Quote:
Originally Posted by dave`12
Your help is much appreciated. I can feel something hitting when I turn the key, must be hitting the pawl because the wheel is in the wrong position, making the pawl in the wrong position.
Please forgive my ignorance, I've never dealt with this . In fact, I didn't know what a pawl was until I just googled the word.
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No problem on the help its something I have thought about for a long time, I forgot that this is an issue.
I went out and looked at a couple latches I had on the bench and tried 2 on the car, one on the car acts like yours one does not. Neither have seals installed but I put outward pressure on the door to replicate the problem. Did the same to the toothed wheel on the bench.
The tooth wheel on the outside has a similar part on the inside but the back side of the teeth are straight, not curved for the lock pawl and latch pawl.
The wear is not noticeable because the latches are dirty but it is as described.
The latch pawl engages a different tooth than the lock pawl.
The latch pawl allows the toothed gear to rotate too far which then the lock pawl just slams into the place it needs to latch to. It worn as I described before and a new latch will cure the problem.
I also noted that you could remove the latch and grind down the lock pawl easily with a die grinder with a carbide bit if you wanted to go that route.
A new latch would probably latch smoother though because the latch pawl is not worn. The pin the round toothed gear rotates on gets worn and so does the hole. I bet you bet better door closing too with a new latch as nothing is moving around so much to latch.
Check the striker in the door jamb to and make sure the teeth on the far side are smooth and still convex, if they have a flat spot it might need replacing too for smooth engagement.