97+ Door Check/Restraint

Hi there...

My "door check" has given up the ghost on my 2000... like almost every other DC product of the past half-century... so now my door is creaking loudly when I open/close it.

You'd think they woulda fixed that by now. My best friend's dad's '82 Dodge Aries had the same problem...

Anyhoo... anybody bought one? Is it affordable as a dealer part, or is it best to find someone else's used one somewhere? Or is it an auto-parts item?

Thankfully, the FSM shows it to be fairly easy to replace, once the door panel and speaker are removed. I was gonna be removing those soon to look into my speaker that's been cutting out........

Den

the front door speakers cutting out on 2000 and 2001 XJs is fairly common. me and member of my club (whos got a 2001) both had a door speaker die. it was a broken wire in the rubber boot between the door and the body of the vehicle.
see, when they taped the clump of wires together for the windows, locks, mirrors, and speakers, they taped one of the speaker wires at a 90 degree angle, causing it to break after opening and closing the door a billion times. its an easy fix though.


you sure that door thing isn't something that can just be cleared up with some grease? i know the dodge aries door noise you're talking about.

dynamite44 said:

you sure that door thing isn't something that can just be cleared up with some grease? i know the dodge aries door noise you're talking about.

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Well... no, I'm not sure! Winter decided to arrive yesterday (after a month or more of absence), so I just investigated quickly... found that the pin in the check mechanism was loose (loose enough to remove by hand). I removed the pin, and it quieted down... I just have no check now.

I'm disappointed to hear about that broken wire... I assumed that one of my crimps on my aftermarket speakers had quit. That would be an even-easier fix!!

Both problems will probably wait until weather becomes habitable. Just looking for ideas at the moment!

Den

What is this door check you folks are talking about? Is it the thing that stops your door from closing after you open it? If it is I'd like some info on it to, my 99' driverside door crapped the bed on me. Its real annoying, especially on a hill. Would I be able to steal one from another door? If this is not what a door check is please just ignore this.

raypla said:

What is this door check you folks are talking about? Is it the thing that stops your door from closing after you open it? If it is I'd like some info on it to, my 99' driverside door crapped the bed on me. Its real annoying, especially on a hill. Would I be able to steal one from another door? If this is not what a door check is please just ignore this.

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The door check is the metal strap gizmo located about mid-way between the upper and lower door hinges. It telescopes into the door, where there is a roller/spring device to give the door the detents when it opens and closes. Lack of lube makes these checks squeak and groan, and eventually fail, if left unlubed.

I have a 97 with all but the drivers door checks available(the one on my 91 was junk too). Check and see if the LR is the same. If so I'll make you a good deal on it.

The driver side on my '95 was giving extreme resistance, making loud popping noises. The passenger side, the pin holding the restraint to the chassiss sheared, I have to drop a bolt in there or something.

I lubed the metal strap up with white lithium grease, and worked it back and forth, I probably should have tried to spray some WD-40 into the mechanism, I'll try soon. But it seems to be loosening up and moving smoother and qieter now.

I have the same problem on my '99 Neon R/T, I asked at the dealership, they wanted $30 for one at the dealer.

The passenger side front door of my 97 broke. The pin came out and I can't get a good enough grip on it to fix it. Oh well.

guy on eBay sells new ones for XJ's just search for XJ door check