Doors close with a crash instead of a thunk

[Pclancy]

I have a 1977 Newport Coupe, and I've noticed that my doors close with a crash and instead of a thunk. Maybe it's always been this way, but only now for some reason it's beginning to bother me.

The car has never been wrecked, and the doors do not obviously sag. There seems to be no play in the hinges. There is no rust.

I don't expect a Mercedes like "thunk" but am wondering if other C Body owners have had this issue. Is there an adjustment that can be made? Are my sound expectations unrealistic? What should a closing door sound like?

Thanks

Peter

 

[mr. fix it]

Check the door seals and then also check the window to see if there is excessive slop in the tracks.
I have to redo mine as well because of the slides and felt/rubber tracks being worn out

 

[Yeahrightgreer]

The door should close with a solid thunk - as if closing a safe or vault. I highly suspect that if it’s a crashing sound - that’s its not something you'd passed over or neglected to notice over the years.

Check the pliability in the seals and their position on the door. As Fix It stated - Id check the windows and their position to the door when fully up or down.

The windows, hinges, door striker and seals all can play a part in the sound and quality to produce the desired thunk sound. How does the passenger door sound? Similar? Is it a thud or a click or a clack sound?

 

[Carmine]

Agree. Rubber seals and bumpers have been compressed for most of their 40 years on earth. When you're older, you'll be shorter as well, lol.

*my wife and I once measured each other before after bed on a bet... 1/2 to 3/4" difference from a day's worth of gravity!

 

[Jon O.]

Mine the driver's door that was always used does that, and the other doors close nicely.

 

[rapidtrans]

The Monaco doors closed with a crash also. All door seals and stops were rock hard and disintegrated upon removal.
I'll adjust windows and doors if necessary after I get the new rubber installed. New roof rail seal helped the window rattle at door slam already.

 

[Ross Wooldridge]

Lock rod and other mechanicals inside the door sometimes have anti-rattling rubber and fabric parts that disintegrate too. Window tracks are felt lined and that can fall away.

 

[Imperialist67]

The doors on my '67 New Yorker sedan close like a bank vault, and (to me) sound BETTER than a Mercedes........

 

[Pclancy]

The door should close with a solid thunk - as if closing a safe or vault. I highly suspect that if it’s a crashing sound - that’s its not something you'd passed over or neglected to notice over the years.

Check the pliability in the seals and their position on the door. As Fix It stated - Id check the windows and their position to the door when fully up or down.

The windows, hinges, door striker and seals all can play a part in the sound and quality to produce the desired thunk sound. How does the passenger door sound? Similar? Is it a thud or a click or a clack sound?

It sounds like the driver's door. Not anywhere near sounding a bank vault. A clack sound. I know the roof rail seals are going bad (on the driver's side) but the door seals look good. Funny enough....if I roll (non-power) the windows up nice and tight, there is hardly any road noise, even at 70-75 MPH. Finding seals for this beast is not gonna be easy, me thinks....

 

[live4theking]

Agree. Rubber seals and bumpers have been compressed for most of their 40 years on earth. When you're older, you'll be shorter as well, lol.

*my wife and I once measured each other before after bed on a bet... 1/2 to 3/4" difference from a day's worth of gravity!

I've always joked about how everytime the AF checked my height it was different. I never took note of the time of day though...

 

[commando1]

my wife and I once measured each other before after bed on a bet... 1/2 to 3/4" difference from a day's worth of gravity!

 

[Snotty]

Just a thought, but your word "crash" struck me; if a window was ever broken, and the shattered glass was not cleaned out, it will crash every time you close the door.

 

[73 T&C]

Peter,

Something is obviously wrong if your hearing a crashing noise.

It’s a very big long heavy door on your two door coup. You say “crash”.... does the door or what’s inside the door that is making the noise?

Does passenger side make the same noise?

Check for missing/broken bumpers on the door jambs and doors. Are they all there????

Check alignment of door to strike. Is strike worn on the top or bottom?

With the window full up and door open, can you wiggle the glass? Front to back or in and out?

Interesting.

 

[Pclancy]

Peter,

Something is obviously wrong if your hearing a crashing noise.

It’s a very big long heavy door on your two door coup. You say “crash”.... does the door or what’s inside the door that is making the noise?

Does passenger side make the same noise?

Check for missing/broken bumpers on the door jambs and doors. Are they all there????

Check alignment of door to strike. Is strike worn on the top or bottom?

With the window full up and door open, can you wiggle the glass? Front to back or in and out?

Interesting.

Crash is probably the wrong word. It just doesn't sound good. Passenger side makes the same sound. Let me investigate some more and revert with findings. Thanks.

 

[68PK21 440.6bbl]

Sell it to a GM guy, they're use to that sound!

 

[rapidtrans]

I recall the world of difference between a new E body compared to my uncles new 70 1/2 Camaro.
The E body door slam was embarrassingly cheap sounding in comparison. Those one piece hard plastic door panels acted like a giant boom box amplifying all the door hardware rattles.

 

[Jon O.]

My Newport's door sound. In the driver's door there is slop in the lock mechanism, and the window track. All held in with rivets and not screws, so I can't tighten it.
The rear door sounds like it should, the sound of heavy Detroit iron. Pretty sure what gives it the junky sounding "crash" close on mine are worn nylon rollers on the window.

 

[Duncan]

I had a sound like that in my C Body. Everything seemed to line up but the sound was bad. Don't how well I can explain it but I found the door mechanisms between the door and the post, while they looked liked they lined up, they were actually slightly off, so the part on the door was actually hitting (slightly, at least) the post mechanism before it went ahead and slid into place. It wasn't that much, not even really visible to the naked eye, but it was enough. (If I remember correctly there were also some spacers someone had put behind one of the parts - I think behind the mechanism located on the door - and they seemed to have a tendency to slide around over time. Needless to say, I removed them and tried readjusting everything. Once I got it all adjusted, the 'good' sound came back. One idea, based on my little experience, anyway.

 

[Snotty]

My Newport's driver side door was noisy when I bought it. When fixing the remote mirror I found the cause: there is a shaft that hods the window track in place that mounts at the bottom of the door. The shaft is lined up and then held tight by a nut on the bottom of the door itself. There was no nut there, so it just rattled every time I closed the door. When I put a nut on it the noise went away.

 

[Pclancy]

My Newport's door sound. In the driver's door there is slop in the lock mechanism, and the window track. All held in with rivets and not screws, so I can't tighten it.
The rear door sounds like it should, the sound of heavy Detroit iron. Pretty sure what gives it the junky sounding "crash" close on mine are worn nylon rollers on the window.

Very helpful, thanks. Let me do mine and see what you guys think.

Peter