Reinforcing Door Striker

[K5 Blazer]

I was seeing if anyone else has had this issue and have they done anything about it? My 1973 Blazer door strikers are starting to crack the metal around the nadar pin. My plan is to have the door hinges replaced and then reinforce the door striker. The body shop is going to weld the cracks and then my plan is to have them weld on the door striker repair plate.

 

[Ricko1966]

I had that problem once,all it took was welding,hinge bushings and door adjustment. Problem solved in my case.

 

[legopnuematic]

Above the strikers do you have a brass piece on the door frame and a little plate on the door in the same area? Few inches down from the top of the bedside.

Full tops without the top can be pretty floppy, it can put a lot of stress on the strikers, especially if the hinges are worn or out of adjustment or rockers/rocker boxes/structure is rusted since they lack a roof to tie everything together.

But plenty of pickups are the same way. I’d still argue full tops have the disadvantage to begin with in that regard.

 

[SquareRoot]

Do the strikers just screw in, I assume? My doors are rattling and I noticed there is no bushing or sleeve. I have heard something about using a piece of PEX? Anybody know more about this than me?

 

[Grit dog]

Do the strikers just screw in, I assume? My doors are rattling and I noticed there is no bushing or sleeve. I have heard something about using a piece of PEX? Anybody know more about this than me?

Nothing more to know. 1/2” pex works great. Split the pex and slide it over the striker. No need to remove striker.
But rattling sounds more like worn hinges, bad door seal and/or mis adjusted striker.
The plastic bushing just helps it close easier.

 

[SquareRoot]

Nothing more to know. 1/2” pex works great. Split the pex and slide it over the striker. No need to remove striker.
But rattling sounds more like worn hinges, bad door seal and/or mis adjusted striker.
The plastic bushing just helps it close easier.

Well the PS door just started rattling one day. I thought it odd, since it rarely gets used..It's closing and latching properly but suddenly it's not tight against the door seal. I thought maybe I had a bushing on the striker and it had broken off or something but I cant recall if I ever had a bushing on it. The DS never has. Can anything move in the latch itself to cause mis-alignment? Maybe the striker moved , I don't know.

 

[PrairieDrifter]

Do the strikers just screw in, I assume? My doors are rattling and I noticed there is no bushing or sleeve. I have heard something about using a piece of PEX? Anybody know more about this than me?

Yep. Then there's a removable plate on the backside. It will fall off. But can be reached by hand on trucks, and I believe suburbans fronts. Don't know about blazers.

 

[HotWheelsBurban]

Yep. Then there's a removable plate on the backside. It will fall off. But can be reached by hand on trucks, and I believe suburbans fronts. Don't know about blazers.

It's behind the trim piece on the pillar inside; there is a hole in the pillar to reach your fingers into. The striker bolt threads into a steel block, and this block is what you'll be holding in place with your fingers. There is a size of plastic pipe that fits over the striker, I don't remember the size but it might be 1/2 or 3/4?

 

[HotWheelsBurban]

It's behind the trim piece on the pillar inside; there is a hole in the pillar to reach your fingers into. The striker bolt threads into a steel block, and this block is what you'll be holding in place with your fingers. There is a size of plastic pipe that fits over the striker, I don't remember the size but it might be 1/2 or 3/4?

Dad made several of the "homemade" striker bushings, after we used up all the GM NORS ones we had from Curtis. They sold body hardware too, besides keys and locks. He also found a stick of Teflon rod at the plastic supply company, and made some out of that. I'll have to look in the cabinet he kept that kind of stuff in, next trip to the shop building.

 

[TotalyHucked]

Yep. Then there's a removable plate on the backside. It will fall off. But can be reached by hand on trucks, and I believe suburbans fronts. Don't know about blazers.

They're captured on Blazers since you can't get behind the pillar.

 

[warrpath4x4]

Unbolt the striker, use a small drill bit to drill out the end of the cracks, weld them up, grind them down, I remove one of the washers they have stacked and replace it with a fender washer that I then tack weld in several spots to the door jam.

For the rattling, get some pex tubing like others mentioned. I walked around my place with a tube and a cutter and replaced the bushings on the whole fleet lol

 

[TotalyHucked]

Here's some pics in regards to the backside. I had to search online for a full top since we don't have one in house. This '73 shows the B-pillar being fully enclosed, just like the '77 and '79 we have here. I would assume it's striker is captured on the backside like these are. To the OP, that means you won't be able to put a reinforcing plate on the backside, it would need to be on the front side.

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These are the inner pillar covers once they've been removed

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Here's the backside of the striker.

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This '77 has been reinforced on the front side, presumably for the same issue

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Pass side has not cracked through yet but does show stress

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[Grit dog]

Well the PS door just started rattling one day. I thought it odd, since it rarely gets used..It's closing and latching properly but suddenly it's not tight against the door seal. I thought maybe I had a bushing on the striker and it had broken off or something but I cant recall if I ever had a bushing on it. The DS never has. Can anything move in the latch itself to cause mis-alignment? Maybe the striker moved , I don't know.

Based on this description the symptom is either striker too far outward or door seal smushed and not taking up the slop in the latch/striker.
The strikers did originally have a plastic bushing. And iirc they are a bit thinner than pex.
Slap a piece of pex on first. That extra 1/16”ish of material may make the difference. Otherwise adjust striker or door seal if it’s collapsed.
Another thing that helps not only with the door closing easier by the latch not rubbing on the top of the striker, or making up for slightly worn door pins is shimming out the bottom door hinge to raise the height of the latch just slightly to where it doesn’t hang, rub or bounce on the striker.

 

[AuroraGirl]

Based on this description the symptom is either striker too far outward or door seal smushed and not taking up the slop in the latch/striker.
The strikers did originally have a plastic bushing. And iirc they are a bit thinner than pex.
Slap a piece of pex on first. That extra 1/16”ish of material may make the difference. Otherwise adjust striker or door seal if it’s collapsed.
Another thing that helps not only with the door closing easier by the latch not rubbing on the top of the striker, or making up for slightly worn door pins is shimming out the bottom door hinge to raise the height of the latch just slightly to where it doesn’t hang, rub or bounce on the striker.

@SquareRoot do you have the auxillary weatherstrip on your doors? Runs the top 45% is percent on the door itself

 

[SquareRoot]

@SquareRoot do you have the auxillary weatherstrip on your doors? Runs the top 45% is percent on the door itself

Nope.