Battery Box Latch Easy Fix?

[MatthewWBailey]

Is there an easy fix to this....

 

[Keith Knight]

What’s the problem?

 

[GeneralDisorder]

Maybe some weatherstripping to push the lid up higher? They are all like that BTW. Shitty design.

 

[MatthewWBailey]

Maybe some weatherstripping to push the lid up higher? They are all like that BTW. Shitty design.

I thought there was a special adjustment screw under the frame or somewhere that maybe adjusted that. I looked around, couldn't find anything . But I will say my wife's egg nog is rocking

 

[GeneralDisorder]

I replaced one of mine that was bent and the lock was broken. They are riveted and the holes are not slotted. Finding a replacement was exceptionally difficult. If I were to do it over I think I would maybe try to adapt the latches used on the PDP - which I found can be purchased reasonably. Or something from that same vendors catalog.

 

[Ronmar]

I might have some, i took mine off, I think I threw them in my parts box…

 

[Third From Texas]

Remove it, bend it, reinstall?

You can make it clamp tight.

 

[GeneralDisorder]

Remove it, bend it, reinstall?

You can make it clamp tight.

Yeah I was thinking that also but it's not easy to remove. You could likely bend it without removing it.

 

[Mullaney]

Is there an easy fix to this....

View attachment 938311View attachment 938312

.
Yessir, Just bend out the "center" of the clamp and it will work again.
Large set of linemans pliers should do the job...

 

[aw113sgte]

They bend easily while still in the truck. Put a dowel or something underneath the latch and just push it towards the clamping area and that will cause a bend in the middle and enable it to be tightened up.
You can also just bend it with hand strength, they're pretty spindly.

 

[ab705]

They bend easily while still in the truck. Put a dowel or something underneath the latch and just push it towards the clamping area and that will cause a bend in the middle and enable it to be tightened up.
You can also just bend it with hand strength, they're pretty spindly.

Yes, I would suggest the same thing.

Place a dowel or bar against the latch body and push the latch spring plate up against it to bend it. If you open the battery box cover first, you might be able to bend it farther. I don't know how many times you can get away with bending it before it weakens it, as it may have been bent back some unknown number of times before, but you might give it a try.

 

[MatthewWBailey]

Yes, I would suggest the same thing.

Place a dowel or bar against the latch body and push the latch spring plate up against it to bend it. If you open the battery box cover first, you might be able to bend it farther. I don't know how many times you can get away with bending it before it weakens it, as it may have been bent back some unknown number of times before, but you might give it a try.

View attachment 938357

Ok guys. I'll bend it. I might heat it after bending to hopefully strengthen it. This latch is much like the stair banister ball in "Its a Wonderful Life"

 

[aw113sgte]

Ok guys. I'll bend it. I might heat it after bending to hopefully strengthen it. This latch is much like the stair banister ball in "Its a Wonderful Life"

That won't strengthen it. Those things are made out of mild steel.
The only way you're going to strengthen it is if you heated up cherry hot and then quench - but it would have to have a reasonably high carbon content for that to work, which I doubt it does. I just rebent mine, no issues.

 

[ab705]

That won't strengthen it. Those things are made out of mild steel.

I would think that part of the latch would be (or at least should have been) made out of some variety of spring-steel, but I don't own one that I can play with, and if it bends that easily in your experience, you could very well be right, although IMO if they used mild steel for that part of the latch, I'd call it a design flaw.

 

[GeneralDisorder]

I would think that part of the latch would be (or at least should have been) made out of some variety of spring-steel, but I don't own one that I can play with, and if it bends that easily in your experience, you could very well be right, although IMO if they used mild steel for that part of the latch, I'd call it a design flaw.

No. Not a design flaw. "Lowest Bidder" is the answer to your question.

I installed a BRAND NEW one out of the package and it was still exactly like this. There are no slots on the box or the latch and the rivets fit the holes tightly. That's just the way they made them.

 

[ab705]

No. Not a design flaw. "Lowest Bidder" is the answer to your question.

I don't doubt what you say!

Of course, the net result of accepting the lowest bid can sometimes be a design or manufacturing flaw, depending on whether the bid was from a design firm that submitted a defective spec/design or from a manufacturer that didn't correctly follow the spec.

 

[GeneralDisorder]

I don't doubt what you say!

Of course, the net result of accepting the lowest bid can sometimes be a design or manufacturing flaw, depending on whether the bid was from a design firm that submitted a defective spec/design or from a manufacturer that didn't correctly follow the spec.

Yeah but they never cared enough to redesign it.... 1993 to 2021 are all the same damn loose fitting latch. It's willful at this point when it's not been addressed for 28 years.

Lowest bidder designed it. Another lowest bidder manufactured it..... and lets face it - the lowest common denominator are largely who is using it...... the problem of lowest bidder/lowest expectations is that they run all the way from the top to the bottom of the whole chain of supply and extending into the end users.

So yeah..... Army trucks.

 

[MatthewWBailey]

I used the "bend it" fix. Actually 1 hit with the hammer lol