2005 XLT, 88k miles Sketchy Front Door Latches

[MLB41]

Heya folks,

I bought my 2nd gen from a used dealer about 7 months ago and as far as I'm concerned, it was quite the bargain ($5k USD 86k miles, clean title).
That said, the front door latch mechanisms seem off. The passenger door will never fully latch closed unless I follow through pushing the door all the way shut with some muscle. Swinging the door shut leaves it latched but cracked open. The bolts that secure the door hinges to the frame were loose when I first bought the truck, so I tightened those and that helped a bit, but the same issue is present. I can live with it, but I'm afraid it'll get worse and eventually stop closing altogether.

The driver's side is similar although the latch also seems "weak" in comparison to the others. There is almost no audible "pop" pulling on the handle to open the door from inside or outside the truck.

As expected, the issues get worse and below freezing weather. There was one occurrence where the driver side door didn’t even latch but just bounced off when trying to shut it. It took a few more tries with additional force before it finally latched shut. Also, the door ajar dash light and interior lights would intermittently come on in normal driving conditions.

I have no experience in doing anything with door latches and their mechanisms but would be interested to know if anybody else has experienced issues like this with their front doors. How much of an ordeal is it to repair or switch out those mechanisms? Could it just be more of an alignment or weatherstripping issue? maybe something going on with the door lock mechanism?

I’d really appreciate any advice, thank you in advance for your time and have a nice day!

 

[whtbronco]

So my doors are a bit hard to close because the alignment is off. This is caused, I think, by the body mounts failing and causing the center of the body to sag just a little bit in the center. The body mounts in question are near the B and C pillars. I can't find new mounts to replace them though so at some point I'll be modifying some poly body mounts and hope to get them right without multiple attempts.

The door hinge bolts being loose would make me wonder if the vehicle was repaired and not reassembled quite right. My other thought is you may be able to temporarily or heck possibly permanently resolve it by moving the latches out like 1/16". To test this theory, put some tape along the 3 inner side edges of the latch so you where you started from in case you decide to put it back. Loosen it a little and push it out. I found a gentle bump with the handle of hammer worked really nice to adjust mine after removing the doors to replace the rocker panel.

If the doors don't fully latch the door ajar message may be presented. It could certainly be the latches, but I'd be surprised at that mileage. I have over 300k miles on the factory latches.

 

[whtbronco]

I forgot to mention that you can test how much pressure it takes to fully latch the lock assembly with a screw driver or metal rod similar in size to the catch on the door frame. Just open the door and take the rod/screw driver and press it sideways into the lock assembly. You'll see lock roll around the test rod, it's not super easy, but it should not be hard to do either.