Driver door does not open fully

[rickjames8]

I always sorta duck as I get out of my car. I just figured that's how the doors were. Then I was installing a speaker on the passenger side today and as I opened the passenger door, I noticed how nice and tall it opens - no ducking needed. The passenger door opens 4" higher than the drivers. With both doors open, this is very noticeable.

Neither door goes up fully on it's own. They both go to a halfway point and I need to push them the rest of the way. I have brand new Stabilius struts (from Hervey) installed and I figured a torsion bar setting was in order at some point. Once I push them fully open, they do stay up.

What's stopping the driver door from going any further is the strut being at full extension. I've measured both struts and they seem to open up the exact same amount.

I can't immediately see a fix for this, as it looks like there is no adjustment where the struts attach. Other than moving the door closer to the outside of the car (and I've read bad things about messing with the door mounts) I can't see how I could fix this. Besides, when the doors are closed, they look pretty even. Unless I were to get a strut that was 1/2" longer on full extension?

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-Rick

[Drive Stainless]

Measure from the strut ball stud to the rear door hinge on both sides and compare. I'll bet that your driver's door bracket is further away. You can be sure that those factory workers were putting these cars together with the help of Mr. Jameson.

I had the same problem, see here:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10103081538613804&set=gm.10150916856852382&type=3&theater


My solution was to buy these from DPI:
http://www.deloreanindustries.com/lower-door-strut-reinforcement-bracket-kit-stainless/

Then cut off the nut from the driver-side bracket and move it 1/2" closer toward the centerline of the car and re-weld it. Problem solved!

[dmcnc]

Seems to me your struts are also not set to your current torsion bar setting. I had that same issue with stabilus struts - some of them were too weak (opened 2/3 of the way), others slammed the doors at the top. My options were either tighten the torsion bar settings or try different struts. PJ Grady's struts solved the issue. It would be good if you shared pictures of the metal bolster where your strut anchors to the car. Maybe its bent?

[powerline84]

take your rear finisher off or put a flashlight up to it and have a buddy open your door an watch for movement, worst case scenario you may have a roof box starting to separate. Definitely worth atleast checking if you haven't already.

Jimmy

[mluder]

Do not adjust your torsion bars... If you open the doors and they don't go all the way up but will go up and stay up with manual help then your torsion bars are fine and your struts are not. In other words, once you lift it open by hand - if it stays up your struts are bad.

Next test. Remove both struts and set them side by side on the bench to make sure they are both the same length. I put some of John's struts on my hood and they were much shorter than the original ones I removed. It's possible he accidentally sent you two different lengths. If they are the same length then, as previously mentioned, you are enjoying the quirk of a hand built car OR the roof box has come unglued. As I understand it, it's not uncommon for one door to open less than another. Mine does and I know my roof box is tight because I screwed it down myself.

Long story short... too many times perfectly good cars are damaged by immediately adjusting the torsion bars. Do it only as a last resort if absolutely necessary.

Cheers
Steven

[DMC5180]

Bent lower ball stud plate and incorrect lower mount positioning (hand built) underbody drilling fixture(s) is the reason for the irregular door heights at full extension. My car has the same geometry issue.

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[Josh]

As mentioned look into the strut mount position and length of the strut.

I highly doubt it is a roof box issue, and even more so a torsion bar issue.

[rickjames8]

Measure from the strut ball stud to the rear door hinge on both sides and compare. I'll bet that your driver's door bracket is further away. You can be sure that those factory workers were putting these cars together with the help of Mr. Jameson.

My solution was to buy these from DPI:
http://www.deloreanindustries.com/lower-door-strut-reinforcement-bracket-kit-stainless/ Problem solved!

Matt- thanks for the advice. I think I will order those parts, but put it on the back burner. It's only really bothered me since I noticed the passenger one.


Seems to me your struts are also not set to your current torsion bar setting. I had that same issue with stabilus struts - some of them were too weak (opened 2/3 of the way), others slammed the doors at the top. My options were either tighten the torsion bar settings or try different struts. PJ Grady's struts solved the issue. It would be good if you shared pictures of the metal bolster where your strut anchors to the car. Maybe its bent?

I stumbled across another thread here: http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?9498-New-door-struts-black-and-stainless-Anyone-interested&p=154168&viewfull=1#post154168 where in the last paragraph, this guy suggests that his research leads him to believe that at the price Hervey sells them at, they can't be genuine. So it's possible my new struts are not doing the trick.

The lower metal anchor indeed points out a little bit. I could go with the fix above, or with the Jeremy Clarkson idea of a hammer fixes everything....


Do not adjust your torsion bars... If you open the doors and they don't go all the way up but will go up and stay up with manual help then your torsion bars are fine and your struts are not. In other words, once you lift it open by hand - if it stays up your struts are bad.

Good to know. I'll keep the bars where they are!


Next test. Remove both struts and set them side by side on the bench to make sure they are both the same length.


I pushed the doors both to their full extension and measured, and both came to the same length, to the millimeter, so I'm confident they're the same.

So I think the takeaway here is:
1. Dont touch the bars.
2. Get 'real' struts.
3. Get mending plates, or;
4. Enjoy the quirk of a handcrafted auto.

Thanks!!

[Josh]

4. Enjoy the quirk of a handcrafted auto.


At some point, you realize this is a requirement, not an option.
LOL

[Jonathan]

Bent lower ball stud plate and incorrect lower mount positioning (hand built) underbody drilling fixture(s) is the reason for the irregular door heights at full extension. My car has the same geometry issue.

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Out of curiosity, is there a fix for when one of these door strut lower ball studs is pointed oddly? My own driver's door has a bit of this going on where instead of it pointing directly forward, it points a bit down and a bit towards the side of the car. I have had both of my doors want to scrap up against the plastic surrounding the striker pin instead of gliding past it, almost like the rear of the door is being pulled back a bit as it closes. I saw my ball stud anchor pointing cocked eyed like described and wondered if this was what was causing the door not to close nicely. My doors clunk more than close smoothly and have for about as long as I've had the car (since 2007).

[dn010]

You mean like post 14 here?
http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?13310-Door-bracket-from-Heninger-and-Associates-Inc/page2

If so, the fix is to purchase new brackets that this stud screws into. Although Matt posted link to them in the second post here through DPI, I got mine from Rob Grady, amazing how bad the original ones were.


Out of curiosity, is there a fix for when one of these door strut lower ball studs is pointed oddly? My own driver's door has a bit of this going on
where instead of it pointing directly forward, it points a bit down and a bit towards the side of the car. I have had both of my doors want to scrap up against the plastic surrounding the striker pin instead of gliding past it, almost like the rear of the door is being pulled back a bit as it closes. I saw my ball stud anchor pointing cocked eyed like described and wondered if this was what was causing the door not to close nicely. My doors clunk more than close smoothly and have for about as long as I've had the car (since 2007).

[Jonathan]

You mean like post 14 here?
http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?13310-Door-bracket-from-Heninger-and-Associates-Inc/page2

If so, the fix is to purchase new brackets that this stud screws into. Although Matt posted link to them in the second post here through DPI, I got mine from Rob Grady, amazing how bad the original ones were.

Thanks for the link. I don't think I saw that thread originally.

I looked at the Byrne/Henninger brackets link as well but it's NLA as I think they retired. Besides the cost, the ones that go in the originally intended location seem better to me anyway.

I'll have to have a closer look at mine and see about how bad the fiberglas damage is (or isn't perhaps). Then give Rob or Josh a call about how to get one of those kits sent north over the border.

[dn010]

Even as bad as they were in my photo, the fiberglass was not injured. I did cause some slight damage to the infill panels that need to have the rivets drilled out but luckily it was nothing major.


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[Elvis]

We ordered a bunch of sets from Hervey and they are fantastic !


Nobody here suggested to test the torsion bars - these cars are >35 years old,
who knows what was done in the past ?


As posted sooo often - the doors without struts have to open the doors 2-4 inches
just by the torsion bars.
As you already have/had the struts off - you can test it in a few seconds and then
you are sure that the bars are set correctly or not.