Door rattles

ptwood · 2010-08-30 13:22

I am looking for advice, suggestions etc on what I might try to fix a loose Driver side door on my 57 Fairlane 500 Victoria 2 Dr ht (body 63A) I have tried adjusting the striker plate on the door jamb to it's full extent (L, R. Up/down) but no affect the door still is loose or gets worse when I move it away from the frame (door shakes when driving at 55-60MPH) the plate is now all the way in towards interior and all the way up as far as it can go..
The passenger door is fine..it seems like I need the door to be held closer to the body.. ..although the door alignment is fine with the body/fenders (front and rear) the only thing (and it's very minor) is the door may be slightly pitched down .. as I see the door gap is slighly less at the top than at the bottom - the gap does appear rather narrow at front or car (less than 1/8")
with the door is open I checked the hinges for any play - there is no movement, I can rock the car by the door without any noticable movement of the door/hinges, essentially the same as the passenger door..
One friend said installing new weather stripping might do the trick giving a better seal and making the door tighter, I have new weatherstripping and will install soon but the passenger doors weatherstripping is no newer and it does not rattle.,
another suggestion was that the striker plate adjustment slots in the jamb may need to be enlarged to allow more adjustment (toward the inside of the car)..any comments??
Could it have anything to do with a hinge adjustment, I see this in the 57 manual but it looks tricky.. if I try what are potential problems I may run into? Any recommendations from those that have done this.
If anyone has any ideas it will be appreciated.
It is annoying.. especially when you can see the door shaking at highway speeds.
Thank you in advance.

RICH MUISE · 2010-08-30 21:01

Driver's door hardware always wears out before passenger dooors because it gets so much more usage. New and n.o.s. striker plates are readily available if that turns out to be your problem. Also new hinge pins and bushings can be found in the "help" brand of odd-ball parts section at your local parts house, HOWEVER I'm guessing your problem is with the door latch's star wheel that engages the striker plate...and they are almost imposible to find. Look at the domed housing that covers the star wheel protruding from your door, and you will probably find that the hole the short shaft on the end of the star wheel rotates in is elongated. That really lets that star wheel flop around alot. the drivers side door latch is different from the passenger side, so even though pasenger side latches can still be found, that won't be any help. I've been told by several sources that the 57 latch assemblies are not rebuildable, although I honestly think they could be. I was fortunate enough to run across a 57 mercury door latch that can be made to work on a 57 ford (I've got a post somewhere in the tech discusion with pics so you can see what I'm talking about). Had I not found that, I was going to remove the star wheel"cover/housing?" and weld up the hole and have a machine shop rebore a new hole, then weld the housing back into the latch assembly. It was originally swedged in. This may or may not work but it was the only thing I could think of. Rich
P.S. beware of used door latches on ebay. I saw one advertised as "good and tight", but when I looked at the pic you could see where the star wheel housing had been hit with a hammer and punch to tighten up the hole.(which I would only do as a temporary "fix" to see of it eliminated the door rattle)

custom300fe · 2010-08-31 07:42

"with the door is open I checked the hinges for any play - there is no movement, I can rock the car by the door without any noticable movement of the door/hinges, essentially the same as the passenger door"

When checking for hinge pin wear don't do it with the door open all the way. That will give you a false reading. Check the movement with the door open about six inches. And "gently" lift and lower the back of the door, you don't want to rock the car, this will show the amount of wear in the pin.

ptwood · 2010-08-31 13:05

Thank you both for the suggestions and what to look for, I have not checked the star wheel assembly so I will and let you know... but based on what you are saying that would not be a good thing if it is..
I'll recheck the play on the hinges and do as was suggested.
I'll report back with my findings, I do know that when the door is latched closed there is movement/play if I pull the door upwards using the outside handle...would this indicated issues with the hinges... is the pin replacement a big deal to change?
Thank you again for al the help
Peter

RICH MUISE · 2010-08-31 20:24

Replacing the hinge pins is easy...the hardest part is getting the door off and back on and adjusted correctly. The hinge pins on my hinges just knocked out with a drift punch and hammer...same with the bronze bushings.After you get your old pins out, take them and the bushings to auto zone or o'reilly's. As I mentioned, I found the correct pins and bushings in the "HELP" brand of parts. If I remember, they both were in an assortment kit, so I ended up buying extra stuff I didn't need, but it still was cheap. I may also have had to buy 2 assortments to get 2 of the correct pins. You can unbolt the hinges at the door posts and leave them attached to the door, so if you're gentle enough to drive the pins out without changing the hinge positioning on the door, you may avoid having to pull your door interior panel and handles, ect.
Also, I would think if there is vertical movement at the door handle area, it would be a latching problem. imho, the door latch should prevent any vertical movement in that end of the door regardless of how sloppy the hinges are..I really think it's the latch/star wheel as described earlier.

ptwood · 2010-09-01 07:05

Thanks Rich..
I'll let you know... but if it is.. sounds like not an easy thing to fix or find...
but if by some lucky chance the hole does not look elongated as you described, would you suggest my investing in a new striker just to eliminate that... I don't know what to look for excessive wear and tear?
Thx again

RICH MUISE · 2010-09-01 08:45

When you open your door, just put your finger on the star wheel and see if it moves around easily. It shouldn't. Also check your door bumpers. There should be one at the top and bottom corners of the door jamb. If you see 1/4" holes with nothing in them, your bumpers are missing, which will add to the door rattle problem. The door latch and striker plate are safety issues, so yes I would replace them as you find them. The striker plate insert should be available at any of the '57 parts distributors (Concourse, Dennis-carpenter, etc.) It is posible that if your bumpers are missing and you replace them it will get rid of the rattle but just be aware that hasn't fixed the problem. With as much movement as you seem to have I don't think elongating the holes as you asked will fix the problem, only a bandaid, and besides, the plate that the screws screw into is retained from inside the door post limiting it's movement, so even if you elongated the holes, you won't be able to move the inside plate any more anyways
Also, a few questions on the history of the car...have you had it long?, has it been like that since you got it?, has the car been restored, or disassembled for painting? The reason I ask is I'm wondering if it's posible something has been reassembled incorrectly, for example there should be a shim plate behind the striker plate.(1/16" or so thick)

canadian_ranchero · 2010-09-01 14:46

have a letter from ford on door latch adjustment.because of the size will have to put each page on a separate post.let me know if you can not read them.

canadian_ranchero · 2010-09-01 14:48

page 1

canadian_ranchero · 2010-09-01 14:50

page 2

canadian_ranchero · 2010-09-01 14:53

page 3

canadian_ranchero · 2010-09-01 14:56

page 4 first half

canadian_ranchero · 2010-09-01 14:58

page 4 other half

canadian_ranchero · 2010-09-01 15:04

page 5 last one.hope this information helps

RICH MUISE · 2010-09-02 08:47

Gary...you come up with some amazing stuff...I ran copies for my 57 book i'm putting together for my car. I wonder what the reason is for Ford directing to cut the original shim and add the washer? Has anyone ever seen a 57 done like that?
I had no idea the auxillary plate functioned like it does....I've got to go back and check that 57 mercury latch I've been saying I thought would work to see if the roller is in the correct position. hmmmm.
It's nice knowing the correct terms: rotor..hood....auxillary plate...roller...awesome.
Rich

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Door rattles