240z Door not locking

240z, 260z, 280z
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Zeubin
Posts: 35
Location: Hamilton

240z Door not locking

Post by Zeubin » Tue Nov 10, 2020 3:52 pm

Hi guys and gals

I took my girl for a WOF and she came back not being able to lock the driver's side door.
Lock in door
Lock in door
IMG_20201110_153149.jpg (3.6 MiB) Viewed 5077 times
After a good investigation I found there are three positions for the rotating lock mechanism when operational:
1 - door is open, cannot lock door.
Position 1
Position 1
IMG_20201110_153156.jpg (3.15 MiB) Viewed 5077 times
2 - door is closed but half closed I think, cannot lock door.
Position 2
Position 2
IMG_20201110_153207.jpg (2.95 MiB) Viewed 5077 times
3 - door is closed and able to be locked. I call it 'fully closed'
Position 3
Position 3
IMG_20201110_153215.jpg (3.26 MiB) Viewed 5077 times
When I started my fiddle with the door it would not lock in position 3 but after some screw swapping (short one to left bottom of the triangle for future reference) I managed to get the door lock to depress fully and engage while in position 3 with the door open and twisting the rotator with my hands - Great!

Now when I go to shut the door and test it in the real world the lock will not go down and engage.
I have come to the conclusion that the door is not fully closed and the lock is stuck in position 2 with about 2mm of turning required to reach position 3.
I used a marker as in the photos and peeked into the door gap to confirm this.

Questions:
Has anyone had this problem just pop up out of nowhere? What did you do?
Are there any points in the door that might be stopping it from closing as far as it needs to go that I can't see?
Is there an adjustment to bring the lock latch in or out that I'm not seeing?

Thanks in advance

User avatar
bernjean
Z Club Member
Posts: 1709

Post by bernjean » Tue Nov 10, 2020 9:25 pm

That's not an uncommon problem on cars in from that era. The lock should be two click, it should be shut on the second latch. for the push button lock to work. Try adjusting the Stricker plate on the body out a bit. Sounds like its only clicking on the first latch.
I remember in the 70's as a panel beater we quite often had to repair door catch assembly's, unlike today they used to wear out. we often had to weld a bit more thickness to a worn arm or peg.

I have a similar problem with my 260 it will click into second position by hand but when you shut the door it won't.. Just old fashioned wear and tear I'm afraid.
Bernie Kant
Club President

User avatar
Zeubin
Posts: 35
Location: Hamilton

Post by Zeubin » Wed Sep 06, 2023 9:22 pm

Solution for anyone in the future was to replace the locking mechanism.
Found a second hand one on ebay and took the good parts from both to make a working one.
Some wear and tear, 50+yr old cars etc.

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