D-latch sticking on Colorbond gate

[unawarek]

I have a D-latch on a Colorbond gate that's sticking - it gets caught most of the time and I have to either wiggle the flat bit quite a bit so it slips in, or loosen the screws on the flat bit so that its loose enough to slip under.

Here are some photos showing how misaligned, and the red arrow shows how much i need to loosen the screws to allow the flat bit to slip in:

 

What can I do to rectify this? I was thinking of moving the flat bit down a little to align with the latch, but I think that the holes for the new screws are going to overlap with the ones that are already in the post.

  

[Noyade]

If I interpret the problem correctly - the T section needs to be a few millimeters lower?

My thought is to take the T section off and with a round file slowly elongate the top hole so that when the Tek screw is replaced, you can lower the T arm. The bottom Tek screw hole becomes the fulcrum, so there's no need to touch it.

Replace and tighten. Probably there will be some trial and error with the filing.

As you say, you don't wanna keep drilling new screw holes in the colourbond frame.

Apologies if I have interpreted your problem incorrectly...

[unawarek]

Hi Noyade,

Yes, you've exactly right, the T section needs to be a few mm lower. 

That's a good idea, I might give that a go on the weekend. I think my other issue is that the screws seem to loosen by themselves all the time... but then again I've never been able to tighten them all the way or I wouldn't be able to close my gate.

The alternative solution I guess would be to just shift everything up by 1cm or so, and just use new Tek screws to attach the latch to the post? And maybe put a rivet through the old holes just to cover them up. 

[EricL]

Hello @unawarek

It's great that you've received an excellent suggestion from @Noyade. The proposed idea is spot on and I recommend using a file on both mounting holes so that the "T" piece goes even lower. However, your idea of moving the entire assembly is also quite sound. Using rivets to cover the old holes is perfect as they are made of aluminium and will not rust. 

Please keep us updated with your progress, we look forward to seeing your gate latch fixed.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric