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Thread: DIY: Door latch repair. Broken torsion spring.

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    Join Date
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    '97 840CI

    DIY: Door latch repair. Broken torsion spring.



    The door latch assembly contains 3 or 4 return springs. I've twice witnessed breakage on one of those (contemplated herein) due to corrosion, and assume this will become a well known problem.

    The symptom is that the door will not latch correctly onto the striker bar unless some continuous force is put behind the closing action. IOW, the door will bounce off the body (to the failsafe position) unless done slowly and forcefully. It was this sensitivity to slam speed that provided the clue that this was a broken return spring, failing to keep a cog engaged as the striker bar passes thru.

    On the first try, a spring was procured that exactly replicates the original. Unfortunately, the vendor not only charges a lot per spring but has a minimum order that will make your eyes roll. Nice result but I would think that any one could skip that BS and create a spring from wire and a mandrel. Note: Left hand latch gets left handed wrap.


    ** Procedure **
    * Remove the outside handle. Remove the latch.
    * Drill off two rivet heads. Swivel the frame.
    * Pull up the plastic cover, enough to get the spring over its capstan.
    * Form the tangential legs into a radial take-off. Note that one leg bends across the coil length to finish in the same plane.
    * Install. Wind up the spring by a half-turn and hook over post.
    * Assemble the assembly. Spot weld rivets using no more than 1.0 seconds @75A. Be quick with cooling spray.




    Last edited by Hyper; 12-22-2019 at 07:55 PM. Reason: Pic link update

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