If it were any other car, i would assume the door catch on the frame was misaligned or the door hinges had sagged.

When closing the door, it seems like the door latch is hitting the catch on the frame - however i checked this and it doesn't appear to be the case.

This problem only started recently, and if i open the door slowly, i can feel it doing the same thing as it starts to open.

Very vague i'm sorry, but any ideas or thoughts on this?

 

Assuming this is the drivers door.
Close it to the point where you can grab the door enough to check for a worn bottom hinge.
Grab it from the top of the frame with the window open and move it up and down.
There should be no play.

Another test.
Open and close the door with the handle being held in the open position.
If the hinges are worn, then the catch body will bang into the catch on the door pillar.
Probably what it's doing now.

 

Sorry, yes, drivers door.

Grab test was a pass.


I *think* i did the latch test, will have to reconfirm now, reason being, i saw the door latch was looking particularly un-lubricated, so i lithium greased it, and it generally seemed better than before.

I'll have another look, but it honestly didn't look to be catching (not that you can actually see it when the door is nearly closed)

 

If the hinges are not worn, then that leaves a door catch that is wearing out.

It's unusual that there isn't some play in the hinges.
Even if someone looked after them with oil from day one, the steel is not very hard, and they wear.
I know, mine was badly worn and a file test easily cut into the mild steel that the hinge was from.
There are no bushings either, the pin wears right on the steel, so the whole hinge has to be replaced.

People who like to slam the doors have worn catches.
The doors are heavy, so a slammed door has greater reciprocating forces put upon the catch.

What you're supposed to do is push the door shut with just enough force with your arm so it will close properly.
Your arm is used to absorb the reciprocating forces.

A good chauffer will do this to minimize wear and tear.

 

If the door has to budge to show the hinge wearing, that does only leave the catch - now to be clear, you're talking about the static latch on the B pillar?

People love to slam doors :( i can't stand it, i come from Japanese car history, you did not need to slam doors, for some reason, historically, a lot of Americans are used to slamming doors :(

There is some adjustment in the static mount, and normally, a little in the door latch, but i don't know for sure with this.

 

No, I'm taking about the catch on the door.
Lots of little moving parts to wear out, and usually not adjustable.
The catch on the B Pillar is the adjustable part and I know this because I adjusted mine after I installed the new lower hinge.
If the catch in the door is worn and/or the latch on the B Pillar is out of alignment (for what ever reason), you can usually see where the metal is worn excessively on the static catch.

And yeah, people and Red-Necks kike to slam doors and generally make a lot of noise.
The more of a Red-Neck they are, the harder the door is slammed.
Not just American's, Canadian's are no better, my former neighbor was terrible.
Liked to make lots of noise, slammed the doors in his rusted out truck early in the morning to wake everyone up, chopped wood in his sweat pants with his butt crack hanging out for all to see _ he was a real jerk !
Hoods are the same too.
I put in place and carefully push it shut with my arm.

 

Oh.

Bollocks :(

 

If you have to replace the catch in the door, it's not that bad.
The inner door skin is easy to remove and it's pretty much just right there.
There will be a plastic vapour barrier to deal with, don't tear it while peeling it back.

 

Not sure how worth it this would be, i mean, it works, it's just more money if i buy a replacement.

 

If you're like me, it will bug you.
Can't stand things like a noisy clunky door catch that doesn't work properly.

Rock Auto has no listing for a door catch, so more then likely it will be a dealer thing.
Try the Mazda dealer too, sometimes they can be less expensive.

I paid 89 bucks for my new hinge, so I'm guessing that the catch is around that area.

 

http://www.fordparts.com/Commerce/Pa...d&model=Ranger

 

Yes, it will bug me, but i'm trying hard to live with as many bug me things on the truck as possible, it's not supposed to be a perfect/nice vehicle for me :(

Also, wow, that's not cheap. I don't even have central locking!

 

Wanted to ask if this is related - when you turn the key in the lock, should it be able to spring back without having to turn the key vertical again?

Mine do have a spring action, but i have to assist it or i can't get the key out.