GM Door Control Linkage Retaining Clip Repair

The upper latch on the work van back door suddenly ceased functioning. A quick examination revealed that the little plastic clip that holds the bent end of the pull/pushrod into the latch mechanism had broken, so the L-shaped end of the rod had nothing to control its high propensity to wander around inside the door frame. Toyotas and Nissans usually have secondary guides to limit the wandering of the linkages, but all GM had was a fat piece of foam insulation that only acted to keep the rod from rattling once the plastic retaining clip broke. Not wanting to have the van out of service for such a minor thing, I made a replacement part using a piece of metal pallet strapping. All the tools used were whatever was lying around at work, which wasn’t much. I would have tried making something out of zip-ties, but I couldn’t think of a solution in short order. If you had a little scrap Kydex or some other thermoplastic sheet, you could probably make something a lot nicer.

Difficulty – moderate

Time – about 15 to 30-minutes

Tools required:

• Hammer
• Nail
• Pliers (I used a pair of Craftsman “Robo Grip” pliers because I didn’t want to scratch up my Swisstool)
• Aviation snips (or diagonal cutters and strong forearms)
• Wood to hammer on (like a pallet)
• Gloves and eye protection

Materials required:

• Metal pallet strapping or miscellaneous other sheet metal

Notes:

• I used a nail to make the hole, wiggling it around until the hole was large enough, but a proper drill can be used, but this should be done in conjunction with a vise so the metal doesn’t become a whirling, finger-slicing blade of death.
• If you’re using a drill, you can make a hole in the metal where the corner of the L-shape between the eyelet and clip will be so the stress riser will be reduced. It also makes it easier to cut the shape since you’re not cutting a blind corner.
• When making the clip portion, make the recurve at the opening first, then bend the metal around a nail to form the clip. The recurve allows the clip to easily snap onto the metal linkage rod.
• Making something out of metal strapping with aviation snips is begging for a cut or a metal splinter. Miraculously, I didn’t get injured. Having a file to clean up the sharp edges would have been nice. I guess I could have used the sidewalk concrete to grind the edges smooth.