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I purchased the replacement springs for my door latches from John Ulrich Packard. I had both front doors apart a while back and replaced the springs at that time. These are the colour-coded little clip springs that are supposed to address handle sag. I had a rear door apart in the last few days to replace a cracked window and wanted to switch that spring out as well. I removed the latch mechanism, but it appears that the unit is riveted together and I could see no way of splitting it to replace the spring. The front ones were long enough back that I don't remember how the springs installed, just that they seemed quite easy and straight forward. Am I missing something here or ARE the back latch assemblies that different from the front ones??? Any help or suggestions much appreciated as always. Thanks guys. Chris.

The springs did not address the sag on my. door handles. Did the new springs eliminate sag on the front ones?

You could check the parts book and see if the latches are the same, like if the parts count is 4 or only 2, as in 2 for front and 2 for back.

Post a picture of your backdoor latch. I'll see if I can find some photos. Mine were taken apart and new handle guides installed. Still didn't solve the sag btw.

I am wondering how much the sag is actually due to a weak spring rather than wear between the square hole in the latch and square shaft of the handle. The old or new spring could actually be keeping the hole perfectly positioned but if there is any wear inside the hole or rounded edges on the handle shaft at the particular spot they meet then only a few thousandths change could be enough to let the weight of the handle drop it into the annoying 1 or 2 degree sag.

Chris I saw a few key words in your post, specifically 'door latch' and 'rivet'.

I know the details of your latch will not be the same as the link below, but I think photographs 18 and 33 will give you some idea of how to deal with latch rivets. I also believe some repairs are accomplished by leaving as much rivet material as possible during disassembly and welding later during assembly. I elected to use threaded fasteners so I could take them apart in the future.

If you have the latch in hand how about a picture and perhaps a US Patent Number.

packardinfo.com/xoops/html/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=19146&viewmode=flat&order=ASC&type=&mode=0&start=44

Photo 18 should be in the attachment to post #45, while photo 33 should be in post #47.

dp

Thanks Joe, Howard and David for the replies. First off - Joe, the part numbers for the front and rear locks would have to be different as the rear locks have the push-lock plastic posts and the associated linkage to the latch and the front do not. And, to answer the question on the installation of the front springs, yes, they did assist in returning the handles to the horizontal position. I do however, agree with Howard that if there is any wear in the square peg/square hole tolerance of the latch and handle post, the weight of the handle will make it 'lead' to the downside of the wear, giving a bit of sag. My car seems to be pretty good regarding this issue and if the latch is fully returned to it's 'closed' position, the handle is 'pretty' horizontal; not perfect, but acceptable. It would seem that the answer to my query is that the rear assemblies ARE riveted and I do not feel there is enough to be gained to 'un-rivet' them and install the springs. My experience with this kind of '2nd level' machining is that it opens up a can of worms and I end up partially solving my initial problem but creating 3 more related ones!! Either that or I wreck something and then have NO latch and have to go on the hunt for a replacement. A liberal coating of white lithium grease on all moving parts and a properly adjusted reinstallation and I think I'll leave it at that. Chris.

Chris, I have a couple of the latch assembles that have not been in use since the '60s so may have less wear. One is here and the other is here. Unfortunately I seem to have only two, one front and one rear.

Hey Don,

I'd take the rear one. Only issue is the borders are closed and I have no way of picking it up at my US mailbox. How bad would you beat me up to mail it to Canada? Chris.

I'll check but if you're not in a rush, you can order now, then I can ship once things open up. Email me and we'll see what works best for you. I'm not planning on doing any shipping anyway until after the 15th when I get back home as I am avoiding going into town to the tiny rural post office or other shops.

Hello all, I realise that I shall receive some flak for this but I have had the odd annoying sagging door handle on my cars. Generally caused by a combination of wear in the actuating square handle end and socket. Nowadays, I use a small gas axe, judiciously heat and twist the operating shaft of the handle to eliminate the "droop". Caution is required of course to ensure that the chrome, etc is not heat discoloured. I use a wet rag on the chrome handle. I usually only rotate the square about 5 degrees and Viola!..the droop is gone. Peter Toet.