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[3rd Gen : 96-00]: 2000 Rear door don't latch all the way

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Old 12-17-2013, 09:23 AM
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Default 2000 Rear door don't latch all the way

I've done a bit of research but most people seem to have trouble getting their rear door to OPEN, I'm having trouble getting it to CLOSE.


Sometimes when I close the door the first sort of "safety" latch catches it, but if you pull on the door you can shake it back and forth a bit (and the dome light stays on), it isn't closed all the way. So you open it and slam it and it catches and closes all the way.


Well yesterday it was pretty cold and a few times I had to open/close it a bunch of times. Can't be good for the door.


Is there some adjustment I can make to the latch to get it to "grab" better?
 
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Old 12-18-2013, 12:03 PM
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My door kept trying to close, it would get to the latch and then re-open. I looked at all of the mechanisms and something just seemed off. Literally. It was as if the door wasn't level. So, I watched how it was closing at the rear and saw that it wasn't lining up. To fix it, I lifted on the bottom rear section of the door until the part at the top that holds it bent back up. It was bent too far down. It was an easy fix and it has not been a problem since. So, if you lift it from the rear when it is open, that bar at the top will bend in the correct direction. Hope it helps.
 
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Old 12-18-2013, 03:30 PM
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First thing to check is the stabilizers in the front of the door. If they are not lined up properly, it will hinder door closing. Stabilizers are the two pointy things on the front edge of the door. They can be moved by loosening the 30 torx holding them on.

Next with the door almost closed, check to make sure the striker lines up with the latch. If not, need to determine weather the door has sagged or just a striker adjustment is needed. The rear roller has a bolt going through it and turning that bolt lifts or lowers the rear edge of the door depending on which way you turn it. The striker requires torx bits as well, 45 maybe, it's been awhile. I draw an outline around it before loosening so I can tell where I moved it, makes it a lot easier.
 



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