Passenger door striker adjustment

[Bob Miller]

My passenger side door will rattle like crazy on bumps. For many months I thought it was the passenger seat but after a lot of trial and error and trips to the dealer its definitely the door lock/striker. The dealer replaced the actual door lock mechanism but it still rattled after that.

 

My solution to stop the rattling (sounds like typewriter ticking noise) I would hear on bumpy roads has been to wrap some black gorilla brand tape around the outside of the door striker loop. It has worked beautifully but I think after a couple of weeks it starts to wear out or something and I start to hear faint rattling again, which makes me have to re tape it, which I don't want to do anymore.

 

The striker appears to be lined up with the latch pretty much dead on (just eye balling it), but I'm just wondering if the striker should be adjusted on the B Pillar inward (towards the middle of the truck), or outwards? 

 

 

 

Edited November 6, 2019 by Bob Miller

[Doug_Scott]

If you move that plate inwards it will stop the noise by pulling the door inward, making it tighter to the weather-strip.  Surprised the dealer didn't try that first.  You will need a torx socket and a ratchet to loosen the screws.  Don't know the size anymore, but do know a screw driver won't let you turn it.

[Bob Miller]

41 minutes ago, Doug_Scott said:

If you move that plate inwards it will stop the noise by pulling the door inward, making it tighter to the weather-strip.  Surprised the dealer didn't try that first.  You will need a torx socket and a ratchet to loosen the screws.  Don't know the size anymore, but do know a screw driver won't let you turn it.

Ah thanks!  I'm going to try that - moving it inwards - luckily I do have a set of Torx sockets too.

I'm honestly surprised the dealer didn't try doing that either.   They replaced the latch but did nothing to the striker - go figure.

[Jsdirt]

I'm not. The way GM pays their techs, they're not going to spend a single minute trying something that has any chance of not working, or making the door uneven with the rest of the body. They'll just throw parts, and Lubriplate (or whatever they're using today) at it, and get it out of their bay for the next one.

 

 

[Doug_Scott]

Don't go too far, it will be harder to close the door.  Personally, I do not like doors being slammed.

[Bob Miller]

On 11/6/2019 at 5:02 PM, Doug_Scott said:

Don't go too far, it will be harder to close the door.  Personally, I do not like doors being slammed.

So I adjusted the striker a bit the other day and it was quiet until this morning - I could hear it ever so faintly rattling on bumpy streets.  So I pulled over again and did another adjustment and this time I tried to push the striker inwards towards the interior as much as I could (it doesn't seem to want to go very far in and out, it goes up and down with ease however).  The door is quiet after driving around on rough pavement now but what I find odd is that despite pushing (and tapping with a rubber mallet on the striker towards the interior while the bolts were loose ) it now seems like the door is sticking out slightly when shut - which seems counterintuitive.  I can live with that if it means no more rattling though.

 

Incidentally I also heard my infamous B Pillar ticking a little too so I took the rear driver side door striker and adjusted that too and the ticking went away.

Edited November 26, 2019 by Bob Miller

[Jsdirt]

I've been living with squeaks and rattles in my '07 since not long after it rolled off the showroom floor. Now that it's getting up there in age, I'd probably benefit from tightening up the doors the same way, since the weatherstripping is shrinking. I now have a gurgling water sound in the door right next to my ear whenever I drive in the rain. GM really hit it out of the park with this design ... 

 

But first, I need the truck legal - been driving it over 2 years with a rejected sticker, thanks to monitors that won't run. Just did the differential at 97k miles this spring, so not to motivated to spend any more time on this toilet. It's running and driving for now - might as well use it before the engine or tranny grenades next.

 

My next "new" truck will be built prior to the 1973 model year, and I'll build it from there.

[Bob Miller]

33 minutes ago, Jsdirt said:

I've been living with squeaks and rattles in my '07 since not long after it rolled off the showroom floor. Now that it's getting up there in age, I'd probably benefit from tightening up the doors the same way, since the weatherstripping is shrinking. I now have a gurgling water sound in the door right next to my ear whenever I drive in the rain. GM really hit it out of the park with this design ... 

 

But first, I need the truck legal - been driving it over 2 years with a rejected sticker, thanks to monitors that won't run. Just did the differential at 97k miles this spring, so not to motivated to spend any more time on this toilet. It's running and driving for now - might as well use it before the engine or tranny grenades next.

 

My next "new" truck will be built prior to the 1973 model year, and I'll build it from there.

Its funny to me that my 2001 and 2004 Sierras never seemed to have any of these kinds of nuisance issues like rattling doors or ticking b pillars.  Those trucks were pretty solid from what I can remember.  Although I was a bit younger and listened to music louder in those days so maybe thats why I never heard anything LOL.

 

My 2001 Sierra was a 2wd and despite it being 2wd I took this awesome off road adventure in New Mexico with it exploring the desert around Chaco Canyon Natl Historic Park.  Drove that sucker through some pretty rough terrain.  I remember when I did get back on pavement how unbelievably quiet and solid it still felt (I thought for sure I had messed something up).  I just don't know if my 2017 interior would hold up to that kind of an off road adventure.  I think I"d have rattles and ticks and popping noises  even worse if I did something like that

[Jsdirt]

The GMT-400 was the last truly solid truck they ever built '88-'94 (up past '96 in the Tahoe and HD models, if memory serves). I've seen countless numbers of them well over 300k miles. My own '94 K1500 I sold in '07 with 266k on the clock, and I had just changed the original ball joints, and universal joints not to long before that!

 

The 800 (ended with the 2007 "classic" trucks) series was the beginning of the cheapout phase - they were seeing what they could get away with, but they were still pretty solid. The Jimmy/Blazer got hit hard by this, as quality fell even lower than 1st gen models. By the '07 model year, GM was in financial trouble - they cut corners left and right on things that used to be off limits, like engine & brake system components, and from what I'm hearing from comrades in the field, they haven't changed a thing with the newer ones. If anything, they've become worse. 

 

Sad part is, it's not just GM following this path - they all do today. Newer model Chryslers and Fords have their share of issues, too. GM is just farther down the wormhole than the rest.

[davester]

You might also check that the door hinges aren't worn.

[Bob Miller]

21 hours ago, Jsdirt said:

The GMT-400 was the last truly solid truck they ever built '88-'94 (up past '96 in the Tahoe and HD models, if memory serves). I've seen countless numbers of them well over 300k miles. My own '94 K1500 I sold in '07 with 266k on the clock, and I had just changed the original ball joints, and universal joints not to long before that!

 

The 800 (ended with the 2007 "classic" trucks) series was the beginning of the cheapout phase - they were seeing what they could get away with, but they were still pretty solid. The Jimmy/Blazer got hit hard by this, as quality fell even lower than 1st gen models. By the '07 model year, GM was in financial trouble - they cut corners left and right on things that used to be off limits, like engine & brake system components, and from what I'm hearing from comrades in the field, they haven't changed a thing with the newer ones. If anything, they've become worse. 

 

Sad part is, it's not just GM following this path - they all do today. Newer model Chryslers and Fords have their share of issues, too. GM is just farther down the wormhole than the rest.

I was looking up the GMT-400 and looks like it was 88-98. I liked those years a lot - especially the Z71 models, they looked great.

 

When I was in college my dad had brand new GMC Sierra step side single cab 2wd - I want to say it was probably a 96 or 97 model and I want to say it was the 305 (I don't think it was the 350).  I remember driving it a couple times and man that truck could really move! I loved it.  He only had it about a year or so (w/the single cab there was not enough room for him ). 

 

He traded that in for a 98 GMC Jimmy and boy was that thing a real piece of garbage.  Ended up having a bunch of weird problems with it - transmission crapped itself , radiator fluid turning into mud, you name it.  There was some kind of "neutral safety switch" that went bad - you could start the car in Drive hahahaa.  I will say that 4.3L V6 in it wasn't bad, but everything else about it was just real half ass. 

 

 

[Bob Miller]

Heard the door rattling again on my way home despite adjusting the striker yesterday.  So I pulled over, opened the door and gave it a real hard slam - drove off and the rattle was gone.  

 

Maybe I need to apply some grease or something to the door seal?  maybe readjust.  not sure.

[Jsdirt]

Sounds exactly like my '07. If the rattles are real bad, I have to slam the rear door (extended cab, not crew), then slam the front door - doesn't eliminate it, but quiets it down quite a bit.

[Bob Miller]

On 11/6/2019 at 5:02 PM, Doug_Scott said:

Don't go too far, it will be harder to close the door.  Personally, I do not like doors being slammed.

So I've been messing with the striker on this passenger door for the last couple of months.  I'll adjust it and everything will be quiet for a while and then suddenly the rattling will come back - almost at random. 

 

The striker on mine only goes up and down - I can't get it to go side to side (or inwards and outwards if you will).   Today it started doing it again so I adjusted the striker pretty much all the way down.  The door isn't really even with the back door anymore, but when you look down the side of the truck it seems to be more flush with the body.  Drove it around a few minutes and seems like the rattle disappeared. 

 

Kind of wondering if maybe I shouldn't apply some lithium grease or something to the rubber seal that goes around the door? 

 

What's really crazy is for the longest time I thought it was my passenger seat rattling.  It can get pretty loud - like a typewriter sound.

 

 

Edited January 9, 2020 by Bob Miller

[Jsdirt]

Go to Toyota if you're going to trade. Just sayin' ...

 

For the rubber seals, use silicone spray.