Adjusting Defender 90 Rear Door Lock - Help!!

Well, I decided to do a bit of a refurb to my rear 90 door. The previous owners had neglected to replace the dum-dum in the window so water had been ****ing in for a good few years, resulting in a nice sodden, rusty rear door, door card etc. Not beyond salvage though I thought.

Having removed all the rust I set about with the rust bullet (good stuff) and gave everything a liberal coat. The hinges were knacked, so I replaced all the hinge kits with shiny new ones. I repaired the split in the door caused by the spare wheel having been bouncing around for years. I replaced all the old rusty bolts with shiny stainless ones and, finally, I replaced the rear lock which was busted (which meant if you lifted the handle a few times the door would unlock) with a new 'un re-using the old barrel.

The door no longer wobbles around, it doesn't leak water and the rust is all silver now - generally I felt all happy and smug... that was until I tried to lock the fecker.

My new lock, when testing with the door open, functions perfectly on the key. Two positive clicks of the latch manually and the key will turn, a further click from the little internal cam and she's locked. However, when I try and shut the door, the lock only clicks to the first position and so I can't turn the key. It needs to be closer.

I've tried adjusting the striker plate but short of grinding or filing the outside facing face of it I can't get anymore adjustment. Is there a knack to fitting these doors & locks?

Will slackening off the hinge bolts allow me to get the door in further and give me the adjustment I need?

Should I slacken off the hinge bolts, lock the door fully and then tighten up the bolts after?

Does, slackening the hinge kits (you know the little tabbed nut, spring and ball arrangement) help at all (I hope not as I've already adjusted them up and knocked the tabs over:doh?

Please help restore my smug, more than pleased with myself, grin. My thanks in advance...

mick miller said:

Well, I decided to do a bit of a refurb to my rear 90 door. The previous owners had neglected to replace the dum-dum in the window so water had been ****ing in for a good few years, resulting in a nice sodden, rusty rear door, door card etc. Not beyond salvage though I thought.

Having removed all the rust I set about with the rust bullet (good stuff) and gave everything a liberal coat. The hinges were knacked, so I replaced all the hinge kits with shiny new ones. I repaired the split in the door caused by the spare wheel having been bouncing around for years. I replaced all the old rusty bolts with shiny stainless ones and, finally, I replaced the rear lock which was busted (which meant if you lifted the handle a few times the door would unlock) with a new 'un re-using the old barrel.

The door no longer wobbles around, it doesn't leak water and the rust is all silver now - generally I felt all happy and smug... that was until I tried to lock the fecker.

My new lock, when testing with the door open, functions perfectly on the key. Two positive clicks of the latch manually and the key will turn, a further click from the little internal cam and she's locked. However, when I try and shut the door, the lock only clicks to the first position and so I can't turn the key. It needs to be closer.

I've tried adjusting the striker plate but short of grinding or filing the outside facing face of it I can't get anymore adjustment. Is there a knack to fitting these doors & locks?

Will slackening off the hinge bolts allow me to get the door in further and give me the adjustment I need?

Should I slacken off the hinge bolts, lock the door fully and then tighten up the bolts after?

Does, slackening the hinge kits (you know the little tabbed nut, spring and ball arrangement) help at all (I hope not as I've already adjusted them up and knocked the tabs over:doh?

Please help restore my smug, more than pleased with myself, grin. My thanks in advance...

Click to expand...

if the door lines up with the opening ( the gaps are even ) and the door swings freely and the rubber seal isnt pushing the door away when trying to close it then you may have to grind on the striker mounting holes to open them up just enough to give that extra click . also try adjusting the striker up wards to get the click or add spacers to the lock part on the door to move it closer to the striker

Thanks defcrazy,

The door does line up, the rubber seal keeps the door from closing completely, but a small amount of pressure closes the door. The door does swing freely.

I'm unwilling to shim the actual lock as that would leave a gap that the wafer thin weather seal wouldn't be able to cope with. So I guess I'll take a look at the striker plate and see if there's any give I can add to it instead.

I didn't know if there where a preferred sequence to fitting, ie. should the door bolts be loose until the lock is made to work and then tightening the door bolts to suit (two man job, one inside the vehicle and one out) or if the adjustment should be made through the striker plate.

sure no problem ...we have done many doors but the most problems they give is the lining up and evening out the gaps but yours is good so the next step is the striker .

Well, in the end the door closes and the latch shuts correctly. There is still room for improvemnt, I think I need to increase the vertical movement of the latch by opening the base of the holes in the body but that's a job for later.

This is the process I had to go through to get it to fit:

1. With the door lock in situ remove the door seal from the door frame.
2. Loosen all the door bolts, slacken the hinge pins off too.
3. Remove striker
4. Close door, lift and push until it sits absolutely flush with the rest of the body panels and there is an even gap all round. Observe position of hinges and how much lift in which direction you need to give the door.
5. With remarkable skill, imagination and handful of ingenuity place a ring spanner on the uppermost outer door bolt nut (inside), close door and lift into position then tighten the corresponding bolt.
6. Repeat with adjacent nut & bolt (open door, reposition spanner, close door, lift and tighten).
7. Work the way down the door hinges, leaving the hinge pins slack and inner door bolts loose.
8. Once the hinges are tight, refit the striker plate and shims, loosely, climb inside and through trial, error and observation find a point where the door lock will fully close and the latch will click through twice.
9. Refit the door seal.
10 Try the door again to ensure the seal is not preventing the door from closing.
11. Tighten the inner door bolts (same process, ring spanner inside, shut door and tighten).
12. Finally, adjust the hinge pins with the door shut, open the door and see if there is wiggle, repeat until wiggle gone.

Note: It's a helluva lot easier if there are two of you! Not having the door seal in gives a tiny bit more adjustment on the striker too. It can be gently tapped into place once the striker has been tightened. Also, the rubber bush that sits on top of the striker plate may need some adjustment to allow the lock to travel in further.

The first thing you said in your last post is bang on the money. My rear door was a pig to open, bent the handle out it was so badly aligned. I painted the rear door last week so had the lock off, on refitting, I set it up loosely, then went into the load space and pulled it shut, the locked wanted to sit as far up as possible. It now opens and shuts good as new. But if you don't have enough vertical movement then opening up the holes a little is the solution.

Also, regarding water ingress, below the handle on the outside, water trap, I seam sealed mine and then seam sealed the frame to the door to stop it running down the skin behind the frame. Thats where all the water was getting in on mine.

I did a similar thing, only I stuck the rubber gasket to the lock with seam sealant (RTV?) and then gobs of sealant over that the screwed the lock on. The excess sealant was wiped off to leave a watertight seal.

Fingers crossed.

glad you got it fixed ....sorry it was so difficult

So am I!

TBH I don't think having that hoofing great wheel hanging off the back door for the last 14 years has helped matters much. The door is slightly twisted as a result and the old lock definitely shows signs of distorting.

Man-tec wheel carrier eventually, till then it can live in the back.

My rear door handle recess used to fill with water so I put a small rivnut in the bottom then another in the door skin itself further down and inside the door connected the 2 with a bit of plastic tubing. It now just drains itself clear.

Malcolm