60 Marauder headlight doors will not close completly

I just bought a 69 Marauder X-100 and the headlight doors will not close completly. There is a gap of about 1/2 inch. The opening and closing of the doors work properly but they will not close completely. There is a minor vacuum leak but it does not appear to be the culprit. the doors can be forced to close manually but they spring back.

I cannot find any documentation as to how the doors are adjusted. I have the Shop mauuals for the car but there is nothing I can find about adjusting the doors.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Ed Zukusky


[addsig]

To be fair to you, I dont think there are any members with your kind of car here. I did however have a 78 Tbird that had the vacuum operated doors. I do think that a vacuum leak can in fact be a contributing factor however. Those systems have to be %100 to work corectly, which means if you want the system to work, you will have to trace and test every inch of those hoses. Good luck.
[addsig]

I had similar problem in my Cougar. Replaced the headlight motor, and still had problems. The problem turned out to be in the vacuum portion of headlight switch. Once the doors got to a certain place they hung up. Give 'em a slight twist and they closed further. Looked to be the on/off vacuum switch near the motors. But the headlight switch had been pushed in and out so many time the old plastic parts just gave out.

Wm.

had the same pblm on my 69 gal which is pbly nearly identical to the system on your marauder. like coosbay said it was the headlight switch. on my headlight switch, on the underside of the plastic unit behind the pull knob, there is a small plastic 1/8' knob that sticks out. i used to have to reach under and manually push that piece forward or back respectively inorder to completely seal the vacum system.

may not be a cure for your pblm but something to check.

I agree with what the others have stated ( I had a 71 Cyclone GT same problem) A leak will still affect the performance. Other things to look for is if the vacuum canister is leaking, usually they are under the front driver side fender. They have a tendency to rust under there and perforate. Understans that the light doors are attached to springs so the doors will open as a safety measure if the vacuum system fails.

Look for a shutoff valve on the front drivers side fender apron. You can start the car and shut the valve off. When you shut the car off if there are no leaks in front of the valve the doors will stay closed then your motor pots and tanks and hoses are good.

Often you just need to pull off the hose ends and trim them as they tend to crack with age.

Dip the ends in dishwashing detergent before installing. when it dries it seals the ends well ( saw this at a car seat factory for the lumbar support plumbing)

BTW I love '69/70 Marauders. I'm envious! Stu