Hi everybody,
Here's the million dollar question. My passenger side door is sagging.....almost 1/2 inch, but not enough to scrape the rocker panel. But, the tricky part is that it's not sagging from the the end of the door that has the door lock, it's sagging from the end that has the hinge. Has anyone seen this before???? Is it possible that my screws screwing the hinge to the body have come loose and simply need tightening and elevating???? Thank you for the help!!!!!!




Jon

 

The hinge bushings are wore out. Common problem, $200 for uppers & lowers, both sides.

http://www.top-downsolutions.com

 

Only 1/2 inch.... my god your in luck that's a good door!

No just get a hinge rebuild kit and you will be good. I have had a pin break and the door was useless.

 

agree bad hinges/pins

 

yuppo. repair it asap

 

I'd really like to see a picture of this problem.

 

As far as the picture is concerned, I will try, but can't garantee anything. And as far as the problem is concerned, I have to say that unfortunately I am still confused. EVerybpdy seems to have different opinions....between hinges, pins, bushings. I hope I wont have to buy everything. Working on a budget here.

 

I am a little confused too, thats why I was hoping for a pic.

 

OK, I WILL TRY TO GET THEM TOMORROW.

 

here are the pictures taken today. hope that helps

 

When the oil change place put your car up on the hoist they crushed the bottom of your fender. That pushed your fender up. Look how the bodyside moulding doesn't line up. Get down and look under there ... you'll see.

Actually I may be confusing you with another guy who just had his oil changed but the same condition still applies.

 

After looking at your pics that's what my door had looked like on my last Camaro. I got LUCKY...the door was just misaligned (Not so lucky on this car, I had to replace the pins/bushings). Before you go and buy parts open the door and lift on the back of it (where the lock is). Does the door move up and down? Pay attention to the upper and lower hinges when you do this (it's easier with another person doing the lifting while you watch the hinges). Do the PINS or BUSHINGS move/shift? If Not, you may just have to loosen the bolts connecting it to the body and Re-Align the door. If they do move/shift, you're gonna want to talk to Lon at TDS about the repair kit(s).

 

here more pics...

 

wow, Jason, thanks for the info. I will check tomorrow for any movement in the pins. But when you say bushings, what do you mean??? I dont remember seeing them there. It just seems to be a pin going through a hinge, without anything made of rubber there.

 

The Bushing are Copper which is why you don't see any rubber..lol. From the latest pics I can't really tell if your lower hinge has the bushing in the bottom half or not. (When your car was repainted they painted the hinges, pins, and bushings) In the 1st pic you posted at 11:17 you can see the bushing just above the Top Half of the Lower Hinge. Where the pin goes into the Lower Half of the Lower Hinge is where I can't tell if all the bushing is there or not. (you should see a "lip" either on the top or bottom of that hole depending on if the bushing has been replaced and if the person who did replace it did it right. If the bushing is there and was installed correctly you should see the "lip" on top)

 

Take another picture for me. Under the gfx at the point where the fender bolts on at the bottom. I want to know if the flange on your car bent in or out when they jacked it up.

 

how do you know wether its bent at all???? I'll try to have that done by tomorrow

 

I know because I've been working in a Pontiac Buick and GMC dealer bodyshop since third gens were brand new cars and I've seen your problem before. I do admit there is a slight chance I could be wrong. From your pics it looks like all your pins and bushing need is a little grease. It's a little hard to tell from a pic but they look pretty good.
Hey I'm just a guy trying to help you make your car better and keep you from spending your hard earned money on problems that may not even be there.

Nice color btw. I like that yellow. Do you have a whole car pic? Oh crap there I go asking you for another pic!!!!

 

I would also say its your fender. Look at where I circled on your picture. YOu can see the GFX is off a bit.

 

Thanx 1piece@atime for the valuable info and the help. But here's a little update. Some people posted that I should lift the door when it's opened to see if there is any play. I've done that....and no play at all. So that tells me that either the door or the fender is not alined properly. As far as the door is concerned, the 3 bolts holding down the hinge to the body....are those adjustable or or straight screw in with no adjustments??????
Thanks GroundRAt for your info as well. But if you are right about the fender having shifter, then where would be the adjustment? I should point out that the fender is perfectly lined up with the front bumper and the hood. Also, considering that gravity goes down, then why would the fender shift upwards? I can see more the door, with its heavy weight and movement, being prone to shift downwards. And I wrong for thinking this????

BTW, 1PIECE@ATIME, here's the whole car picture you requested. Let me know what you think.

 

here's another picture...

 

My first question was going to be how does the hood line up to the fender, but if they are even on top, then your fender should be fine. Yes, the door is adjustable at those 3 bolts. The bolts themselves do not move. The holes for them in the hinge itself are oversized for the bolts to provide the adjustment. They are basically big squares. You will have to loosen all the bolts on both hinges to be able to adjust the door. IIRC, to access the bolts on the bottom hinge, you have to take out the kick panel under the dash. Just loosen the bottom bolts a tiny bit, you don't really want them to move much based on your pics. The top ones you'll want to have 2 pretty loose and 1 slightly loose. That way, once you think you have the door in position, you can tighten that one bolt to hold it in place while you check the alignment. It's best to have a friend there to help you since the doors are so long and heavy. I did mine solo though, so it can be done. You can buy a special tool to help align the door, and I'm sure it helps but its not required.

 

Nice car ... good luck with your problem.

 

Look under the car at the fender behind the wheel right in front of the door. This is usually where it gets jacked up improperly. It will force the lower part of the fender up and baloon out the middle. Exactly what you are showing here. I had this problem on both my camaros.