Is the "one finger" door close on W116's true or an urban myth? I'm going crazy trying to make my doors close as smoothly as possible by adjusting the striker plates to death, lubricating, realigning and pretty much everything short of buying new strikers and latches. My doors, particularly driver and front passenger are damn hard to close and it's driving me crazy. Any suggestions?
Hmm, I thought it was just mine, my doors close super easy, almost too easy... sometimes facing up a hill she'll try and chop me in half getting in and out .haha.
I always keep the door mech's clean and greased.
Neil.
Neil, I wish I had smooth doors as yours! Mine drive me crazy and I really need to give them a big push / pull to get the closed properly. The door seals are fairly new (6 months old) but even before, I've never had these doors close as they should. I'm aware that the hinges sag after some point and that could play into it but the mechanism is OK, I stripped the doors and greased them a while ago and the strikers look OK-ish - still rubber on them. I was looking to replace strikers next but can't find any in new condition here and I fear the old ones could be just as mine are, if not worse.
Check out mercedessource, Kent is also a BIG fan of doors closing and opening as they should, he has many vids on this topic on youtube. This is one of those areas in typical Benz fashion where all components must be 100% for it to work well. Check strap is a big factor too. Hinges must be purged of old grease and filled with fresh grease. Yes on the striker for sure, must be well aligned.
116-720-02-04
right side locking eye are still available from MB. left side good luck finding.
Is it one door in particular or are all stubborn to close?
apparently there is aftermarket from MTC.
But, I have left dozens of those strikers behind over the years on different continents, having too many of them already. I'd be surprised if they're difficult to find..
One left, one right.. 1167200104
https://www.ebay.com/p/MERCEDES-W116-280-S-SE-300sd-450-SE-SEL-6-9-Right-Door-Locking-Eye-Striker/24012283083
https://www.ebay.com/p/Mercedes-Benz-1167200104/1036938214
@daantjie thanks Daniel, I'm a fan of Kent's videos and I've watched all of the door related ones, that's where I figured something's not right with mine.
@rumb the front doors are harder to close than the rear ones, presumably because they've been used a lot more often, mine's an LHD.
@floyd111 cheers, I couldn't find any in Europe (particularly front left) and sellers from US or Canada are asking $50-$100 for shipping.
Quote from: stillmatic on 12 November 2018, 04:58 PM
Is the "one finger" door close on W116's true or an urban myth?
Urban myth. I've new grease in all locks, hinges and check straps, perfectly aligned strikers, new seals all round, and it still takes a whack to close the door. Yes they do close in one go, but you have to swing it, not one-figer it.
If you look at how the locking mechanism is constructed, it's pretty obvious why these doors don't have a buttery soft closing like, say, a modern Toyota where the doors close quietly with zero force needed.
Quote from: ptashek on 14 November 2018, 07:05 AM
Quote from: stillmatic on 12 November 2018, 04:58 PM
Is the "one finger" door close on W116's true or an urban myth?
If you look at how the locking mechanism is constructed, it's pretty obvious why these doors don't have a buttery soft closing like, say, a modern Toyota where the doors close quietly with zero force needed.
It does look like it was designed to require at least a bit of thump judging by how the cone is supposed to hit the striker. However, with new seals isn't that going to make it slightly harder to close/open? I think mine suffers from a mix of worn strikers and new seals (although older than 6 months now) not bedded properly. It takes way more than a thump to close them in one go. I will try and find new strikers to begin with.
My seals are nearly three years old at this point, and still haven't bedded in. I guess that's good though.
Well my seals are really old and by the previous description might well be original however closing the car doors is like closing an old railway carriage door. Feels heavy and closes with a really satisfying thud. No doubt to the hinges needing servicing as I had to replace one recently that seized up completely.
I've made this short video of how my doors close. Maybe it'll be of some help.
https://youtu.be/fhCZqYwSICU
May be my speakers but don't you think they should sound better than that? Before I stripped out mine they did close with a real thud as I said. What I consider a real luxury sound. Remains to be seen what they will sound like when they are back in.
Quote from: marku on 20 November 2018, 11:41 AM
May be my speakers but don't you think they should sound better than that? Before I stripped out mine they did close with a real thud as I said. What I consider a real luxury sound. Remains to be seen what they will sound like when they are back in.
The mic on my phone ain't great at picking up low frequencies.
There's a proper thud to it.
Doors being simular, I remember w126 cars when they were in the showroom factory fresh. Doors felt heavy! A light push would shut them from the last door check. 1 finger Mmm not sure. My w116 wasn't far off from that until I replaced the door seals 8 years ago. Nowdays you need a fair slam as the seals never bedded the same as the originals.
After 8 years they're still not bedded? Gosh, now I regret changing those damn original seals. Maybe one finger close is an exaggeration but I need to give the driver door, in particular, a good thump to close properly which isn't great, particularly because I'm pulling a lot harder than I should from the inside and that 40-year-old armrest is taking a beating.
I remember inspecting a W110 here, and the glorious sound of it's closing/locking doors almost made me faint with desire. I sure understand anyone would want that for their W116.