Door Mechanism Spring Fix
By Marcus Chick
I
have had a couple of a door mechanism spring failures in the MKII Ute. This in
itself is not a new trick, as they are of similar reliability as the gearbox.
This event was the normal shut the door, and it bounces back off of the striker
plate one; which is then followed by the "blessing" of the clown that
designed it.
Fortunately
the locking mechanism is a separate lever to the one that holds the door closed
and you can lock the door to hold it shut whilst you plan the next move. The
usual cause of this drama is the failure of the spring that keeps the retaining
lever in the toothed wheel, inside the locking mechanism, engaged.
Next, is for the brave persons who like to
fix these themselves: Bearing in mind that most manuals avoid bits like this as
if it were a plague.
The
spring I replace this with can be easily obtained from some parts suppliers,
more often from an Industrial bearing supplier (CSW Melbourne "T30" 8
x 30 x 0.80 ). The catch of course is that you have to
dismantle large portions of the door to get at it.
I
find the easiest way of releasing the "Omega" shaped retaining clips
from the handles, is a piece of fencing “tie wire” bent to an “L”. All factors
being correct the end that you need to snare is pointing toward the “V” in the
handle.
After getting the trim off you will then
realise that your luck has run out as you cannot get at the spring retainers,
because they are at the top of the mechanism and behind the Bailey channel....
and the window if you failed to wind it up (prior knowledge is a wonderful
thing). Of course your adult hand is never going to fit in there, even when you
unscrew the channel at it base plate (which has to happen to get the mechanism
out), or you can actually see into the cavity.
As the mechanism will benefit from cleaning,
re-lubrication and the removal of the remaining bit of spring (that is now
jammed somewhere in the mechanism) total removal of the door mechanism is
really the best option.
Putting the thing back in, is normally more
fun than removal; The interior locking lever will not defy gravity at any
stage, especially just after you just managed to get the lever & pin of the
door lock in place. It will normally find a way of falling out of the guide or
getting onto the wrong side of the Bailey channel.
Wry
cunning is to have a long “riser tube” from the garden watering system handy.
This item will screw onto the thread of the locking lever and fit down the
guide hole. It matters little if the lock lever is down or up.... it has only
one direction to go. At the end of proceedings you pull up on the riser... it
unlocks the mechanism and you have the full length of the protruding lever to
screw the knob back onto.
The
clips are put back onto the handles in their groves (head toward handle) before
replacement, as they will drop into the groove in the shaft, when the handle is
pushed on.
Note
that I did not give a step by step method of doing this job: That spoils all
the fun. Not taking cleaning, tea break & relubricating into account, one
should be able to remove & replace the mechanism in around 7˝ minutes.
Disclaimer: The advice
and guidelines given in these articles are given in good faith. The owners
and managers of the Galeforce Zephyr site will
take no responsibility for any injuries or loss sustained while carrying
out the described tasks and procedures or any consequences arising.
Please read the Safety
First Article
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