FJ40 rear lift up door hardware issues

[visike]

I don't want to just cob this together, I'd like to work as well as it can - and I don't know what will help.
Right now, on Eulalie ('73 fj40 2f restomod), this rear lift-up door is driving me nuts. I broke the handle earlier this year trying to get the mechanism to pull the latches free of the stops. Put the new handle in tonight and it's still having the same issue. One I'm seeing now is that as I pull the outside handle, or even turn the inside handle, is the piece in the middle is coming out of the door itself and catching on the edge of the door itself, getting stuck. If I tap the door with my hand, it will spring back, but it doesn't seem like this is what Toyota intended...

Here you can see the latches not pulling far enough in to allow the door to swing up and out.

You can probably see that it's really close... Like a combine 1/8" and I'd be in the clear. I'm just frustrated at this point and not sure how to get that extra clearance. Where would the savvy cool-handed mechanics start out?

 

[charliemeyer007]

You need to reset the position of the pull rods. It is a pince clamp using a bolt/nut washer on the j hook end of the rods in line with the center screw plate nuts. The right one is on top, the left one is on the bottom.
Mark the position, loosen the nut, pull the shaft like 3/16, then tighten the nut. Way easier if you have a second person pull the rod while you tighten the clamp. Vise grips might hold the rod pull out

 

[visike]

You need to reset the position of the pull rods. It is a pince clamp using a bolt/nut washer on the j hook end of the rods in line with the center screw plate nuts. The right one is on top, the left one is on the bottom.
Mark the position, loosen the nut, pull the shaft like 3/16, then tighten the nut. Way easier if you have a second person pull the rod while you tighten the clamp. Vise grips might hold the rod pull out

I will do that! Looking at it, yes, that looks like the solution - thanks... love this community.

 

[charliemeyer007]

You can see the wear in the pot metal latch catch (blue piece in pic's 2&3). You might be able to get replacements or you can clean them really good and rough the worn area up, maybe put in some small screws and fill the area with metal filled epoxy/JB Weld, then file the profile back in.

 

[visike]

You can see the wear in the pot metal latch catch (blue piece in pic's 2&3). You might be able to get replacements or you can clean them really good and rough the worn area up, maybe put in some small screws and fill the area with metal filled epoxy/JB Weld, then file the profile back in.

they are actually still pretty new... replaced them the same time i broke the handle