| I had been reading on the forums about how some of the door latches on cars that are used a lot have been coming apart. Within a few days, the driver's side latch broke on FFR #2084K. It broke in exactly the same way as the others I had read about. The latch handle is attached to the pivot by being sort of pressed on and then peened. It is only a matter of time before it comes apart. |
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| When mine broke, I remembered reading on FFCobra.com that some people have been repairing their latches by putting a short carriage bolt through the pivot from the back, and capturing the latch handle under a lock nut and washer. After checking the price of replacement latches ($120 per pair), I decided to try it. |
| The first thing I did was go out to the local hardware store and buy a 5/16" X 3/4" carriage bolt, washer, and lock nut. |
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| Next, I ground the top 1/16" or so off the top of the pivot so that the washer would be able to have good contact with the latch handle. |
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| The carriage bolt fits nicely through the square hole in the pivot. |
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| Reassemble the latch mechanism using the washer and lock nut to hold everything together. |
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| I had to use the grinder to flatten the crown of the carriage bolt to allow the latch to fit back on the door. |
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| The latch fits to the door just fine, and the cover makes the fix invisible. The latch now feels very solid and tight. |
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