I'm attempting to adjust my driver side door because the rear is sagging and requires me to adjust the outer door skit to it's absolute maximum height to get the molding to line up to the rear quarter panel which looks ridiculous.
Both the door skin and fender off so I have complete access to the hinges. When the door is open there is no access play when trying to move the door up and down. The hinge pins are new and the bolt holes are not elongated.
When I loosen the chassis to hinge bolts I am able to lift the door well beyond where I'd like it however When I tighten the hinge bolts back the door just proceeds to go back to it's original position. I have attempted this adjustment approximately 26 times of the past 3 days and am at a loss as to how I can align my door correctly.
I have read all about adjustment of doors and out of curiosity I took the top hinge off the chassis and noticed there is no room for adjustment. There is no slotted holes nor any way the bracket will be able to rotate.
Does anyone have any advice on how I can adjust the tilt of the door beyond loosening the chassis bolts, jacking up the rear of the door and tightening? Because this does not work.
Thank you. Matthew
[This message has been edited by Matthew_Fiero (edited 08-28-2024).]
Your hinge pins may be severely worn allowing the door to sag. Try opening the door to its fullest and lift the end of thue door. If you feel significant play or can rattle the hinge pin in its sleeve, that’s probably your problem.
You can find replacement pins and bushings annd install them. Check the archives under hinge replacement for some threads on how to do it. Alternatively, you could try shimming the lower hinge to rotate the door. Body shims can be found at most auto parts stores or body shop supply stores. Tip: Mark around the hinge mount with a scribe, marker, or pencil before you loosen it to have a reference for aligning the hinge at the proper location. This would make aligning the door simpler.
[This message has been edited by Mike in Sydney (edited 08-28-2024).]
Your hinge pins may be severely worn allowing the door to sag. Try opening the door to its fullest and lift the end of thue door. If you feel significant play or can rattle the hinge pin in its sleeve, that’s probably your problem.
He already said the hinge pins are new, and there is no excess play when lifting the door.
Both the door skin and fender off so I have complete access to the hinges.
When I loosen the chassis to hinge bolts I am able to lift the door well beyond where I'd like it however When I tighten the hinge bolts back the door just proceeds to go back to it's original position.
I have read all about adjustment of doors and out of curiosity I took the top hinge off the chassis and noticed there is no room for adjustment. There is no slotted holes nor any way the bracket will be able to rotate.
Any chance the bottom hinge has slotted holes for adjustment? With the door skin and fender off, can you maybe post some photos of what you're seeing/working with.
Your hinge pins may be severely worn allowing the door to sag. Try opening the door to its fullest and lift the end of thue door. If you feel significant play or can rattle the hinge pin in its sleeve, that’s probably your problem.
You can find replacement pins and bushings annd install them. Check the archives under hinge replacement for some threads on how to do it. Alternatively, you could try shimming the lower hinge to rotate the door. Body shims can be found at most auto parts stores or body shop supply stores. Tip: Mark around the hinge mount with a scribe, marker, or pencil before you loosen it to have a reference for aligning the hinge at the proper location. This would make aligning the door simpler.
Hi sorry I forgot to mention that the pins are new and there is zero play in the door when everything is tightened.
Any chance the bottom hinge has slotted holes for adjustment? With the door skin and fender off, can you maybe post some photos of what you're seeing/working with.
This is the bottom hinge. The bolt that comes in from the inside of the car goes through a rectangular cutout into the bracket. The other hole is tight.
I tried again this time tightening the inside bolt first.
It's so strange how there is so much play in the door when the hinges are loose and when I tighten the door in the most upward position it always goes back to its original position. I see no use in loosening the door hinges as the door appears to be oriented at the proper angle in relation to the front fender and rear quarter.
The goal is still to somehow get the door fastened in the position where when the outer door skin sits within 1/2" flush to the front end of the notchback clip. The passenger side requires ever so slight adjustment upward of the door skin to sit perfect where the driver has to be adjusted at the very extreme causing a noticeable height difference at the dew wipe.
I was not expecting this to be any more difficult than supporting the door with a jack, loosen the hinge bolts at the chassis, jack up ever so slightly and tighten the bolts. Perhaps there's something I've missed.
I was not expecting this to be any more difficult than supporting the door with a jack, loosen the hinge bolts at the chassis, jack up ever so slightly and tighten the bolts. Perhaps there's something I've missed.
Of course, I understand that you've done your due diligence, run a search, and not found anyone else here in 25 years who's ever had a problem with door adjustment.
Of course, I understand that you've done your due diligence, run a search, and not found anyone else here in 25 years who's ever had a problem with door adjustment.
Thank you for sharing the link. I think I've seen every post regarding door adjustment. Which information do you feel is helpful in the link you posted? I see mentioning of shims however the information is vague and perhaps I don't understand right away and would appreciate your perspective.
Which information do you feel is helpful in the link you posted?
I realize that not every thread listed was applicable, but I was hoping that among the 38 threads listed, that there would indeed be information that was helpful. I saw the use of shims being mentioned, as well as having to elongate holes to allow more movement of the door. However, It's not my job to inspect each thread that was presented.
How does the door sit when compared to the striker bolt on the frame? Does the striker bolt fall center to the door latch opening?
Good question. I was looking at this yesterday and the striker is pretty much at the bottom of the latch opening so even if I wanted to raise the door if I did the striker May go go below the latch.
Perhaps the car has always been like this or it was in an accident long ago. I found a pic from prior to my ownership probably 2002 and the door is not aligned.
Perhaps I have to live with the lip at the dew wipe and raise the door skin to it's max height. It's better than not having the molding lined up.
[This message has been edited by Matthew_Fiero (edited 08-29-2024).]
Dumb question probably as I've never ventured into the bodywork, but is there any adjustment in the quarter panel there? If the door striker lines up but the door molding doesn't line up with the quarter molding, perhaps it isn't the doors fault?
If the striker is aligned, then the door is aligned to the frame correctly and it is something with the body panels.
As you mentioned, maybe it was in an accident, or something else.
I know on my car the right rear quarter panel for some reason does not sit right. There is a fairly large gap between the panel skin and the metal frame work of the B-pillar. It was always like this (original owner). The outer door skin is adjusted outwards to compensate. Had it all apart in the past (hence the missing rivet in the molding) and didn't see anything obvious.
[This message has been edited by Mickey_Moose (edited 08-31-2024).]
I'm attempting to adjust my driver side door because the rear is sagging and requires me to adjust the outer door skit to it's absolute maximum height to get the molding to line up to the rear quarter panel which looks ridiculous.
Ok, so I read all the responses, and see that you haven't been able to adjust or fix it yet... and that you've done your due diligence on everything, etc. The final solution is literally to "bend" the door frame slightly. This is not abnormal, and it's the "next step" when you've exhausted all other options.
... but for the life of me, I have absolutely no idea how it's used. Basically, it hooks in somewhere, and then you bend the entire door up until you get it to match the alignment that you want. There's probably some YouTube videos on it.
My advice though is that you could also use a floor jack... CAREFULLY, on the underside of the door frame itself, to carefully jack up the door to bend the door frame every so slightly in order to get it to align properly. I don't think it would take much.
Make sure that when you finish adjusting the door, you ALSO adjust the door striker on the other side of the door frame... otherwise you'll be forcing the door back into misalignment.
My advice though is that you could also use a floor jack... CAREFULLY, on the underside of the door frame itself, to carefully jack up the door to bend the door frame every so slightly in order to get it to align properly. I don't think it would take much.
I did this. I am pretty sure it's not bending the door but the hinges. You have to bend about an inch past where you want the rub strip and then when you let the door down it settles back to where it should be, but start maybe half inch past and go from there.
I tried everything from changing pins, bushings, hinges, et al. It would never go back up to where it was when I originally got it 15 years ago. Think the hinges just can sag with age. It looks great now, but still doesn't close as nicely as a new door, but I think that's due to the latch wearing as well.
