Hi, New here. I have a 59 apache and I put new door seals on it but there is stilll a gap. Do I need to put bushings in the hinges and new door latches. Not real sure if this was a problume with the 59 trucks. Thanks for the advice.
Door Seals Couple things here : Is the edge of the closed door flush with the body ? . When you hold the door 2" open and try to life it's rear edge , is there up / down play ? . If there's play , just exchange the hinges for rebuilt ones . If the trailing edge of the door isn't flush , adjust it then the striker so it closes properly . If you bought crappo Taiwanese rubber from the host here , toss them in the trash and buy the correct , AMERICAN MADE ones that fit , and work , from STEELE RUBBER CO .
Well there is a even gap around the door about a 1/2 inch. I can push on the door and it seals but i cant adjust the door latch to hold it that far closed. The hindge has play so im gonna replace them. (thanks for the advise on that.) Is their any way to adjust the latch that I may be missing. Also I think I got the door seals from Classic parts.
is the 1/2" gap interior or exterior ? the reveal (gap) on the exterior on my 57 is an 1/8" and that dictated the interior reveal and the door seals make good contact with no bind. good luck Bobby
Door Adjustments The striker in the doorpost is what you adjust and care must be taken to keep it centered else the latch will force it out again if it hits when you slam the door . The trailing outer edge of the door should be flush with the body when it is closed . I hope this is helpful ? .
my door in not flush unless i push on it. the 1/2 gap is between the rubber and the cab its closer to a 1/4 gap sorry. But its letting water in. I tryed adjusting the stricker on the door by loosening the bolts but it gives very little adjustment. Thanks guys
send a picture showing where the gap is at. You made need to tweek the door a little bit. I had to do that with mine. it did take much. Bobby
ok. I put some pics in the attachment file, sorry if it dont work. there is a pic of the inner gap, the outer door not being flush by the handle and the latch and striker. Thanks guy
what you need is a warm day,move the strike in the distance of of the door in. let the seal get warm then close the door and let it set.you may have to do this a few times.Installing door seals in cool or cold weather can be difficult.Cold weather tends to make them less pliable.If you can warm up the garage that may help. Bobby
Ya, rubber is all new. Well at least last summer but it was real dry in wyoming as well. When i push in on the door it all seals but as soon as i let off it looses its seal. O ya Im near Fairfeild, CA
It looks like your door latch has a pretty good groove worn in it by the striker. A cheap fix is to use a latch repair clip, our hosts part #18-555 for 2 bucks. The striker should adjust in enough to hold the door flush with the body but you may have it too far in and the latch can't click into the second catch but is just holding by the safety catch. Close slowly and see if you get two distinct clicks, one for safety and the second for full latch. Does you striker have the grooved plates that bite into the metal to lock into place? I hate these mickey mouse latches/strikers and replace them with bear claw if at all possible. We weld ours in but you can do a search but I think it was Russ (old chebby) that found some bolt in bear claw units and however much they are they're worth it.
ok, So i adjusted to striker. I tryed before but i figured it did not move. I used a hammer and now it moves freely. The door is now flush with the body and i have 2 clicks. The only gap remaining is at the latch side of the door between the rubber and the door about 1/8 before it will seal. I will try some new hinges and see what happins. Thanks guy for all your help.
door seals I do not want to be a wise guy But I ones put in some door seals the other way around as they suppose to. And could only get my doors closed with big force. I did a lot of adjusting before I figured out they were wrong. Because I used some doorsealadhesive, I could trash them and get new ones. Do not make the same mistake I hope this can help anyone
