Hey everyone

So I repainte my car probably 4 years ago and everything has been fine until yesterday. I was out in the garage putting the interior back in and noticed the front of my passanger door seems to be sagging and actually rubbing on the ground effects on the front. I dont remember there being any adjustment when I had the car out but could be wrong. Any ideas on how to get the front of the door up??

Thanks

 

Lift up and down on the door and to see if there is movement in the pins/bushings and replace if that is where the play is.

 

There is no play in the pins and I'm pretty sure I replaced them when I did the body work. Thanks for the idea. Any chance the hinges are slotted for adjustment?

 

The hinges aren't slotted, but they bolt into a metal plate behind the A pillar and the holes the bolts pass through are about 3/4" square to provide adjustment. Just loosen all 6 bolts a bit and you should be able to move the door around enough.

 

Of the 3 bolts per hinge only 2 are adjustable and the third isn't (damn engineers). To get a full up/down/fore/aft range of adjustment you have to drill out the non adjusting bolt hole to a larger size. Unfortunately the door should be removed for this job.

 

If the hinge pins/bushings aren't the culprit and the door is at max adjustment you can try a door alignment tool.
http://www.top-downsolutions.com/ez-...alignment-tool
This is the last effort for most people because after this you would have to replace the welded on hinge or start slotting holes. The real problem is either bent hinges from decades of holding up a heavy door or a body that is twisted slightly now.

 

Believe it or not, the dealer told me that the GM "fix" is to bend the door back into alignment.

 

Working on an 86, this car has never been hit and the quarters are factory. The door gap at the pass side rear to quarter is even but wide enough to see inside. I had to move it back at least 1/8" but the only way to move that much was to enlarge the non adjusting holes in the hinges. Bending and tweaking may be fine for minor adjustments but don't think you could move the door straight back just by trying to bend the hinges.

 

Im having basically the same problem. Both of my doors on my 92 rs are rubbing on the ground fx making it hard to open/close the doors and scraping the ground fx making it look crappy.

 

I agree with the back and forth.
Those doors are HEAVY.
The slightest amount of play in the hinge pin bushings can create a large drop at the opposite end of the door. There is a replacement kit available with zerk fittings, but it is about $100 per door.

 

If you do end up replacing the pins don't use the cheap Dorman type. The busing in the Dorman has too much slop. Sucks but buy good ones from top down solutions. They are not cheap but they are made right. Also, my passenger door is snug when it is open but close the door it has slop. I can move my door by reaching in and lifting up on it. Opens and closes perfect but the bushing is worn and when I drive down the road with window down the door bounces. Close the window and it is fine. When I replace the pins and bushings it will be from TDS. http://www.top-downsolutions.com/ The person that owns TDS is a member and moderator here. Lonsal is his name on here.

 

I agree with the recommendations both for the hinge kits or door alignment tool. Unfortunately you won't know whether your door hinges have bent due to age and the long heavy doors or if it is due to the worn hinge pins and bushings. I would recommend using a quality kit. When you are ready to tackle the project contact me. I can help with both the parts and recommendations that will save you some frustration. It is not an easy job.

Lon Salgren

 

so, is it possible that the hinge itself is bent? or is it just the pin and bushing that goes bad? and would you recommend trying the door alignment tool before replacing the pin and bushings?

 

It is essy to diagnose if your hinge pins and brushing need replacement, just lift the end of the opened door and see if there is movement. If so, tackle this repair first before working on the door alignment issue. Don't try fixing the alignment without addressing the condition of the hinge pins and bushings first. You would just be putting a bandaid on it.

Lon Salgren