Latch to door fitting

[Johnwindwood]

Guys
Stripped the drivers door last weekend because of beam rot.
I have done the same in the past on the passenger side.
The weird thing this time is that I was unable to remove the latch and rods until everything was stripped and the door loose on the beam. The latch just wouldn’t come through the hole in the door because of the dropped part to the internal handle rods.
I don’t remember having this problem on the other side and if I have to refit in the same way it’s going to be VERY awkward.
What am I doing wrong?
Cheers.

[amarshall]

Nothing. It can be a very tight fit and dependent on the beam itself - and which day of the week it is.

Sometimes, mine have been easy to do, other times they've sulked - and that's with no changes to the beam.

[Pete Boole]

I re-profiled the beam end plate to make all that easier - worth considering.

Pete

[Johnwindwood]

I re-profiled the beam end plate to make all that easier - worth considering.

Pete

Come on Pete-when you say "reprofiled", in what way...?

[Pete Boole]

I'll try and get some photos tomorrow John - need to dig stuff out of man cave!

Pete

[Pete Boole]

This really helped:



Pete

[Johnwindwood]

This really helped:



Pete

Thanks Pete- so basically just enlarging that centre slot?

[Pete Boole]

Basically. I used a carbide burr in a die grinder.

Pete