Just wondering if there's a way to adjust, or align the doors on our thirdgens. I'm pretty sure there is, so I guess what I'm asking is how do I do it? Should I replace these bushings that I keep hearing about? Thanx for any help.

 

That is kinda hard to answer. The door will be impossible to align perfectly if the hinge pin bushings are bad, because the door will sag down. If your door isn't sagging, you can adjust your door by loosening the upper and lower hinge bolts and slide it to where it needs to go. You'll need a friend to help you with this though.

 

i just did it to my right side door.it helps A LOT if you use a car jack.put a towel on the lifting surface as to not scratch the paint.Then lift the jack till it just touches the bottom center of the door.then loosen the top and bottom bolts,and jack the door to the desired height,then re-tighten.It may take a few trys,but it worked for me.You'll want to do it with the door as shut a possible,but still open enough you car get a wrench in to loosen the bolts(this makes it easier to lift the door.)

 

Thanx for the help guys. How will I know if the bushings are bad? Will there be an excessive amount of play in them? Thanx

 

the way i test my doors for bad bushings is simple open it fully then go to the end of it and simple try and gently move it up and down.. it should hardly have any movement.

 

Thanx a bunch. I'll go out and "play" later.

 

Wow, really old thread.

Anyways, my driver's door, besides sagging (don't feel any important need to fix it at this time if it's only going to happen again in a short while), needing weatherstripping (bad..really bad), has a 1/8" gap between the outer panel of the door and and quarter panel at the hinge area. It's like it's closed too far inwards towards the center of the body. Is there any way to fix this?

 

I know someone here has had to do this at one time or another... How can I move the latch portion of the door out a measly 1/8 inch?

 

If your bushings/Pin on the bottom are worn, it will be very difficult to line up the door. They are only about $15 bucks at any auto parts store, so I would recommend swapping them out.

If the front of your door is too far inwards from the fender, first check the flange under the fender rear lip that bolts to the body (under the car). If you bottom out on something and smash these things, it often tweaks the bottom of the fender out. Just get some vise grips or something and tweak it back until it aligns better.

If that isn't it, you need shims between your door hinges and the body. You will have to remove the inside kick panel to loosen the bolts. Check a junkyard car to see what they look like (C-shaped, so you don't have to remove the bolts completely)

Good luck

Troy
So Cal

 

It's not the HINGE end that's off, it's the LATCH end...

Imagine this: Door -_ quarter panel. The - is the door and the _ is the quarter panel. Any questions class?

 

https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...hreadid=218651

 

YES, I need new bushings. NO, that IS NOT the problem. All of the gaps are FINE. The problem is that the door SHUTS TOO FAR TOWARDS THE CENTER OF THE BODY. Viewing from the top, again: Door -L QUARTER PANEL! Not FRONT FENDER, QUARTER PANEL!

Would a new set of weatherstripping help this? Mine is like, well, GONE.

 

I installed new weatherstripping on my '86 and the door rattle stopped. The weatherstrip is the only thing that keeps the door tight against the striker. I believe new weather stripping would help a lot in you situation.

 

how can you get the bolts for the top hinge replaced? Do you have to grind away Im assuming and replace? what is the best way because my top hinge has a LOT of slop. The bottom has some slop but i tried changing the bushings and the pin is stuck, really stuck.

 

http://www.andyz28.com/3rdGen/installation.html