can't open the storage door between seats?

nicknaz · 07-19-2012, 11:20 PM

Guys,

I can't for the life of me open the door for the ski pass through that is on the inside between the seats.

I read the manual (per this post below) which shows I just have to pull the door open. I have been pulling on it with some force and it isn't opening.

Do I just need to pull on the latch harder?!

http://e89.zpost.com/forums/showpost...75&postcount=7

nickm9 · 07-19-2012, 11:38 PM

Maybe get the Mrs to try.....she may be stronger than you...

teezee · 07-20-2012, 09:07 AM

If you are talking about opening the storage door from inside the cockpit, you have to rock that little handle up to release the door, don't just pull.

nicknaz · 07-20-2012, 07:29 PM

She tried! and our sales person tried (unsuccessfully on both counts).

I tried again this morning and I felt like I was going to break the handle.

teezee · 07-20-2012, 11:36 PM

My advice would be to open the boot, locate the two tabs on top of the pass through unit. Press the tabs up and release the storage unit from the pass through opening. You may be able to get a better idea of what is going on with the unit removed from the car.

Crazykoh · 07-21-2012, 12:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nicknaz

She tried! and our sales person tried (unsuccessfully on both counts).

I tried again this morning and I felt like I was going to break the handle.

Was the handle moving when you pulled it or stuck in its initial position? If it was stuck it could be a really tight fit. Try pushing the door more closed to take pressure off the latch then pull the handle. Just a thought.

Time · 07-21-2012, 08:38 AM

Are you still under warranty?

furiousd2004 · 07-21-2012, 10:53 AM

Same issue here unfortunately. One day when I went to open the compartment to get my sunglasses I pulled the latch and heard a "ping" sound. Door does not open ever since. There was a tiny spring in the back when I tried to investigate from the trunk.

If you get fed up and pry it open you'll find that the latch is surprisingly strong. It doesn't budge at all.

I didn't look very hard but there didn't appear to be a way to get to the internals of the door.

Thinking this would be a minor fix- perhaps just get a new door installed... After taking my car in, service dept informed me that the only way to fix this is to have a new back panel installed.

In 4 months my car has been wrongfully towed, and the windshield replaced twice so i am already over being OCD about the car being potentially ripped apart during repair. So I didn't even bother to ask, and kinda didn't even want to know how much of the car they are taking apart just to fix the door, lol

I thought it seemed a bit much, and would have declined the operation but they already had the part on order. I'll let you know the part# and see if I can find the diagram online once I get the car back on Monday.

I have a feeling it will break again, so was thinking maybe a Velcro DIY if there really is no other way to fix it.

nicknaz · 07-21-2012, 04:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crazykoh

Was the handle moving when you pulled it or stuck in its initial position? If it was stuck it could be a really tight fit. Try pushing the door more closed to take pressure off the latch then pull the handle. Just a thought.

It moved a little bit, maybe 1 centimeter. I will try pushing it in.

Quote:

Are you still under warranty?

Yes, I am but it is such a hassle to bring the car in due to my work hours. I might just leave it until the car is due for service next year...

Thanks guys.

Z4-Pilot · 07-22-2012, 03:43 PM

The problem is a small spring in the latch. My Z4 had that issue upon delivery at the Performance Delivery Center and the techs there fixed it in less than 10 minutes. This should be an easy fix for your service advisor and they should be able to let you do an over the shoulder ...

Best of luck! Mine hasn't had an issue since, the spring may have been improperly set when the latch was assembled.

AlfaHoser · 06-18-2016, 05:40 PM

I'm having this same problem with my 2012. I took the car in to the dealer for it's last visit before it went off warranty and they fixed it. The second time I opened it after that I heard the same ping noise and it won't open again. I don't have the speaker above it so I pulled off the cover for the speaker hole and was able to see the piece that is latching it shut but I can't get it to budge to allow me to get the door open. Driving me nuts!

Mick70 · 06-20-2016, 09:53 AM

If you urgently need to open the storage space because there is something important in it, you can open the door with a screwdriver. Just use the screwdriver carefully as a lever to widen the gap between the top of the door and its frame with a piece of cloth to prevent scratches. Finally slip the door's bolt out of the hole in the frame. This will (probably) not damage anything, so you could still ask BMW for a goodwill repair afterwards.

Of course, you then cannot close the storage door again with the latch, as the bolt itself will still not move - it is just stuck in its position. Additionally, the door's front and back panels are glued together, so there is no chance to get into the door to tamper with its mechanism without exactly knowing where to look for the obstacle or without cutting open the complete door. Strange enough, the storage door and the complete back panel of your car are one (1) single part. You must replace the complete back panel if you need to replace the door (cf. http://bit.ly/28JN4tj). You cannot even take out the door to examine and work on it without breaking the hinges (at least I did not find a way to do this). Faulty design, obviously.

So if Bmw rejects a goodwill repair and you do not want to pay BMW for the repair, there are 3 solutions:

- Do the repair on your own. But you will have to replace the complete back panel and of course you first will have to remove the seats etc. And of course you will have to buy a spare part that will probably not last very long either.

- When my car's storage latch was broken for the 1st time and my dealer couldn't fix the issue immediately, I just cut off the locking bolt in the door with a Dremel. I added a strong Neodymium ring magnet on the frame (app. this size: http://bit.ly/28J9Ge7) and a screw on the door. So the magnet kept the door firmly closed and I could still open the door easily.

- If you would rather like to wait and hope: I have still got the old broken door at home. If the new door breaks again, I will cut open and dismantle the old door in order to examine the mechanism and try to find a simple solution for a remedy with "minimal surgery". (Un)fortunately, the new door is still fine, for more than 1 year now.

Best regards
Mick

AlfaHoser · 06-20-2016, 06:04 PM

Thanks Mick. I don't *have* to get it open as there is nothing attached to the boot/trunk side right now so I can actually touch the back of the door.

There must be something that the tech's do as it did work twice correctly after he "fixed" it, said he had to replace/reseat a spring or something. I asked him how he got it open and he said he just used some trim tools and it popped open.

Guess I'll just have to have another go at it, there is no way it is worth the cost of a whole back panel to me. I do like your magnet idea, it should have been that way from the start!

Thanks,
Kevin

Mick70 · 07-01-2016, 03:17 AM

Sorry, didn't want to bother anyone with my extensive thoughts, solution and pictures. So if you need help with the issue, you may pm me.

AlfaHoser · 07-01-2016, 05:30 AM

Why would you think that a bother? Lay it on us! I've not had time to mess with this since my last post. Taking next week off from work so was going to try to get the stupid think working again then. If you've got some pics and such by all means post them.

Herkypilot · 07-02-2016, 07:28 AM

Yup. Same issue with my 2012 when I bought it CPO last year. Was still under original warranty. They replaced the back deck to fix a door latch - Germans can be smart, but not see the forest through the trees sometimes. Works fine now, but I rarely open it anyway. Shop did a good job with the replacement as you can't tell how much they had to disassemble.

HP

Mick70 · 07-02-2016, 11:57 AM

Ouch, I thought I wrote too much. OK then in short terms my best guess for a repair in most cases, even if you currently cannot open the door:

I believe that in most cases everything is fine with the latch mechanism and that the problem is that the spring-loaded locking bolt for some reason just snaps out of its loose connection to the latch mechanism.

Pry the latch mechanism out of the storage door with a trim removing tool or with a screwdriver (pics 1&2).
Make sure that the locking bolt in the door is not obstructed and that the spring is in its place. Be careful that the bolt and the spring (26x5mm, in case you lose it) do not pop out and disappear, e.g. in the door (pics 3&4)
At this time, you should be able to open the door, if it was stuck so far.
Make sure that the latch mechanism that you have taken out of the door is not obstructed. You should be able to move the lever as shown (pic 5). In this case, the mechanism is fine, don't tamper with it. Otherwise you might need to disassemble the latch mechanism and replace the axle (please PM, I have dismanteled everything and have some pictures).
Push in the locking bolt into the door a bit more than as far as it would be necessary to open the door and secure it from the outside in this position (e.g. with a screwdriver as a wedge). I cannot really simulate this as I have cut the bolt for my workaround with the magnets. Be careful that the spring does not pop out. When pushing the latch mechanism back into its place, make sure that the two nipples (or what is the correct name) of the lever fit into the two holes of the locking bolt (pics 6-8)
Pull out the wedge that held the locking bolt in opening position. The Lever should now be able to move the bolt.

Just some words of warning:

You cannot take out the door without breaking the hinges or without removing the complete trim behind yout seats so that you have access to the hinges. But I have pictures if you need them.
You may be able to dismantle the latch mechanism with the lever. But I believe that in most cases this is not necessary and not very intelligent as you may have a hard time to put everything together again. If you need to do that, I have some pictures that may help to open the mechanism without destroying it.

I hope that this helps to avoid some expensive repairs

Mick

P.S.: Feedback appreciated.

AlfaHoser · 08-06-2016, 02:27 PM

Thanks for adding the pictures, makes complete sense now! I hadn't gotten any e-mail notifications that you had added anything so I didn't go back to look until just now so I could post and update. I managed to fix it for now without seeing your pics but when (not "if") it happens again I'll use your method. After wiggling the handle part around a bit I figured the might be a way to get it out but didn't try.

I managed to get the door open by prying it with a trim tool (like the 2nd from the right in this pic http://thumbs2.picclick.com/d/w1600/...l-Tool-Pry.jpg) and prying until just before I thought something would break it popped open. Now I see all I have to do is to remove the handle!

Once I had that done I used one of those small eyeglass screwdrivers to poke through the opening where the latch comes out (I could see the spring) and jiggle, push & prod it around while trying to operate the handle and I must have popped the spring back in place as it finally started working again.

It only took 10 minutes but your pics will help a lot next time, thanks.

Kevin

Mick70 · 08-11-2016, 04:12 AM

Thanks for your feedback

Jimvgiordano · 03-06-2021, 11:38 AM

Thanks for the pictures. After taking the handle off I discovered the pull-up handle doesn't have sufficient travel to pull the spring mechanism down enough. You indicated you have pictures to open the handle without destroying it. Any help would be appreciated.

RobbiZ4 · 03-06-2021, 01:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jimvgiordano

You indicated you have pictures to open the handle without destroying it.

Just have a look at the picures 3 posts above yours.

These are the only pictures available here or in the corresponding threads in the German ZRoadster.com forum.

eja5er · 08-02-2021, 10:57 AM

Does anyone know if just the latch can be replaced or the part number for the door? I have found a bunch of bulkheads on ebay without the door, but I'm not having any luck looking for the door or the latch.

07-19-2012, 11:20 PM	#1
nicknaz Lieutenant General 3187 Rep 10,509 Posts Drives: C6Z Join Date: May 2008 Location: NorCal iTrader: (0)	can't open the storage door between seats? Guys, I can't for the life of me open the door for the ski pass through that is on the inside between the seats. I read the manual (per this post below) which shows I just have to pull the door open. I have been pulling on it with some force and it isn't opening. Do I just need to pull on the latch harder?! http://e89.zpost.com/forums/showpost...75&postcount=7
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07-19-2012, 11:38 PM	#2
nickm9 Private First Class 8 Rep 185 Posts Drives: E89 Z4 35i - Alpine White Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: London iTrader: (0)	Maybe get the Mrs to try.....she may be stronger than you...
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07-20-2012, 09:07 AM	#3
teezee Freude am Fahren 34 Rep 383 Posts Drives: E89 Z4, E46 325iT Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Here,There and Everywhere iTrader: (0)	If you are talking about opening the storage door from inside the cockpit, you have to rock that little handle up to release the door, don't just pull. Attached Images __________________ 2011 E89 Z4 M Sport (Euro Delivery, Performance Center redelivery), Extended Nappa leather, Eisenmann Sport Exhaust 2003 E46 325i Touring
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07-20-2012, 07:29 PM	#4
nicknaz Lieutenant General 3187 Rep 10,509 Posts Drives: C6Z Join Date: May 2008 Location: NorCal iTrader: (0)	She tried! and our sales person tried (unsuccessfully on both counts). I tried again this morning and I felt like I was going to break the handle.
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07-20-2012, 11:36 PM	#5
teezee Freude am Fahren 34 Rep 383 Posts Drives: E89 Z4, E46 325iT Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Here,There and Everywhere iTrader: (0)	My advice would be to open the boot, locate the two tabs on top of the pass through unit. Press the tabs up and release the storage unit from the pass through opening. You may be able to get a better idea of what is going on with the unit removed from the car. __________________ 2011 E89 Z4 M Sport (Euro Delivery, Performance Center redelivery), Extended Nappa leather, Eisenmann Sport Exhaust 2003 E46 325i Touring
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07-21-2012, 08:38 AM	#7
Time Member 74 Rep 379 Posts Drives: 2015 M4 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Maryland iTrader: (1) Garage List 2015 BMW M4 [0.00]	Are you still under warranty? __________________ .
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07-21-2012, 10:53 AM	#8
furiousd2004 New Member 0 Rep 16 Posts Drives: e90, e92, e90LCI, e90 M3C, e89 Join Date: May 2010 Location: NoVA iTrader: (0)	Same issue here unfortunately. One day when I went to open the compartment to get my sunglasses I pulled the latch and heard a "ping" sound. Door does not open ever since. There was a tiny spring in the back when I tried to investigate from the trunk. If you get fed up and pry it open you'll find that the latch is surprisingly strong. It doesn't budge at all. I didn't look very hard but there didn't appear to be a way to get to the internals of the door. Thinking this would be a minor fix- perhaps just get a new door installed... After taking my car in, service dept informed me that the only way to fix this is to have a new back panel installed. In 4 months my car has been wrongfully towed, and the windshield replaced twice so i am already over being OCD about the car being potentially ripped apart during repair. So I didn't even bother to ask, and kinda didn't even want to know how much of the car they are taking apart just to fix the door, lol I thought it seemed a bit much, and would have declined the operation but they already had the part on order. I'll let you know the part# and see if I can find the diagram online once I get the car back on Monday. I have a feeling it will break again, so was thinking maybe a Velcro DIY if there really is no other way to fix it.
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07-22-2012, 03:43 PM	#10
Z4-Pilot New Member 1 Rep 19 Posts Drives: 2012 Z4 sDrive35i 6mt Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Hampton Roads, VA iTrader: (0)	The problem is a small spring in the latch. My Z4 had that issue upon delivery at the Performance Delivery Center and the techs there fixed it in less than 10 minutes. This should be an easy fix for your service advisor and they should be able to let you do an over the shoulder ... Best of luck! Mine hasn't had an issue since, the spring may have been improperly set when the latch was assembled. __________________ Air Force Rescue ...these things we do that others may live...
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06-18-2016, 05:40 PM	#11
AlfaHoser Private 1 Rep 89 Posts Drives: '13 335i Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: WA iTrader: (0)	I'm having this same problem with my 2012. I took the car in to the dealer for it's last visit before it went off warranty and they fixed it. The second time I opened it after that I heard the same ping noise and it won't open again. I don't have the speaker above it so I pulled off the cover for the speaker hole and was able to see the piece that is latching it shut but I can't get it to budge to allow me to get the door open. Driving me nuts!
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06-20-2016, 09:53 AM	#12
Mick70 Private First Class 9 Rep 158 Posts Drives: Z4 sdrive35i (before: 23i) Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Germany iTrader: (0)	If you urgently need to open the storage space because there is something important in it, you can open the door with a screwdriver. Just use the screwdriver carefully as a lever to widen the gap between the top of the door and its frame with a piece of cloth to prevent scratches. Finally slip the door's bolt out of the hole in the frame. This will (probably) not damage anything, so you could still ask BMW for a goodwill repair afterwards. Of course, you then cannot close the storage door again with the latch, as the bolt itself will still not move - it is just stuck in its position. Additionally, the door's front and back panels are glued together, so there is no chance to get into the door to tamper with its mechanism without exactly knowing where to look for the obstacle or without cutting open the complete door. Strange enough, the storage door and the complete back panel of your car are one (1) single part. You must replace the complete back panel if you need to replace the door (cf. http://bit.ly/28JN4tj). You cannot even take out the door to examine and work on it without breaking the hinges (at least I did not find a way to do this). Faulty design, obviously. So if Bmw rejects a goodwill repair and you do not want to pay BMW for the repair, there are 3 solutions: - Do the repair on your own. But you will have to replace the complete back panel and of course you first will have to remove the seats etc. And of course you will have to buy a spare part that will probably not last very long either. - When my car's storage latch was broken for the 1st time and my dealer couldn't fix the issue immediately, I just cut off the locking bolt in the door with a Dremel. I added a strong Neodymium ring magnet on the frame (app. this size: http://bit.ly/28J9Ge7) and a screw on the door. So the magnet kept the door firmly closed and I could still open the door easily. - If you would rather like to wait and hope: I have still got the old broken door at home. If the new door breaks again, I will cut open and dismantle the old door in order to examine the mechanism and try to find a simple solution for a remedy with "minimal surgery". (Un)fortunately, the new door is still fine, for more than 1 year now. Best regards Mick
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06-20-2016, 06:04 PM	#13
AlfaHoser Private 1 Rep 89 Posts Drives: '13 335i Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: WA iTrader: (0)	Thanks Mick. I don't have to get it open as there is nothing attached to the boot/trunk side right now so I can actually touch the back of the door. There must be something that the tech's do as it did work twice correctly after he "fixed" it, said he had to replace/reseat a spring or something. I asked him how he got it open and he said he just used some trim tools and it popped open. Guess I'll just have to have another go at it, there is no way it is worth the cost of a whole back panel to me. I do like your magnet idea, it should have been that way from the start! Thanks, Kevin
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07-01-2016, 03:17 AM	#14
Mick70 Private First Class 9 Rep 158 Posts Drives: Z4 sdrive35i (before: 23i) Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Germany iTrader: (0)	Sorry, didn't want to bother anyone with my extensive thoughts, solution and pictures. So if you need help with the issue, you may pm me.
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07-01-2016, 05:30 AM	#15
AlfaHoser Private 1 Rep 89 Posts Drives: '13 335i Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: WA iTrader: (0)	Why would you think that a bother? Lay it on us! I've not had time to mess with this since my last post. Taking next week off from work so was going to try to get the stupid think working again then. If you've got some pics and such by all means post them.
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07-02-2016, 07:28 AM	#16
Herkypilot New Member 2 Rep 27 Posts Drives: 2012 Z-4 35i Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Meadows of Dan, VA iTrader: (0)	Yup. Same issue with my 2012 when I bought it CPO last year. Was still under original warranty. They replaced the back deck to fix a door latch - Germans can be smart, but not see the forest through the trees sometimes. Works fine now, but I rarely open it anyway. Shop did a good job with the replacement as you can't tell how much they had to disassemble. HP
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07-02-2016, 11:57 AM	#17
Mick70 Private First Class 9 Rep 158 Posts Drives: Z4 sdrive35i (before: 23i) Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Germany iTrader: (0)	Ouch, I thought I wrote too much. OK then in short terms my best guess for a repair in most cases, even if you currently cannot open the door: I believe that in most cases everything is fine with the latch mechanism and that the problem is that the spring-loaded locking bolt for some reason just snaps out of its loose connection to the latch mechanism. Pry the latch mechanism out of the storage door with a trim removing tool or with a screwdriver (pics 1&2). Make sure that the locking bolt in the door is not obstructed and that the spring is in its place. Be careful that the bolt and the spring (26x5mm, in case you lose it) do not pop out and disappear, e.g. in the door (pics 3&4) At this time, you should be able to open the door, if it was stuck so far. Make sure that the latch mechanism that you have taken out of the door is not obstructed. You should be able to move the lever as shown (pic 5). In this case, the mechanism is fine, don't tamper with it. Otherwise you might need to disassemble the latch mechanism and replace the axle (please PM, I have dismanteled everything and have some pictures). Push in the locking bolt into the door a bit more than as far as it would be necessary to open the door and secure it from the outside in this position (e.g. with a screwdriver as a wedge). I cannot really simulate this as I have cut the bolt for my workaround with the magnets. Be careful that the spring does not pop out. When pushing the latch mechanism back into its place, make sure that the two nipples (or what is the correct name) of the lever fit into the two holes of the locking bolt (pics 6-8) Pull out the wedge that held the locking bolt in opening position. The Lever should now be able to move the bolt. Just some words of warning: You cannot take out the door without breaking the hinges or without removing the complete trim behind yout seats so that you have access to the hinges. But I have pictures if you need them. You may be able to dismantle the latch mechanism with the lever. But I believe that in most cases this is not necessary and not very intelligent as you may have a hard time to put everything together again. If you need to do that, I have some pictures that may help to open the mechanism without destroying it. I hope that this helps to avoid some expensive repairs Mick P.S.: Feedback appreciated. Attached Images Last edited by Mick70; 07-21-2016 at 03:16 AM..
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08-06-2016, 02:27 PM	#18
AlfaHoser Private 1 Rep 89 Posts Drives: '13 335i Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: WA iTrader: (0)	Thanks for adding the pictures, makes complete sense now! I hadn't gotten any e-mail notifications that you had added anything so I didn't go back to look until just now so I could post and update. I managed to fix it for now without seeing your pics but when (not "if") it happens again I'll use your method. After wiggling the handle part around a bit I figured the might be a way to get it out but didn't try. I managed to get the door open by prying it with a trim tool (like the 2nd from the right in this pic http://thumbs2.picclick.com/d/w1600/...l-Tool-Pry.jpg) and prying until just before I thought something would break it popped open. Now I see all I have to do is to remove the handle! Once I had that done I used one of those small eyeglass screwdrivers to poke through the opening where the latch comes out (I could see the spring) and jiggle, push & prod it around while trying to operate the handle and I must have popped the spring back in place as it finally started working again. It only took 10 minutes but your pics will help a lot next time, thanks. Kevin
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08-11-2016, 04:12 AM	#19
Mick70 Private First Class 9 Rep 158 Posts Drives: Z4 sdrive35i (before: 23i) Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Germany iTrader: (0)	Thanks for your feedback
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03-06-2021, 11:38 AM	#20
Jimvgiordano Registered 0 Rep 1 Posts Drives: BMW Z4 Join Date: Mar 2021 Location: Florida iTrader: (0)	Storage handle Thanks for the pictures. After taking the handle off I discovered the pull-up handle doesn't have sufficient travel to pull the spring mechanism down enough. You indicated you have pictures to open the handle without destroying it. Any help would be appreciated.
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08-02-2021, 10:57 AM	#22
eja5er New Member 0 Rep 13 Posts Drives: 11 Z4 35is \| 19 X7 40i Join Date: Jan 2020 Location: Pennsylvania iTrader: (1)	Broken latch. Does anyone know if just the latch can be replaced or the part number for the door? I have found a bunch of bulkheads on ebay without the door, but I'm not having any luck looking for the door or the latch.
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