Door flew open

[Greg D.]

Took my kid to a sports event this morning and his door (which I had closed myself and was indeed closed, no bounce) flew open on the first left turn - downhill no less. Thankfully the check strap did its job and there is no damage... That's the 72T.. Needless to say I wasn't too happy (but he was belted in so no worries on the kid front), and it was the first time, out of the blue - because I've flogged this car on many left turns before... That door did sometimes "bounce" upon closing but that meant trying again, never opened before... I closed it again and noticed that I could pull it open without the need to pull the door trigger if I pulled hard enough. Not good.... Eventually I figured out that if I closed it super slow and gave it a last hard push after it locked, it would close and "stay" closed - couldn't pull it open anymore. For good measure we locked it and that worked for the rest of the trip.

How do you adjust those for a tighter grippier close ? Or is it a case of "go buy a 993 door striker" ?
The bottom nylon piece is gone but has been so for years, that doesn't affect closing on my other 2 cars where that bottom piece is also long desintegrated - the top piece is perfect.... I think the consensus was that bottom bit was a sound cushion. I remember adjusting door striker plates on a Karmann ghia 20y ago, but cant recall which way I did it ! If you guys have a procedure, I'd be grateful (before I go buy the 993 piece either way)

[classic]

Greg,

Get a flashlight and look into the gap at the striker to see how it is engaging. Get a 12 point and just slightly loosen the two bolts, and adjust.

How does the back of the door line up? It may give you a hint of which way to go. Don't get too eager on the adjustment as it will/ can change your door alignment.

Make sure that the bolts are snug before closing the door to test, or you will scratch the paint on the door.

[76911S]

Also, with door open check that the latch on the door is working properly. It should have two distinct clicks as it rotates and the trigger should fully release. (if that makes sense)

Mark..

[Greg D.]

Thanks ! I think I got it... after about 12 adjustments which the screws did not like much, despite using the proper bit. I'll get new ones for the replacement plate. I found an old Karmann ghia reference book from back in the day that actually tells you: if the does thins, move this way: so I figured I had to go up a little and tilt it inwards... Too high and it affected the door alignment as you warned me about... It's OK now but I'm still ordering new parts just in case...
As I recall the SMC ones (cheap) aren't very good repros and the 993 ones are the wrong color.

[Gumby]

The striker plate from Stoddard is correct and yellow cad

[Greg D.]

I received the strikers from Stoddard today. Very "gold", look OK. I installed them in the same position as the current stock units (which are more grey than gold) ...and got exactly the same issue... My door looked closed but pulling on it would make it fly open.

So I guess that confirms that the bottom nylon piece is a sound deadener (it sounds more muted now, it "pinged" more without), and contributes nothing to closing the door. I probably could have kept my current stock striker..

I had to play with the positioning again for 15 minutes, I won't pretend I understand what did it, just the right height that doesn't make the door stand too high or too hard to close, and the right tilt angle so that it doesn't bounce back, yet stays closed... That second one was the pain in the butt... Good thing I ordered new screws as the stock ones - even with the correct triple square bit - are very tender and get damaged easily after 15 tries !

It's all good now, seemingly. I'll be triple checking that door everytime though. Seems like I didn't need new strikers though, glad I didn't pay $$$ for the 993 ones.