Piper Cabin Door Latch Assembly (68188-00)

[P51P28]

Good morning. This might be a stretch but has anyone out there attempted to overhaul one of these door latch assemblies? We are running into some issues with ours and most of the used ones out there are predictably not in good shape. These things are definitely a sore spot on the airplane, hence the the door latch design change on later year aircraft. Thanks for your help.

 

[MuseChaser]

I've replaced the interior pins and springs. Typically, there are two pins that get bent over the years and, once they're replaced, the latch works nice and smoothly. It's not difficult to do, and the parts are readily available. Once done, make sure you adjust the catches on the plane body and align the door correctly, too, at the two door bolts, which should also be replaced; they tend to go oval and let the door sag, adding to the likelihood of bending the pins in the latch We did mine when replacing the door seal.

How can I help?

 

[P51P28]

I've replaced the interior pins and springs. Typically, there are two pins that get bent over the years and, once they're replaced, the latch works nice and smoothly. It's not difficult to do, and the parts are readily available. Once done, make sure you adjust the catches on the plane body and align the door correctly, too, at the two door bolts, which should also be replaced; they tend to go oval and let the door sag, adding to the likelihood of bending the pins in the latch We did mine when replacing the door seal.

How can I help?

Great, thanks for the info. Yes...the two pins on our latch are pretty much bent. The pins/springs you are referring to are #20, 12, 19, 14 and 22 correct? I'm thinking once we get the latch out of the door, I can take apart the whole mechanism (parts that aren't riveted) and go over every part (clean, sand, polish, etc).