Rear door won't stay closed

[BlueRidgeKJ]

Well.. I came across a problem today that I can't understand or seem to fix.. of course its right before I gotta go out of town.. I went to put something in the back seat and when I closed the rear driver side door.. it won't close.. i checked the latch and it seems to be working fine.. i am the original owner.. 2004 liberty renegade.. never had a problem with the door before.. never closed anything in it.. just today it wont shut.. i had to tie the door shut from the inside to drive home.. else the door would swing open when i went around a curve (lots of those up here in the mountains)..

any ideas to try.. need it fixed even if its temporary by this weekend..

 

[HoosierJeeper]

Is anything visibly damaged? Do the handles feel normal?

 

[profdlp]

You might try to cycle through the locking/unlocking mechanism a few times to see if something is sticking and might manage to shake itself loose.

Also, most locks use a cam type closure. If it's not rolled back all the way to the "open" position it doesn't hit the cam right to roll it around to "closed". I had an old car like that once which needed frequent applications of graphite spray to move right.

I went out and looked at mine, then found a nice picture of what I'm talking about: http://www.justanswer.com/jeep/1njpf-door-latch-assembly-moved-around-door-will-not-latch.html

 

[BlueRidgeKJ]

thanks guys.. i checked the mechanism with a buddy who restores cars over the weekend.. he cleaned it out real good and tested it.. it appeared the mechanism was working correctly but with one problem.. he said the retainer spring is more then likely broken.. as when you open the door the latch does not disengage but that wasn't the problem holding it shut.. we worked on some 'jimmy rig' ideas and he got it to shut after building up the latch on the door with some duct tape.. well like an idiot i grabbed the door and opened it not thinking and boom here we go again so this time he took some metal wire and wrapped it around the latch on the door jam.. got the door closed.. and i am NOT opening it anymore.. it stayed shut the whole 3 hour drive back home and up curvy mountain roads.. a temp fix but i dont use that door anyways so that will work for now.. if it comes up again I might just buy a new latch and replace it..

Is anything visibly damaged? Do the handles feel normal?

nope.. my buddy inspected it completely and he said it looks normal.. he did say though since i never use that door.. thats probably what caused the retainer spring to fail because its been years since i had opened that door.. so for all of you out there.. open and shut all your doors from time to time to let tension off the spring

btw the actual latch piece is made of plastic.. he said the same door latch is in a few chrystler/dodge cars and thats usually the first piece that shatters..

 

[profdlp]

Thanks for telling us how it turned out.

 

[Spottedbat]

I have 2007 and this has now happened to me same door. I tried graphite spray weeks ago with no luck. a mechanic looked at it and used WD after I had it ratchet strapped closed on the outside he said it was illegal. So frustrated with this. I can't afford to get it fixed. I will try to build up the latch to see if that helps.

 

[JeepJeepster]

Illegal? It may be, but so is going over the speed limit.

Do you have any friends that are handy? Swapping out the latch isn't terribly difficult.

 

[DadOSix]

Time for a trip to the parts yard!