate correctly in the foreseeable future.

Paul W.

-----Original Message-----
From: jdlpdx@xxxxxxxxxxx
To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Sun, 20 May 2007 8:35 AM
Subject: Re: IML: Door Won't Shut: 1960-1966 Door Latch Assemblies

I have the opposite problem with my '62: I can't get the back doors to 
open and I don't want to destroy the trim panel to get inside the door 
to lube or some how persude the latches. I've drowned the wheel as best 
I can by spraying WD-40 in the space between the quarter panel and door 
but no luck yet. The windows are up as well and inoperative. Any and 
all help will be appreciated.

Thanks

Jim L. in OR
 '60 Crown 4dt hdtp
 '62 Crown 4dr hdtp

----- Original Message ----- From: <randalpark@xxxxxxx>
To: <mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, May 20, 2007 7:37 AM
Subject: Re: IML: Door Won't Shut: 1960-1966 Door Latch Assemblies

> I have more trouble with rear doors which are frequently left unopened 
for >years. It seems that inside the door, the "click" doesn't fall 
into the >"star" apparently due to solidified grease, dirt, etc. This 
causes the door >not to close properly, if at all. Closing is a two 
stage process with this >type of safety latch. In this case, the door 
will not close, and "bounce" >back open, or will close only partially, 
allowing it to pull away from the >door seal, but still requiring 
operation of the handle to open it the rest >of the way.
> Removing, cleaning, and re-lubricating the latches usually corrects 
90% of > the trouble. So far, I have not run into any trouble 
whatsoever on doors > that have been regularly opened throughout the 
years. I suspect those are > the ones with the most wear and tear, yet 
they seem to work fine. I am > familiar with the looseness that occurs 
when the "click" and the "star" > become worn. With the door fully 
closed, it can be moved slightly in and > out in the closed position, 
and will shake badly on rough roads. I haven't > experienced one of 
these regularly used, fully functional, but very worn > latch systems 
opening by itself going around a corner. The safety aspect > still 
seems to work in spite of the wear. That's a good thing!
> However, I have had one of the seldom used, "sticky" latch problem 
doors > open under these conditions if it was not made certain to be 
fully closed. > Sometimes, operating the door latch wheel manually with 
fingers through a > few cycles of "clicks" while open will allow it to 
be closed until work > can be done later on. Once closed, it's 
advisable not to open it again > until that work can be done.
> Either way, the latches seem to be repairable. I recently purchased 
two > rear ones to fix the "seldom used door syndrome" problem in my 
parent's > '60, but plan to repair the ones I remove, and save them for 
future use.
> Paul W.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: gearhead@xxxxxxxxxxx
> To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Sent: Sat, 19 May 2007 3:42 PM
> Subject: IML: Door Won't Shut: 1960-1966 Door Latch Assemblies
>
> On the door latches for the 1960-1966 Imperials, there is a star 
wheel on > the forward (inside) part of the latch that the Lever-Detent 
Actuator > rides against to hold the latch in the closed position. This 
star wheel is > adjacent to the Lever-Detent Actuator (K) in this FSM 
photo, > http://www.imperialclub.com/Yr/1964/FSM/html/23-032.htm
> Yesterday, I took the latch out of the driver's door on my '64 Crown 
> Coupe. I found a couple of things that I believe causes the latch to 
do > the much discussed "door won't latch" syndrome for the Imperials 
of these > years.
> I noted that the assembly that comprises of this star wheel on one 
side of > the latch and the latch wheel that fits into the door jamb 
striker plate > had a lot of lateral play. After moving the various 
components in their > range of motion, I saw that the riding surface of 
the Lever-Detent > Actuator had gouged a trough on each of the six star 
'fingers' of the > adjacent star wheel. Instead of a smooth motion of 
this lever cinching > down into the star wheel crotch, I caught a 
glimpse of it jambing up, > mid-finger so to speak, preventing full 
rotation of the latch wheel to > lock closed the door.
> The Aha! light went off (on?) upstairs and I pressed down in a vise 
the > cup that captures this wheel assembly taking a sizeable amount of 
play out > of the mix. This causes the lever to ride in alignment with 
each star > finger.
> Then, I filed down each of the six star fingers to take out the 
trough > ridge and to a lesser extent the deformed crotch part that the 
lever > notches into to hold the door solidly closed. This work fixed 
the trouble, > the door closes every time That little star wheel holds 
it all closed and > seems to take the brunt of the wear.
> Now here is the question that could solve the latch issue. Does 
anyone > make, sell, or fabricate these star wheels? It appears that 
they can be > pressed out/in for replacement.
> Eric
> 1964 Crown Coupe
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