Pinto Car Club of America

My doors continue to get harder and harder to open. The button in the handle usually sticks on the passengers side and you have to beat on the door to get the button to come back. Now then on the drivers side I have to push the button in 3 or 4 times to get it to open, and the button is very loose.....im afraid its gonna fall out sometime while im driving and then ill be screwed. Also, my doors rattle and shake up and down while im on the highway and theres alot of road noise. It kinda bothers me....The road noise is probably atleast partly due to all the little bity holes in the floorboard and the lack of carpet right there too. I think theres some noise coming from around the door too tho. I also need all the weatherstripping on the doors and the stuff on each side of the window all the way around. My doors are so noisey for so many reasons. Bouncing up and down, when opening, and when closing. Is is normal for them to make noise when opening and closing? Will the hinge pins and bushings along with a door striker bolt stop the rattle of the doors? And, how do i fix the problem with the buttons in the outside door handles? If anyones got a story or knows what to do id very much appreciate hearing it...thanks guy!!!

Hello Pintoguy76,
How rusty is your Pinto?
Your body shell may have deteriorated beyond anything that door pins or seals can fix.

theres not just a whole lot of rust on this car....theres a rust hole on each front fender about the size of a nickle, a bunch of tiny holes in the floor pan in the drivers front side, and a lil rust on the rocker panels.

Hello pintoguy76
The rusty rockers are a BAD thing.
That is where the Pinto gets its strength.
zThe rockers are frame rails on the Pinto uni-body.
Prop the body up with jack stands so the suspension does not move.
Put a brick just under the rockers and stand on the sill.
To see how much your body flexes.
You can stiffen the body by adding a box channel to the underside of the pan just next to the rockers. Make sure the body pannels are lined up before tring this or you will lock the body into an eternal sag.
From Pintony

There is very very little rust on the rocker panel. Theres only one spot that i know of, its about the size of quarter, and its as tho the metal underneath the paint has puffed up and the top layer wants to fal off. I had planned on just replacing that rocker panel with one from a rust free parts car... Anytime i jack the car up, i jack it up by a scissor jack on the lip at the bottom of the rocker panel (the "jack points"). The body doesnt seem to be unstable or anything...

Quote from: pintoguy76 on February 07, 2006, 03:38:48 PM
My doors continue to get harder and harder to open. The button in the handle usually sticks on the passengers side and you have to beat on the door to get the button to come back. Now then on the drivers side I have to push the button in 3 or 4 times to get it to open, and the button is very loose.....im afraid its gonna fall out sometime while im driving and then ill be screwed. Open the door and remove the interior door panel.roll the window up and first check the screws holding all the components together to see if they need to be tightened.Then, spray some spray silicone to all the moving parts in the door latch. while your at it spray the window mechanism also.Also, my doors rattle and shake up and down while im on the highway and theres alot of road noise.It could be that the Teflon door latch piece mounted on the body is wore out and allowing the door to move up and down on it. It kinda bothers me....The road noise is probably at least partly due to all the little bity holes in the floorboardOk, if you got holes in the floorboard then you got more rust than you think. and the lack of carpet right there too. I think theres some noise coming from around the door too tho. I also need all the weatherstripping on the doors and the stuff on each side of the window all the way around. My doors are so noisey for so many reasons. Bouncing up and down, when opening, and when closing. Is is normal for them to make noise when opening and closing?Grease the hinges. Will the hinge pins and bushings along with a door striker bolt stop the rattle of the doors? And, how do i fix the problem with the buttons in the outside door handles? If anyones got a story or knows what to do id very much appreciate hearing it...thanks guy!!!