Door Alignment

[steve6864]

My drivers side door is suddenly way out of alignment.It was left open for 2 weeks in a garage while waiting on a part.(Not by me)Drove it home with no problem,but,the shop re-ran the door lock rods wrong so I had it open for a day fixing that and putting the panels back on.Went to close the door when finished and it is forward slightly with a gap in the front big enough to put my pinky thru.It will not engage the door/courtesy switch.Had to unplug.Any thoughts?The torsion does not seem to be any less than ever,springs right up.6864.

[DMC3165]

Try adjusting your striker pins. Periodically they will need to be adjusted. I think it may have to do with the tension on the doors slightly changing over time. Also the temperature changes from summer to winter can throw it off slightly. You also may want to check your roof to see if it has rusted or rotted anywhere. Once that starts to happen it wreaks havoc on the door alignment and the torsion bar tension.

It's a tedious process to adjust the striker pins but if you don't see anything else wrong try that first.

[TTait]

A sudden and dramatic change in door alignment can be a sign of a busted hinge. Check them carefully.

[David T]

Once you get the anchor pins (striker pins) set right, they should never need to be readjusted. The tension of the torsion bars changes very little over time or from temperature. The main variable is the strut. The gas inside is sensitive to temperature changes and they lose pressure out the seals over time. If the doors do not close nicely and you are banging and forcing them, you WILL need to constantly readjust the lock mechanism and the anchor pins because you are bending and moving the parts. Properly set up you can close the doors with one finger. As TTait said, a sudden large change usually means something went bad (and it's not an adjustment!).
David Teitelbaum