Door Striker Plastic Worn

[Stratosurfer]

All,
On the Tahoe the plastic cover over the door striker on the door latch mechanism has worn off on both doors, causing an extra 'slam' sometimes to close. This is the part that first impacts the striker post on the chassis and is encased in black plastic, but mine has now worn to bare metal, forcing many 2nd tries.
Is there any repair for this or do I have to buy a whole new mechanism anf have it installed?

Thanks for all.

[Robyn]

Its the curse of these things.
My 94 Burb is suffering the same issue.

The only real fix is to replace the latch mechanism and possibly the striker pin (Stud in the pillar)

The earlier trucks had a polymer sleave over the post and when it wore out you simply replaced it.

One of the issues that exacerbates the trouble is the slow failure of the door hinge pins/bushings
These doors are large and heavy and they begin to sag over time and this places a lot more stress on the plastic covering on the latch as the unit impacts the striker stud at an off angle from nominal.

To repair this properly the door hinge pins and bushings need to be replaced as well as the latch mechanism and the stud in the post.
Once all the components are back in alignment and in top condition the system will work correctly again.

Try lifting the door with it in the open position, it will likely move up and down quite a bit at the outer end (Latch end)
This tells the story.

Best

Robyn

[Stratosurfer]

I've replaced all the door hinge pins and striker posts already. I guess the only thing I have left is the latch mechanism itself.
I am considering Teflon Taping the striker post to see if that gives the desired effect. I'll report after completed.

[Robyn]

I wrapped mine with about 4 turns of good O'l black electrical tape.

Keeps the things from rattling going down the rough roads but I'm sure it won't last long.

Good luck

RC

[DickWells]

Robyn: This brings up another question. On my Suburban, the doors are real tight on the hinge pins. I put on a lot of mileage with the old gal while we were towing with her, without a lot of stop and go, so that's probably why they're still tight. Here's my problem. Although the teflon striker's still not worn, I can't adjust the striker pins in or out, up or down. I always thought GM put them on a captive eccentric in the door post, or something, but I learned the hard way that that wasn't so. Lost a nut down into the rocker panel for my trouble! Had to remove a bunch of trim to put in a new nut! Yuk! How are you supposed to adjust the door closing on the rubber seals? Mine only rattles if you hit some pot holes.
Dick

[Stratosurfer]

Teflon tape no-workee. I figured it wouldn't but it didn't even last a full day. I will try and find some thin wall plastic pipe of a similar diameter and cut and mount around the striker post.