My door alignment seems pretty bad

[krs09]

this has been a looming issue since I got the car 2yrs ago. My door gaps are huge, both doors seem to sit much higher than my t panel and I don't know what to do. I don't think I'd mind too much but it looks like shit and every time I open the passenger door with the driver door open there is a loud pop noise ( t panel being rubbed and bent every time I open the door, and has caused a crease in the metal.. Ugh.) I thought for a while maybe my doors were bent entirely but now I'm starting to realize maybe the po took the doors off and did a shitty job of putting them back ( the door harness for both doors has been completely cut and soldered back together shittily I might add.) What can I do. I'm terrified to take the torsion bars off but I don't think I have a choice. Is it even fixable?34487344883448934490

[DMCMW Dave]

Your lower door alignment looks pretty good based on the crease just above the rubstrip. If the inner seals are sealing at the top, and the doors work well, it's more likely that you need to shim the roof stainless and adjust the black header to align with the doors. The mount holes in the header are slotted to allow for this. The roof panel is shimmed with mounting tape and the screw holes at the back are also slotted. Everything is adjustable. If the doors are working well and sealing, they are the last thing you want to adjust.

[DMCVegas]

I don't mean to question you Dave, as you've got a lot more experience than I have. Shimming the T-Panel makes sense for the tops of the doors, but that door alignment against both the A Pillar and the top of the windshield just doesn't look right. That looks like the kind of early production misalignment that came from installing the doors last to align with the body panels, instead of first to ensure a proper seal with the underbody. It'll also whistle rather loudly.

What would be the solution for that?

[DMCMW Dave]

The top of the windshield is adjustable. Bad fit at the a-pillars is either a bent or very early door, or hinges that are improperly shimmed. The danger with messing with the hinges is that you may end up with a door that doesn't fir the opening anymore.

[David T]

To move the doors "down" to get them closer to the height of the top of the windscreen means taking shims out from the hinges (if there are any!). That will mess up the bottom of the door, it looks like the bottom lines up reasonably well. Sometimes you have to be satisfied with the best you can do.

[Citizen]

Could it be that the actual doors are just fine, but it is the top of the car (tub) that has sank down a bit?

Sorry if this is silly, as I admit door alignment is something I know little about. But the pictures of the lower door alignment look good to me too, just as Dave pointed out, and I have heard that the top can sink down over time.

Thomas

...

[krs09]

The top of the windshield is adjustable. Bad fit at the a-pillars is either a bent or very early door, or hinges that are improperly shimmed. The danger with messing with the hinges is that you may end up with a door that doesn't fir the opening anymore.

I did adjust the windshield header and the back of the t panel and it does look a lot better, they were all in the lowest position, now their at the highest. I will add some of that mounting tape it shim the under side of the t panel and I think that will really help the center off the roof. But the a pillars are a problem, I can almost squeeze my pinkey in the seam at the corners. It weird too because the top of the door seems to pop out a touch and the lower half of the door is closer to the body when it's closed. Almost like I have move the top half of the door closer to the body and back away on the lower side just a shade.... I checked the door hinges and have no shims at all. Is there any pics of shimed hinges so I can see what I'm looking for?

[Gary]

I'm with Thomas with this one. Has the windshield ever been replaced? I was told by Toby at PNWDC that the windshield is structural. (the glass actually holds up the doors!) It looks to me the entire top part has sunk. Check the hinges at the front of the doors where the two bolts go into the door. You will notice the hinges looks crooked. (they should have been somewhat lined up with the inner door profiles) If this be the case, the front hinges have been pushing down on the upper windshield frame via the torsion bars. This may be a job for the professionals. If the windshield has been replaced or it has pulled away from the frame surround at any point it needs to be re-bonded back in. Regular glass bead sealer will not work on our cars.

It looks like a tough one.

[dn010]

Did you ever find a solution to your A-Pillar gap? The gaps seem fine on my driver's side door but the passenger side has huge gap at the A-pillar & on the rear side where the bolster is to the point weather stripping is pointless. Top of the door and bottom of the door are perfect, it seals fine with the inner door seal and closes without any trouble but those damn gaps are irritating me!

[krs09]

Did you ever find a solution to your A-Pillar gap? The gaps seem fine on my driver's side door but the passenger side has huge gap at the A-pillar & on the rear side where the bolster is to the point weather stripping is pointless. Top of the door and bottom of the door are perfect, it seals fine with the inner door seal and closes without any trouble but those damn gaps are irritating me!

Well, after my adjustments the doors now open and close with no noise and look MUCH better, not perfect but better. I'd have to see a pic to see how bad yours is. I know the feeling those gaps drove me crazy.

[mluder]

Did you ever find a solution to your A-Pillar gap? The gaps seem fine on my driver's side door but the passenger side has huge gap at the A-pillar & on the rear side where the bolster is to the point weather stripping is pointless. Top of the door and bottom of the door are perfect, it seals fine with the inner door seal and closes without any trouble but those damn gaps are irritating me!

You're probably dealing with the same problem I have... A door that has "tacoed" or as in my case appears to have taken a hit. Best guess on mine is that the previous owner was driving into a garage with the door open and caught the leading edge of the door on the garage door jamb. This caused the door to deform along the A pillar because the trailing edge lines up perfectly when closed but the front is way off. I have to split the difference between the gap at the pillar and the molding lines. Drives me crazy but most people can't even see it.

Doesn't really help you but might offer an explanation. One day I may replace my door but it's a lot of work and I'm concerned the stainless won't match.

Cheers
Steven

[dn010]

Thanks guys for the posts. Photos of my door's gaps are posted below. It is very possible that my doors are both warped from previous owners, my passenger side door is damaged anyway (accidentally ran over a large flat rock which proceeded to fly up and dent the passenger door) so I guess a replacement will be necessary eventually. I know that it looks* like the front of the door can be adjusted inward to close the gap but I'm already full tilt on the pin. The only other thing I can think of is either shim the windshield trim (which would probably not be a good idea since there is such little room for the outer weather strip to begin with) or mess with the door adjustment at the hinge - I'd hate to do that because it is perfect on the roof and sill. Both my doors were messed with at the hinge prior to my ownership!

http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=39520&d=1454613155
http://dmctalk.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=39521&d=1454613159

And yes, my windshield trim is not painted. :D

[jerrysony]

Hello Everyone. I don´t know if this issue has already been resolved, but my left side door won´t close properly. It takes a lot of muscle to make it close and still looks like if it didn´t close all the way from the back. From the front, it has a gap that makes bigger as it goes down. I´ve tried a lot of strikers combinations (and even without them) and the result is the same. You can also see that it forms a triangle at the lower part. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.
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[dn010]

Open the door. Take a picture of your roof cage.

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[jerrysony]

Here are some pics.
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160712/7603bb8703370f08613639c8ab021129.jpghttp://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160712/1101bd41fdeaf32faad4c966864345c0.jpghttp://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160712/068c0d8ad3bb20f5351b6990b750648e.jpghttp://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160712/1b1db01f80b83346fb91c3a90e1a771f.jpg

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