308-solutions for passenger door popping open?

Hi Greg,

I just rebuilt the lock on my 78 308 GTS. The mechanism was filthy. I even posted a picture as part of my window recable job recently. I soaked it in kerosene and relubed it. It cleans up real nice. Anyway, it is all stamped sheet metal so you'll have to look for galling, etc. on the tiny pawls that lock. Check the little springs too. Also, the lock loop on the inside door panel has two large hex bolts. When these are loosened, they slide in an XY sorta way giving you adjustment. I suspect your gasket is making it hard for your door to fully engage, hence it backs off. Try playing with the position of that "stationary" lock loop. It helped me because my door was shut but the parting line made it look slightly ajar. I had to move it in a bit. BTW, be very careful on that mechanism. It comes completely out of the car but there are these little bitty plastic clips that hold the rods from the passenger door handle and the lock on top. The clips snap off the rod and rotate out of the way before the rod comes off. Make sure you study the action on these things and understand it clearly. Once broken, you are sorta ****ed. I hope this helps.

Best Regards,

Rjay

 

just adjust the bolts on the lock internal of the door ,it happened to me once ,and I've raised the lock mechanism and tightened it and it now works perfectly!

 

I cleaned and lubed my lock assembly and I also noticed the solenoid was sticking , so I disconnected it. I've had no problems since.(6 months or so now)

 

If the advice already given doesn't help, all I can think of is your frame is flexing from a cracked weld or something. Granted, this would seem unlikely but not impossible.

Ken

 

Greg,

It sounds like striker adjustment to me. I had this problem with my '78 GTS on the passenger side. The door was not popping open, but it would close, but if you put any pressure on it, like leaning against it, it would pop loose. I adjusted the door and the striker and it now latches just fine. I didn't disassemble the lock, just sprayed it up with some penetrating oil and it works fine.

BTW, if all else fails, just weld the door shut and have your passenger climb in and out the window. ;-)

Regards,
Steve

 

Greg,

Even if the latch disengages completely while driving, the door will not swing out. The airflow over the car will hold it closed, as long as someone is not pushing out on it. But if it completely disengages, and you stop short, it could swing out. Most car door latches are, as you say, two stage. It will stay closed if partially engaged. From my experience with other cars, if the door latch mechanism is not fully latching, i.e., turning past the point where the tooth locks in place, it will appear closed but will pop open at some point. By adjusting the striker and the door to assure that the lock mechanism moves past the point of engagement, you assure that it fully engages.

I'm not familiar with the 308 mechanism, but on other cars I've seen where the teeth in the latch are warn down and don't want to hold. Did you check all of the parts of the locking mechanism to assure that they were not worn down or tooth chipped off?

Just a thought.

Steve

p.s. 'til you fix it, attach a bungie cord around the headrest on the passenger's seat and put the hook around the lock pin on top of the door. No more worries about doors flying open. ;-)

 

Greg,

Here is the pic of the latch I was talking about. The guys make a good point. Check all the little catches and springs for wear.

-Rjay

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=152268&highlight=rjay

 

Find an old bodyman that works on mercedes, the door locks are M-B he will know how to fix it.

Larry

 

I am not sure what M-B they are from, I worked on M-B's for years and I recognized them. They are probably 116 or 123 body parts. Go to a M-B salvage yard and look at 450 SEL and 240 or 300 D. Also try 107 (SL's) they were all built in the 70's or 80's.

Larry

 

I agree, they look exactly like my '82 380SL(euro model so I think more like an '84 us model in many respects per my mechanic-no longer own). My SL had auto locks, though but I think fletch62 is correct, you'd just have to match them up. This got me thinking about replacing my passenger side striker as it seems to malfunction somewhat and is very worn internally.

Jeff

 

Yet another good example of why F-Chat is so great! Hopefully, someone will add this to the Parts Interchange sticky in the 308/328/Mondial section.

Also, for those who think that old Ferraris are so exotic, yet another example of Enzo using what was commercially available rather than reinventing the wheel. This is not at all surprising. But for those of us who are dedicated to preserving these great old cars, it's good to know that parts like this are available without having to be raked over the coals on pricing just because the box the part comes in says "Ferrari" on it.

 

I had my drivers door popping open on my 79 gtb a couple of years ago. The mechanism was fine, I can't remember the specfic problem off the top of my head, but I fixed it by putting a shim betwwen the dooer hinge and the frame to change the angle it was hitting the latch at.It works fine now. Just another option for you to look at if you haven't already

 

Besides the lock, have you examined the rubber seals around the door? Were they replaced recently?

 

I had this exact same problem on my drivers door on my 80 308. Door wouldn't close, seem to latch but then it would pop open to that first notch. What worked for me was adjusting the striker. I ended up taking out the bolts and replacing them with new ones that I could get enough torque on in order to hold the plate stationary. As others have pointed out the latch appears to have two positions. If you open the door and push on it it'll click once and then click again to the fully closed position. Mine was clicking halfway into the second position but the latch wasn't far enough out in order to get it to click to the full position. Very minor adjustment but made all the difference in the world. Best of luck.