Has anyone ever seen this type of problem on drivers door striker? I thought the car was completed rust free but not so sure now, also there are 2 layers of steel.
very odd thing to happen. 2 layers of steel not be a warning sign in of itself as there is a strengthening section behind the outer quarter panel so I guess thats what you're seeing there. having said that you might want to have a very close look for any other signs the quarter panel has been repaired, look under the roof gutter, door seal, sill strip, arch trim etc. or dont worry about it, if the rest of that panel looks in great nick then grind back to fresh steel and weld in a repair piece. if you take extra care you can probably get it in without damaging the paint on the outside and have a decent hidden repair
Thanks John, I think it is original panel. It still has barcode sticker, and you can see old paint under the edges of cheap blowover where the window wasn't masked up very well. The door always needs a good slam, so maybe striker was set wrong and caused the failure. I presume any repair needs to allow for the captive nut to "float" . I am not any good at welding, so if any clubbers near Northampton with the skill and kit, please help for beer or money
yes thats right, the captive nut moves to allow striker position to be adjusted. short term there are versions of the striker with a much wider washer under it so that should keep you motoring till a welder bloke can have a look at it the wider washer could possibly be a retrofit part to prevent this happening? though as I say never seen a failure like this before...
Thanks John, I can see them on vw heritage. I think I might just make up a custom jumbo washer, and get a bit of rust treatment in it. I guess it would be tricky to weld a patch in and still have the captive nut floating
I've not really looked but you might be able to lift the captive nut out of the cage it sits in with the rear door card off?
Thanks John you were right, rear card off and I can see the nut. It is in a square cage that is spot welded on two adjacent sides. For now I have slipped a thickish piece of galvanised plate (with hole in middle) on the inside in front of nut and a huge washer under striker pin. It is nice and solid. NB the nut was wedged at an angle in cage, so I think whoever fiddled with it must have then tightened striker pin which would have then stressed the surrounding metal. The rear quarter panel is original one, and the metal around the fracture is solid.
aha, nice one. easy peasy for future repair then, slip a lump of copper or similar into the cage to brace from behind and weld in a new patch
