Rover 200 & 400 Owners Club

When you buy a second hand car there is always something that you miss.

In this particular case I didn't spot that the check strap is floating loose inside the A pillar.
This is a new one on me and I was wondering if anybody else has ever seen this and what the repair is likely to entail?

I can't decide how this has come about, difficult to think it's been like this from build, but replacing a wing doesn't impact on the check strap.

I seen them broken before , simple job to fix just bolt a new one on from rimmers and wait for it i have spare ones but not new ..

It's not broken at the door end, it's the flange that sits inside the A pillar. It doesn't appear to bolt to anything?

There should be a bracket (or flange) which sticks out of a slot in the A pillar. I think this is spot welded to the A pillar.

I wonder if that has come adrift and fallen into the A pillar panel?

The check strap is attached to this bracket/flange with a large split pin (and by two bolts at the other end onto the door).

Have a look at your other doors to see the bracket/flange.

carfixmobile wrote: ↑Mon Jun 14, 2021 9:47 am There should be a bracket (or flange) which sticks out of a slot in the A pillar. I think this is spot welded to the A pillar.

I wonder if that has come adrift and fallen into the A pillar panel?

The check strap is attached to this bracket/flange with a large split pin (and by two bolts at the other end onto the door).

Have a look at your other doors to see the bracket/flange.

That's exactly what had happened to my 827 Vitesse before I bought it (20 years ago........how time flies!) and the previous owner had brazed it back into place. A bit messy, but it did the job! And that same design was carried forward on to later Rovers based on Honda architecture. I am sure a tidier job could be done by drilling out the spot welds (visible on the pillar when you look carefully) and then plug welding. Also apply oil or grease to the check strap to reduce the stress on it in the future

220 GSi turbo wrote: ↑Mon Jun 14, 2021 1:27 pm Also apply oil or grease to the check strap to reduce the stress on it in the future

That's probably sound advice in practice, but in theory shouldn't be needed.
If you take the business end of the assembly apart, it reveals a pair of delrin (or similar) rollers
on opposite sides of the strap, These sit in cradles of the same material, with some relieving
grooves in the load bearing surfaces. These paired assemblies are squeezed against the strap
by rubber pads, all compressed by closure of the steel cage. So it can be inferred that the rollers
were intended to roll along the strap rather than skate.

I suspect the rubber in mine was a tad harder than when manufactured, and the rollers were a
bit gummed up!