Door striker fix

91AOD5.0LX

I have a slight sag in my rear
Feb 20, 2021
590
394
73
Lake George NY
My door strikers were missing the plastic bushing on the bolt. The result is a rattling door and a loose seal when pushing the door closed.
I was hesitant to remove and replace the striker or just the bushing Itself fearing that I’d cause a bigger problem with alignment and knocking the nut off the backing plate that the striker bolt screws into. After doing research on these blogs someone suggested using 1/2” PEX. Simply cut the PEX tube the length of the striker (slightly less than an inch - I used a hacksaw) then slice one side of the PEX with a razor blade so it can be opened and stretched around the striker bolt. This way the striker doesn’t have to be removed and no worries about trying to align the door or dropping the backing bolt and having to fish it out. I bought red PEX from Home Depot for 2 bucks and did as stated above. All I can say is WOW!!! Instant fix and works amazing! No more rattle, doors close right and with no extra push. Brand new! The PEX fits perfect around the striker. just push it on with a hard push to make it snap on.
I wanted to share this with pictures in case anyone else has the same issue. It takes 5 minutes to do both doors. Just use a very thin, regular tipped screwdriver to separate the slice in the PEX because it’s to stiff to do with your fingers (which is also why it works so great). Slip the head of the screwdriver into the cut seam and Twist the screwdriver. The cut seam will open enough to snap onto the striker bolt with a hard push.
here are some before and after pictures. PEX comes in blue, white and Red but you can also use black which is a differant brand name than PEX.
I know this idea is already out there but wanted to give a more detailed description of how to do it and show pictures which may help others.
 

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I wonder how long they'll hold up. Those door strikers can take a beating. How big is the outside diameter of the hose?
 
I wonder how long they'll hold up. Those door strikers can take a beating. How big is the outside diameter of the hose?
I feel as if it’s going to hold because it’s real tight and hard and it took effort to snap it around the bolt. It’s not flimsy in other words. However, your right, the doors are constantly used so always a possibility that they will wear prematurely. For my purposes this should be fine being that it’s not a DD. My doors open/close prob once a week. Lol
Best part is it costs 2 bucks for 5’ of PEX and only 2” is used to do both doors and takes 5 minutes to do so if it fails in the future it’s a quick free fix once again. Changing the striker is easy but with my luck it would turn into a major project trying to realign the doors and fish out bolts that dropped off the back. Lol this was a super safe bet for me which worked amazingly.
It’s a 1/2” diameter tube.
 

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The nut, as you call it, is captured behind the door jamb and should not fall out, you mark where the round washer is before you loosen it up and put it back in the same place, adjusting the striker is easy, if needed.
 
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I like this idea and gives the ability to personalize the striker. Even if you have to replace them once or twice a year it's easy to replace.

For the record though, I've never had the door striker backer fall off. I've heard about it though. Lining the doors back up can be a hassle. If they work for a while it's a win in my book.

It can be easy to align if the hinges and all are adjusted properly. If the door hinges are out of alignment that's when that striker becomes hell to get correctly adjusted.
 
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I like the PEX for the color and when the Help part becomes unavailable. It’s durable material. In ten years, I wonder if there will be lawsuits about it leaching something into drinking water. But with the cross linked polymer, it should last as long as copper and longer if the water is acidic.
It seems the hinges being worn is a cause of many worn striker bushings. Fixing both ends of the door in the same project is worth considering.
 
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