Door won’t open after new seal

[RJT79]

After installing the new door seal, door closes much closer with much smaller gap between the door and body.  But the door can’t be open from the outside handle anymore.  I had to climb in from the passenger side, and push it open from the inside while holding inside door release.  I’ve checked that there’s no adhesive sticking anywhere on the door.  
 

any suggestions?  I can’t confirm this, but my guess is that the door latch is now catching the door at much closer towards the end of it, and might have to be adjusted?  

[Mike Self]

The extra thickness of the new seal (bet it's a URO seal!) is pushing against the latch, basically jamming it in place to the point where the leverage provided by the pushbutton on the outside handle isn't sufficient to overcome the friction between latch (the rotating thing on the door) and the catch (bracket on the door frame).  

 

As the new gasket compresses, this will (eventually) go away...probably.  In the meantime,

 

First, try a little white grease on the latch and catch to lubricate the contact points.  If that doesn't work, loosen the catch and move it outward a few mm.  The door may not exactly line up with the quarter panel, but you'll be able to open the door, and as the new gasket compresses, you'll be able to move the catch back to its original position.

 

mike

PS this is a common occurrance with URO gaskets and even with factory ones...

[RJT79]

Yes, you’re right, this is the URO seal.  But this is my 2nd attempt on it.  
 

The first attempt, I didn’t use the right adhesive, and I haven’t trimmed the seal down a bit.  So the first time it was actually hard to close the door, and leaving a big gap between door and body panel.

 

The 2nd attempt, I’ve found the right adhesive AND trimmed down the thickness of the seal.  Now it closes with ease, and much nicer gap.  
 

So if adjusting the catch on the body is what I need, should I still adjust it outward?  I feel like I should do the opposite as it’s catching too much, as the door is now closing at a much closer position to the body now?  

[Stevenc22]

Push the latch out a little. Use masking tape around the latch to mark your starting point so you have a reference to know how much you moved the latch.