My rear hatch latch seems to fail to open occasionally. But in Land Rover fashion, will suddenly begin to work just fine. Is this a Disco oddity or do I need to replace the latch?

Help anyone?

Edited to say- 2002 Discovery II SE

 

Pop the Land Rover logo off the rear handle and lubricate the latch mechanism with the some WD-40. That worked for me.

 

Probably lots of gunk in there and it gets sticky and stuck when cold. I doused the mechanism with engine degreaser and then WD-40/silicone orwhatever your favorite lube is. I haven't had a problem since. Work the latch real good as you're spraying.

 

Well... I just had to go and say that I haven't had a problem since. A couple days later and it stops opening again. For anybody interested, getting the handle and latch outand cleanedreally wasn't too bad. Take the speaker screen off, then the plastic cover (4 screws), then the speakers themselves (about 8 torx head screws). Then, using a long flathead screwdriver to pry the red, plastic rivets out of the door itself (careful they break), pop half of the the inside panel off.Cut the plastic so it can be taped up again nicely and you're at the latch.

Two nuts hold the handle on, and three torx head screws hold the latch in place and there's plenty of room in there to work. The lock and handle connecting rods just pop off with a screwdriver. I pulled everything out, soaked them in diesel fuel (handle and latch - just the latch mechanism part, not the electronics attached to the latch), scrubbed real good with a toothbrush, dried them off, sprayed with WD-40 (or whatever you think works best) and reassembled. Be a little careful scrubbing the latch, there are a lot of small springs that you don't want to disturb. I was not and I ended up with a small spring left over. Luckily everything works fine though.Getting the latch backin was a little tight, it should slide in fairly easily, if it doesn't you're doing it wrong and should start over.

I hope this helps. It works way better than before and NOW I shouldn't have any problems for a while. When you get it all together again, MAKE SURE YOU TEST THE LATCH andthateverything works as it should before you close the door.

 

Soaking it down with WD40 is wonderful & will get it working, however, as with all super penetrants it won't last.

I use penetrant to get it working, soak it again the next day, then b/4 it dries hit it with spray lithium grease.
The grease is also great for door parts & it won't wash off like penetrants will.
(I shoot it into my locks, too.)
Chicago winters are hard on small exterior moving parts

 

I was hoping somebody would chime in. I wasn't really sure what was best to use to lubricate it. I had some white lithium grease, but I was afraid that it would attract dirt and gunk too quickly and would be a little too sticky for the levers to work good.I had some graphite spray which is way too messy and WD-40 just doesn't last, but I figured I wouldtry tospray the latch regularly now. I did hita few of the main pivots and the handle with some Fluid Film, which is much thicker and stickier than WD-40, but lighter than lithium grease. I've been a big fan of fluid film these days. Maybe I'll try lithium grease again, doesn't it get pretty thick andhard in the cold winters though? It seems like that's why I stopped using it.