Issues opening doors

Hey all -

Just picked up a 2000 with a bad head, but rust free body. Already replaced the head with a TUPY casting and new gaskets/bolts, and now I'm on to fixing the "small" stuff.

Every door on this XJ seems to have the same issue - the outside button has to be pushed ALL the way in with quite a lot of pressure (WAY harder than my '96), and then I have to push in on the door itself before being able to open the doors. I've lubricated everything, and it still feels like its taking way too much effort to open the doors. Is there some adjustment on these handles to get them to actuate the release earlier in the button-press? Do I need to adjust the striker perhaps?

Power windows and locks, if that matters.

Any advice appreciated, thanks!

There is an Allen head adjustment bolt accused through a hole near the latch. Makes a huge difference

Unclewolverine said:

There is an Allen head adjustment bolt accused through a hole near the latch. Makes a huge difference

Click to expand...

Can you elaborate on this a little bit? I, and I'm sure a number of others, has this issue. Seems like all of my XJ's have this issue.
Thanks.

There's a Youtube video on the fix....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbzlddDvt3o

My suggestion is that before you start adjusting things that may not need adjusting, you should clean and properly lubricate the locking and latching mechanisms.

Wear safety glasses, and use a throttle body cleaner to clean everything that moves including the key cylinders. Then use a CLP gun oil to lubricate. CLP gun oil has cleaning agents in the oil that continue to clean after they are applied. WD-40 is neither a cleaner nor a lubricant. It dries to a gummy mess that attracts dust and dirt.

If a previous owner has had the door trim panel off, they may have reinstalled it improperly and the locking/latching rods are dragging.

Tim_MN said:

My suggestion is that before you start adjusting things that may not need adjusting, you should clean and properly lubricate the locking and latching mechanisms.

Wear safety glasses, and use a throttle body cleaner to clean everything including the key cylinders. Then use a CLP gun oil to lubricate. CLP gun oil has cleaning agents in the oil that continue to work after they are applied. WD-40 is neither a cleaner nor a lubricant. It dries to a gummy mess that attracts dust and dirt.

If a previous owner has had the door trim panel off, they may have reinstalled it improperly and the locking/latching rods are dragging.

Click to expand...

It is better to use a dry graphite lubricant in the lock cylinder. Oils will collect dirt. Graphite is what should be used in a lock cylinder for lubrication. There are graphite products made just for this purpose.

On some large mechanism parts of door hardwars, I like to use a white grease. white grease specially if on latch or anyplace a rider might rub against, as it wont stain clothes like the black grease does. But no oil in the cylinder, use graphite. Then also use the graphite on your house key cylinders too, if it hasnt been done for years, you should notice an improvement, and your key and lock wont wear out as soon, so graphite for all the lock cylinders you own!

Ivan said:

There's a Youtube video on the fix....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbzlddDvt3o

Click to expand...

sweet, and it is only a two minute video, straight to the point.

I will need to make this adjust as some of my handle buttons require too much force at near end of travel to operate.
THANKS FOR LINK!