 | Home > Maintenance & Modifications > Front door alignment question |
 
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| AndyTunn Member Since: 10 Jan 2015 Location: Auckland Posts: 313   
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The driver side door on my D90 is out of alignment as the following photo of the two doors shows...
 Click image to enlarge It's not a biggie - only 4 or 5mm and Land Rovers are hardly renowned for their fit and finish - but it bugs me, especially as the passenger side is spot on. Is fixing this issue as simple as loosening the door hinges and re-tightening them with the door in the correct position? And if so, are the hinges bolted into captive nuts / threaded holes or do I have to dismantle the interior of the car? Admin note: this post has had its images recovered from a money grabbing photo hosting site and reinstated  |
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28th Jul 2015 11:37pm |
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| K9F Member Since: 12 Nov 2009 Location: Bournemouth Posts: 9610  
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The hinges where they attach to the pillar the bolts have captive nuts. On the door itself you will need if necessary to remove the doorcard. You can potentially be opening a proverbial can of worms. Adjustment is possible but be careful and don't 'force' the bolts. If you go through life with your head in the sand....all people will see is an ar5e!!
Treat every day as if it is your last....one day you will be right!! |
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29th Jul 2015 8:56am |
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| AndyTunn Member Since: 10 Jan 2015 Location: Auckland Posts: 313
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Thanks for the info K9F. In your opinion which is more likely to be the can of worms - the pillar or the door?
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29th Jul 2015 9:47am |
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| Likeomg Member Since: 29 Jun 2012 Location: Lake District / Newcastle Posts: 2627 
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after mine returned from the bodyshop having its windscreen surround changed the passenger side door now doesn't close properly, rubs on the bottom every time
gonna have to try and sort it.... door card off and adjust from inside is best? |
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29th Jul 2015 10:18am |
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| K9F Member Since: 12 Nov 2009 Location: Bournemouth Posts: 9610
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The pillar is the problematic area. Too much force will get the captive nut spinning if it breaks free from the retaining clips and you can then neither tighten or loosen it.
Thread below will give you a better idea of exactly what you're dealing with and how to align the door with help and the window wound down! 
http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic37271.html?highlight=grinder If you go through life with your head in the sand....all people will see is an ar5e!! Treat every day as if it is your last....one day you will be right!! |
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29th Jul 2015 10:24am |
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| AndyTunn Member Since: 10 Jan 2015 Location: Auckland Posts: 313
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Thanks for the link - that's a bit scary!
I think I'll start with the door side of the hinges and if I can't sort it out that way I'll just live with it! |
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29th Jul 2015 10:43am |
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| I Like Old Skool Member Since: 23 Feb 2015 Location: Manchester Posts: 772 
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I recently fitted series doors to my 1994 Defender. Most of the adjustment is in the door pillar fixing and the captive nuts are not fixed so should move with the hinge. IMO no need to remove door card or touch the door hinge bolts at all for such a small tweak. Do one hinge at a time, a couple of mm at the bottom hinge then tighten that before nudging the top hinge a little. Also don't forget to check striker plate alignment once finished. If you push the door closed gently you may see that the lock alignment is lifting or pulling the door down a touch. If this happens move the striker in the appropriate direction, the door lock strike should be a neutral movement with neither lift or drop due to the positioning.
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29th Jul 2015 11:11am |
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| I Like Old Skool Member Since: 23 Feb 2015 Location: Manchester Posts: 772
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Just read that link to the seized bolt thread (see what happened there?
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Stainless should be avoided IMO unless you use normal nickel plated nuts on stainless bolts and plenty of grease. Have had personal experience of stainless fixings locking solid with very little encouragement so now don't bother with them. |
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29th Jul 2015 11:17am |
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| jimbob7 Member Since: 06 Jul 2013 Location: uk Posts: 2055 |
Don't need to adjust doors,it's the striker plate that needs adjusting. Pov.spec,ftw. 2006, 110,TD5.
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29th Jul 2015 11:23am |
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| theorangebandit Member Since: 03 Jun 2013 Location: Stowmarket Posts: 862 |
Very little adjustment can be had from the door side of the hinge as those holes are almost the correct size for the bolts. Adjustment is made on. The pillar,but adjusting a defender door takes rage filled practice.
My best advice is this, if its not catching then leave it well alone. Pumas also tend to be painted over the hinges, so its likely that after adjustment you'll have a bare metal exposed from where the hinges used to be. |
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29th Jul 2015 11:24am |
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| blackwolf Member Since: 03 Nov 2009 Location: South West England Posts: 16943 
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I think you should find that you can get all the adjustment you need on the pillar.
The nuts on the door can usually be held using a slim open-ended spanner without having to remove the door card. Not long ago I swapped out some worn hinges on mine (thanks K9F ) without disturbing the door cards at all.
As noted above the doors are not properly painted under the hinges, although from what I have seen I don't think that this is because they are painted after the hinges are on. There is some paint under the hinge, but theres also a bare patch in the centre of the hinge, and my personal view is that this is probably because the door is held in a jig for painting and the jig picks up the door using the hinge bolt holes. It is I think unlikely that in the scope of normal adjustment you will uncover unpainted door, but it is just possible (no two Landrovers are alike, after all). Once you have adjusted the door position via the hinges you may need to adjust the striker on the B post to make the door shut reliably in its new position. The striker moves easily (and considerably) when slakened, but if it needs moving out from the pillar (unlikely I feel in your case) this is done with shims between the pillar and the striker. |
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29th Jul 2015 11:34am |
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| nidge n Member Since: 04 Feb 2012 Location: Cheshire Posts: 718 
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x2 i did mine that way, should pull up the margin your looking for. good luck |
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29th Jul 2015 1:51pm |
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| Windowlicker Member Since: 24 Aug 2014 Location: East yorks Posts: 290
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I recently adjusted mine as when I fitted the roof rack the front leg mounts were too close to my door tops.
Simple enough , just undo the A post side of the hinges , just crack the bolts off and you will be surprised how much lash there is in the holes, loads of adjustment available. You can either lift the door vertically/squarely , or simply diagonalise it , if that makes sense. Then adjust the striker plate. I wouldn't use the striker plate to adjust where the door sits as it will just bind upon closing and mean you have to slam the door to shut it, as it effectively creates a ramp the door has to run up. I spent a stupid amount of time after adjusting my door , adjusting the plate so the door glided shut with minimal pressure, even making a nylon shim to go behind to move the tapered section outboard as I could feel it binding when gently closing the door. Might be easier lifting the whole door beyond where you want it , lightly nip the hinge bolts then just push down on the door handle to align., leave the striker plate loose so it isn't stopping on it, then fine tune the plate when the door hinge bolts are nipped. My ten penneth worth anyway 
Edit to add , loosen the striker plate first to see if it having any impact on the resting place of the door , if the door ends up in a different place when shut this may be the , or part of the problem, if it makes no difference then do as I mentioned above, then position plate to suit. "Procrastination is the thief of time" |
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29th Jul 2015 3:35pm |
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| AndyTunn Member Since: 10 Jan 2015 Location: Auckland Posts: 313
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Thanks for all the info. I noticed today that the bottom of the door is catching ever so slightly on the aluminium sill protector, so I definitely need to do something to raise the door a bit. As best as I can tell (by squinting through the gap as I close the door) the striker plate isn't causing the problem.
I'll have a better look at the weekend and let you know... |
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31st Jul 2015 2:54am |
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