Thread: Tailgate latch

I blow air in with the door closed. Water as well if it is available. Then open and wipe clean both the latch and the stiker. Make sure you then lubricate the latch on the door well.

Had similar problem with the 75 series Troopy years ago - especially the larger of the barn doors. The handle snaps in half very easily on them if the door is not well lubricated.

It just needs to become part of your regular prevenative maintenance. Hope that helps.

Originally Posted by Stuuu

lubricate the latch on the door well.



It just needs to become part of your regular prevenative maintenance. Hope that helps.

Lubricate it with what?

As for having the windows up & fan on using outside air,makes a massive reduction of dust in the car,but the door locks still seem to play up

Originally Posted by scarry

Lubricate it with what?

I use lanolin which is good in the short term. A graphite based solution would work longer but I have not gone looking for one.

Originally Posted by scarry

As for having the windows up & fan on using outside air,makes a massive reduction of dust in the car,but the door locks still seem to play up

Yep mine does too. That's because (as dm_td5 also pointed out) the latch is outside the seal and therefore the dust affects it even though the windows and fan solution keeps the inside of the car clean.

There's been lots of posts on this in the past. Consensus is graphite powder to lubricate the latch, not a spray as that will clog. I have started to use the graphite powder (sold in agri stores as a seed lubricant) and it eases up the lock nicely after a dusty drive...

Originally Posted by dm_td5

Obviously I know nothing about driving on dirt tracks or where the tailgate latch is on a Discovery 2.

Shame that I owned a Disco 2 for 5 years and that I live at the end of 680km of dirt track. But obviously I know nothing about driving in outback conditions.

So please ignore my previous posts as just idle banter. I'll just crawl back under a rock and leave this to the experts.

Must be that modern automated car wash place you've got out there Derek.

Can anyone confirm if the dust enters the rear door through where the hinges are located?

It appears to me that they are completely open and you can stick your fingers in the gap?!?!

Originally Posted by grumpybastard

Can anyone confirm if the dust enters the rear door through where the hinges are located?

It appears to me that they are completely open and you can stick your fingers in the gap?!?!

Grumpybastard

In the dark I aimed a Dolphin torch from inside the car at the hinge locations and shut the back door......no signs of any light showing through the internal rubber seal at all.
Repeated this at the latch site, no signs of light either.
Bear in mind the car was stationary and whilst moving on dirt roads there would probably be a bit of flex in the door fitting and the only seal is the internal one, nil on the door itself.
Another area to consider is the external latch under the plastic housing....I can't see any seals leading up into the hole the latch levers connect with the door latch levers inside the door itself and due to the station wagon design a lot of dust gets sucked onto the back of the car, hence under the housing and into the door where the latch mechanism is fitted.
All around the rear door the fitting to the adjoining frame panels is pretty poor, like it is generally with the entire car (my car anyway, particularly the rear passenger doors when closed...must have been a Friday vehicle).
It's such a common problem with dust intruding into the rear latch about the only consideration for people who suffer most with it is to stick masking tape all around the external door when travelling in really dusty areas to minimise the issue.
Discos, gotta love 'em hey.

Cheers
Mick

A few pics to explain myself better... a picture tells a 100 words.....

This is where i am referring to, as you can see the hinges sit external to door rubber and the big gap around the hinge appears to go straight through into the inside of the door?