Could latch door from outside

[Danb]

Upon landing at KGPT on Friday I couldn’t latch the door closed from outside? Could from inside but I needed to get out, I eventually forced the door latch closed by starting it with a little help from folding the inside handle open a little and closed the door while using all my might to close the latch, hopefully it will close from inside for my trip home.. What’s up?

D

[EricJ]

Could you tell whether it is binding at the top or at the side latch?   Inspect both of those carefully at the frame and on the door the next time you get a chance.

[ArtVandelay]

The door grabs the latch at the top of the door frame, this can become loose and needs to be adjusted and tightened.

[skykrawler]

Never good to 'use all your might' on airplane pieces.

[Danb]

1 hour ago, skykrawler said:

Never good to 'use all your might' on airplane pieces.

Agreed..plus there isn’t much anymore 

[Danb]

9 hours ago, EricJ said:

Could you tell whether it is binding at the top or at the side latch?   Inspect both of those carefully at the frame and on the door the next time you get a chance.

It closes ok inside outside the handle stops about a half inch from closing 40 years flying Mooneys a new first…D

[Rick Junkin]

25 minutes ago, Danb said:

It closes ok inside outside the handle stops about a half inch from closing 40 years flying Mooneys a new first…D

Here's a silly question -  with the door open, can you move the outside door latch easily through its full travel? This might help isolate where the problem is, and let you see what the side pin and top latch are doing.

[Danb]

No, the inside will go normally not the outside latch it almost closes

[PT20J]

The latching mechanism is connected to a bellcrank rotated by the inside lever. The outside lever is connected to the same bellcrank. There is a procedure for adjusting everything in the service manual. You’ll have to remove the inside trim to figure out what has changed and what needs adjusting. If it were mine, I wouldn’t fly it until I got this straightened out because the way everything is interconnected it may not be secure even though the inside handle appears to latch it properly.

[Rick Junkin]

Here's an illustration from my Bravo service manual to help you visualize how the door latch works. I believe they're all pretty much the same.

[Rick Junkin]

37 minutes ago, PT20J said:

The latching mechanism is connected to a bellcrank rotated by the inside lever. The outside lever is connected to the same bellcrank. There is a procedure for adjusting everything in the service manual. You’ll have to remove the inside trim to figure out what has changed and what needs adjusting. If it were mine, I wouldn’t fly it until I got this straightened out because the way everything is interconnected it may not be secure even though the inside handle appears to latch it properly.

I recall having an issue with my door latch becoming difficult to close, and it turned out one of the pushrods inside the door had become bowed due to the increasing force we were using to close it. I agree with @PT20J, I'd want to make sure the door is indeed latching properly before I flew it again.

[1980Mooney]

1 hour ago, Danb said:

It closes ok inside outside the handle stops about a half inch from closing 40 years flying Mooneys a new first…D

 

35 minutes ago, Rick Junkin said:

Here's an illustration from my Bravo service manual to help you visualize how the door latch works. I believe they're all pretty much the same.

Before you go and disturb all these adjustments, first try to see if something caused a change in the door.  This happened to me a long time ago also.  

• Did a strong wind catch the door swinging it open hard against the stop? (will flex the door out at the top)
• Did anyone lean on the top of the door to steady themselves getting in or out? (heavy handed mechanics have done this before)

With enough force the door and hinge will flex ( @skykrawler is right - be careful).  Fitting the door is an art - the complex curves should all just line up and touch evenly.  If the top of the door gets flexed it can cause misalignment of the clamshell latch at the top - it can't pull down enough for the bellcrank to fully turn to its stop.

Also - lubricate everything before making any adjustments.  Don't turn a simple problem into a big problem.  Once you start adjusting you can screw it up worse.  It may just be dry linkages inside the door.  A cable runs up the front between the housing and window - it has a linkage to get to the clamshell.  They are a bitch to lubricate.

See the KNR article on door problems.

0-202011 Cabin Door Handle Problems

Also on alignment

 

Edited November 17 by 1980Mooney

[PT20J]

1 hour ago, Rick Junkin said:

Here's a silly question -  with the door open, can you move the outside door latch easily through its full travel? This might help isolate where the problem is, and let you see what the side pin and top latch are doing.

 

1 hour ago, Danb said:

No, the inside will go normally not the outside latch it almost closes

If I understood your response correctly, you have isolated the problem to the door latch mechanism within the door itself. Most likely it was out of adjustment and extra force applied to the outside latch bent the rod as @Rick Junkin suggested above. This would fit your symptoms ss described.  But, you’ll have to open it up to really see what’s going on. 

[1980Mooney]

Correction - It is a rod going up the front part of the door - It is a bent rod attached to the top clamshell jaw latch.

Have fun.