Door Sag

[sunrise]

Just finished getting rid of all the dash rattles. PIA. But what a difference!!! Like a new car. On to the doors. 1st problem is that the driver’s door is beginning to hit the striker. Time for a new hinge? I would rather not if I don't have to as it would mess up the paint. I would guess the door has dropped about 1/8 inch, just enough to rub on the top of the striker. Starting to see a bit of wear on the top of the striker. Is there a pin and bushing available? I am not sure about trying to install them without taking off the doors in which case I might as well put on new hinges. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Ken]

Welcome To The Corvette Action Center sunrise!

I've never attacked this issue Sun, but in case you don't have a service manual handy, I'll type in the steps to adjust the striker.

ADJUSTMENTS
Door Lock Striker

The door lock striker consists of a single metal bolt and washer assembly that is threaded into a tapped, floating cage plate located in the body lock pillar. With htis design, the door is secured in the closed position when the door lock fork-bolt snaps over and engages the striker bolt.

1. To adjust striker up or down, in or out, loosen striker bolt and shift striker as required, and then tighten striker.
   
2. To determine if striker fore or aft adjustment is required, proceed as folows:

1. 
   a. Make certain door is properly aligned.
   
   b. Apply modeling clay or body caulking compound to lock bolt opening.
   
   c. Close door only as far as necessary for striker bolt to form an impression. Complete door closing will make clay removal very difficult.
   
   d. Measure striker impression as follows: Striker head should be centered fore and aft, however, some tolerances are allowed. In this alignment, it is important that minimum dimensions as outlined (3/32" minimum) be strictly maintained. The following spacers are available as service parts and can be used individually or in combination to achieve the specified alignment:
   
   5/64" spacer
   5/32" spacer
   1/4" spacer
   5/16" spacer
   
   If check indicates need for spacers, proceed as follows:
   
2. Mark position of striker on body lock pillar using a pencil.
   
3. Insert J-23457 wrench into head of striker bolt and remove striker.
   
4. To install, reverse removal procedure. Make certain striker is positioned within pencil mark.

Whenever a door has been removed and reinstalled or realigned, the door should not be closed completely until a visual check is made to determine if lock fork-bolt is correctly engaging with striker.


DOOR HINGES
Removal

1. Raise hood.
   
2. Disconnect battery ground cable.
   
3. If entire door is to be removed, support the door at the floor and disconnect wiring necessary to remove door from vehicle.
   
4. Open door. If hinge is to be replaced in same position, scribe mark about hinge.
   
5. Remove three (3) hinge-to-hinge pillar attaching bolts. Then remove three (3) hinge-to-door attaching bolts.
   
6. To remove lower hinge, the fender must first be removed to gain access to attaching bolts.

Installation

1. Install hinges in reverse removal procedure.

Hope this helps you.

 

[sunrise]

Sorry you went to all the trouble to type it all out. I could not own a 14-year-old vette without a service manual. I went through all of that in the book. Maybe I am missing something, the book does not seem to address the question of what to do with what is perhaps a slightly worn hinge. This is a car with 50,000 miles and has been absolutly pampered. I am not sure the hinge is worn since there is no spec on how much up and down play there should be. In this case I would estimate it is 1/8 inch, possibly slightly more but not much. I wondering if I should find a new hinge, if there is such a thing as a new pin and bushing kit, or if I should attempt to adjust it and be done with it for a while. I have never done a door on a C4 but previous experience on an F body tells me that door alignment can be a challenge. Again, thanks for all the trouble...

 

[Vettelt193]

door alignment is not easy on a c4, for the simple fact that the doors were put on first at the factory, and all the other body panels are matched to the doors... so, if you wind up with a door that is slightly wrong, you may find yourself adjusting all the other panels to fit it

 

[JonM]

I am going to toss my 2 cents worth in...:t If you click on my homepage at the bottom, you can tell I have done this before. Adjusting like I did when one takes the doors off takes lots and lots of patience. For your problem, their is an adjustment in a number of locations. Look at the door and see if the spacing around the door is somewhat equal. If the door is sagging you should notice a smaller gap towards the rear. What you can do is open the door, place a block of wood on a floor jack wraped in a towel. Jack it up just to have the jack touch the bottom of the door. Reach in and loosen the three bolts on the bottom of the hinge..then loosen two bolts on the top hinge. Then jack up the floor jack a tiny bit, you should see the paint on the hinge and the piller seperate. Tighten the bolts back up and try the door slowly at first. Do it with the window down, because depending how much you adjust the door, you may have to adjust the window also.

Or just bring it to a body shop...one guy will loosen the bolts while the other lifts the door...charge you 250 dollars and sends you on your way.

 

[backwoodsboy]

Here is a quick a dirty fix i have used in the past on my early 70's Camaros. If the door is aligned once it's been closed. Until I get the time and urge to replace the hinges.

I loosen the lower hinge on the door (not on the body) and insert some front end alignment shims. It usually does not take a very thick one.

This raises the end of the door so it hits the striker pin at the correct height.

This is just a band-aid fix for worn out upper hinges.

Steve

 

[sunrise]

JonM, thanks for your 2 cents. That was one heck of a transformation on your 84. Looks like new from where I sit. Where did you get your leather? Back to the door. It does not seem to be out of alignment with the other body panels when the door is closed. That is because both the striker and the pin on the door effectively raise the door as you close it. There are corresponding wear marks on the striker and inside the guide pin locator. By raising the hinge I would only want to remove the play from the hinge without affecting the door alignment once it is closed. I wonder if what I just said makes any sense. This is a convertible and the issue is that the door creaks when going over a bump. I have traced the noise to the striker and the lock. The passenger door is silent and this is the one notable difference. It would probably not be an issue with a coupe with less body flex. I do have a good floor jack 2X4s and shop rags and don’t want to deal with a $250 body shop.