Adjusting Doors

[EScanlon]

Here's a primer on how to adjust the doors on your Z so that they fit properly and seal well.

ADJUSTING THE Z DOORS:

Unless the car has been in an accident and the door opening or door itself have been tweaked out of shape, most problems with the doors are due to misaligned latches, hinges, or worn components. Presuming that it is adjustment or bad parts and not bent items check the following.

First perform a visual check of the door. Check to make sure that the door is aligned properly within the door opening. Check the spacing along the top part of the window frame, the spacing between the window frame and the quarter window, also the spacing between the door skin and the rear quarter panel. I also check the spacing on the front of the door, above the hinges and the front fender. All of these should be even, and consistent in width. The gap should not appear to be excessive one edge with it's opposite component, i.e. front of door to back of door; top edge by windshield cowl and lower edge, etc. If all these appear in order then you have an adjustment problem with the latch mechanism.

If however, there is a problem with the alignment, before you go and loosen the hinge bolts behind the kick panels, first do the following:

1. Check if there is any vertical play to the door, that is, with the door open lift the door gently. If there is a noticeable movement up and down, then you may have a worn pin or pins that are causing the alignment problem. Check to make sure that the hinges are solidly affixed and if so, then you definitely have a worn hinge. Although it is difficult to find new hinges, you might need to replace one or both. On Chevy's it is a known problem and parts stores sell new hinge pin inserts to fix this. This is an often overlooked problem, so check this first before you dismount the door or start adjusting the latch etc.

2. If the hinges are in good condition and there is no vertical play, check your weatherstripping. I know of a case where a guy filled the cavity in his weatherstripping with silicone in order to get a "tight" seal. Unfortunately, it also increased the thickness of the gasket and made it almost impossible to close the door without a hydraulic ram. He finally replace the weatherstrip.

Check to make sure that the weatherstripping is mounted properly on the lip of the door opening, also the rubber splash guard on the front part of the door just above the hinges. Check the lower weatherstrip on the under lip of the door. Any one of these could cause the door to shut hard.

3. If both the above are ok, check to see where the latch is striking the striker plate. The striker plate is on the door frame and the latch is on the door. Both must line up in order to catch. The latch on the door has countersunk screws and hence is fixed in position. The striker plate on the door is the major adjustment item. It can be positioned along the 4 axis on each of the screws.

Close the door, if the door exterior is not flush with the rear quarter panel skin, then you need to move the striker plate in (towards the seat for a protruding door edge) and out (for a sunken door skin).

If the door is difficult to close AND the handle is hard to operate, check the bottom of the striker plate to make sure that it isn't inclined too far inward in relation to the top of the plate. That is, the door latches, and the skin lines up, but it feels as you are forcing the door to close and forcing the handle to open, then the bottom part of the latch is stressing the latch, Loosen the screws, and WITHOUT moving the top part of the plate, adjust the lower portion of the plate outwards. Align and retry.

If the door latches but springs back when slammed the bottom of the striker plate is probably out too far. This appears to be a half-way latch, and only the safety position has been achieved.

If when closing the door, there is a noticeable thunk, and when opening the door the door seems to "DROP", then the striker plate is set too high. The reverse occurs when the plate is too low, although in this instance the door usually will not latch.

If you find that you have to move the door within it's opening, then it gets a little more complicated.

In a nutshell; you need to remove the electrical components attached to the kick panels, remove the kick panels, and preferably with a jack supporting the door, or a friend, loosen the hinge bolts located behind the kick panels and adjust the door to fit. It makes it easier to remove the striker plate mechanism in order to ensure a good fit.

DO NOT remove the hinges from the door, or loosen these bolts unless there is a problem with the hinge. The hinge pins must be PARALLEL and IN LINE to work properly, and it is too easy to get these out of line and introduce serious stress to the door.

Sorry for the length, but hope it covered your question and options.

Enrique Scanlon

This post has been promoted to an article

[abas]

Enrique

Useful info, on a common problem. Nice one.

Any thoughts on how to replace hinges without getting them out of alignment with each other? I suspect the ones on my car have been removed and replaced incorrectly by a previous owner as the bottom of the driver's door sticks out compared with the top.

regards

Andrew

[EScanlon]

Usually, when you remove the door and / or hinges you want to scribe the location of the hinge plates on both the body and the door. This makes it easier to replace them.

When the occasion arises where you have no prior markings to work with you need to check a few things. In the case of the Z, the mounting locations of the hinges on the pillar and the door are fortunately flat and on the same plane. This makes it MUCH easier to replace them without markings.

Mount the hinges to either the door or the pillar and adjust them so that they are roughly in line. Then get a piece of flat stock, or a level and make sure that the unmounted sides are then also on the same plane as each other. Make adjustments to one hinge or the other until the flat stock is perfectly flat on the mounting faces of both hinges. Then either mount the doors to the hinges or the hinges to the pillar. You'll still need to adjust the door to the opening but you'll know that the hinges are not binding against each other.

Usually the biggest cause of hinges not being aligned with each other is due to the use of shims, warped panels (whether due to repair or a bent body) or because someone FORCED the hinge into that location.

Just for the record, when the hinges are NOT on the same plane, then you determine the "center" of the adjusting limits and place both hinges as close to that location as possible.

From what you mention, the bottom being further out, I would suspect either a shim or two behind the bottom hinge on the pillar or a bad adjustment on the door itself.

Remember shim hinges on the pillar affect the door's location with reference to the skin of the door and the fenders. Shims on te door side affect front to back (and when used unevenly diagonal) placement of the door within the door opening.

Hope this helps.

Enrique Scanlon

[venom42]

Not only is this post helpful to me, but methinks it will be helpful to many others in the future. Do you have any realtives in the Southeast? I have a good friend that shares your last name, or at least a variant, (Conan Scanlan) that lives in Auburn, AL.

[abas]

great stuff Enrique, thanks again

regards

Andrew

[EScanlon]

Thanks for the comments.

If they save you some headaches and time then I will have been paid with interest.

As far as relatives, the Scanlon and Scanlan names go back to Ireland (and some say Scotland) many years ago. The two clans purportedly were related or come from the same ancestry. Don't know the specifics as to where and when they emigrated to the new world, so they may be "long-lost" relatives, i.e. 75th cousins 23 times removed (is there such a thing?).

Enrique Scanlon

[TomoHawk]

I have a new spring to fit into the driver's door (old one popped out or broke). Would it be difficult to install a spring without removing the hinge?

thx.

[venom42]

I noticed one of the screws around the latch (on the door) is missing. Could that cause part of the problem?

[koke race]

Here's a primer on how to adjust the doors on your Z so that they fit properly and seal well.

ADJUSTING THE Z DOORS:

Unless the car has been in an accident and the door opening or door itself have been tweaked out of shape, most problems with the doors are due to misaligned latches, hinges, or worn components. Presuming that it is adjustment or bad parts and not bent items check the following.

First perform a visual check of the door. Check to make sure that the door is aligned properly within the door opening. Check the spacing along the top part of the window frame, the spacing between the window frame and the quarter window, also the spacing between the door skin and the rear quarter panel. I also check the spacing on the front of the door, above the hinges and the front fender. All of these should be even, and consistent in width. The gap should not appear to be excessive one edge with it's opposite component, i.e. front of door to back of door; top edge by windshield cowl and lower edge, etc. If all these appear in order then you have an adjustment problem with the latch mechanism.

If however, there is a problem with the alignment, before you go and loosen the hinge bolts behind the kick panels, first do the following:

1. Check if there is any vertical play to the door, that is, with the door open lift the door gently. If there is a noticeable movement up and down, then you may have a worn pin or pins that are causing the alignment problem. Check to make sure that the hinges are solidly affixed and if so, then you definitely have a worn hinge. Although it is difficult to find new hinges, you might need to replace one or both. On Chevy's it is a known problem and parts stores sell new hinge pin inserts to fix this. This is an often overlooked problem, so check this first before you dismount the door or start adjusting the latch etc.

2. If the hinges are in good condition and there is no vertical play, check your weatherstripping. I know of a case where a guy filled the cavity in his weatherstripping with silicone in order to get a "tight" seal. Unfortunately, it also increased the thickness of the gasket and made it almost impossible to close the door without a hydraulic ram. He finally replace the weatherstrip.

Check to make sure that the weatherstripping is mounted properly on the lip of the door opening, also the rubber splash guard on the front part of the door just above the hinges. Check the lower weatherstrip on the under lip of the door. Any one of these could cause the door to shut hard.

3. If both the above are ok, check to see where the latch is striking the striker plate. The striker plate is on the door frame and the latch is on the door. Both must line up in order to catch. The latch on the door has countersunk screws and hence is fixed in position. The striker plate on the door is the major adjustment item. It can be positioned along the 4 axis on each of the screws.

Close the door, if the door exterior is not flush with the rear quarter panel skin, then you need to move the striker plate in (towards the seat for a protruding door edge) and out (for a sunken door skin).

If the door is difficult to close AND the handle is hard to operate, check the bottom of the striker plate to make sure that it isn't inclined too far inward in relation to the top of the plate. That is, the door latches, and the skin lines up, but it feels as you are forcing the door to close and forcing the handle to open, then the bottom part of the latch is stressing the latch, Loosen the screws, and WITHOUT moving the top part of the plate, adjust the lower portion of the plate outwards. Align and retry.

If the door latches but springs back when slammed the bottom of the striker plate is probably out too far. This appears to be a half-way latch, and only the safety position has been achieved.

If when closing the door, there is a noticeable thunk, and when opening the door the door seems to "DROP", then the striker plate is set too high. The reverse occurs when the plate is too low, although in this instance the door usually will not latch.

If you find that you have to move the door within it's opening, then it gets a little more complicated.

In a nutshell; you need to remove the electrical components attached to the kick panels, remove the kick panels, and preferably with a jack supporting the door, or a friend, loosen the hinge bolts located behind the kick panels and adjust the door to fit. It makes it easier to remove the striker plate mechanism in order to ensure a good fit.

DO NOT remove the hinges from the door, or loosen these bolts unless there is a problem with the hinge. The hinge pins must be PARALLEL and IN LINE to work properly, and it is too easy to get these out of line and introduce serious stress to the door.

Sorry for the length, but hope it covered your question and options.

Enrique Scanlon

i have a73z that i had to change door it sticks to far on the hinge side what do i do

[koke race]

i have a 73 datsun 240z that i had to change door it sticks in to far on the hinge side what do i do could someone help with this problem i do not see where i can make this adjustment please help. the door was not

hit hard it just r[usty/QUOTE]

[EScanlon]

Sorry guys, I didn't notice the posts back in April. I must have been on the road.

Tomo: Not sure on the 280's, but if you are referring to the detent spring that holds the door open at one of two positions, I think you'd find it much easier to remove the hinge to replace it. Not only will it be easier to work on the hinge, but you won't be trying to cram your hands and tools into the small space between door and pillar.

Venom: The locking mechanism in the door is not adjustable. The 3 screws that hold it to the door are beveled and so are the holes that they fit into. There is only ONE position that it can go into. Lack of one screw may make it so that it isn't as strong as it should be, but it still will not be able to shift in position.

Koke: Your first post wasn't clear, but from the second it seems that you are saying the door is too far "in" at the hinge side. Have you tried adjusting the hinge bolts at the door and pushing out on the door? As a last resort (in case the door is already adjusted to the limits of travel) use a pair of shims behind the hinge on the pillar side. If the door is generally in line with the fender (i.e. not having the top or the bottom further out / in than the other), then use shims in PAIRS (one behind each hinge between hinge and pillar). Shims are used when you've adjusted to the limits and you still need a bit more.

HTH

Enrique

[bartman]

I realize this is an old thread, but it seems like a good fit for my question. I've been working on lining everything up on my car (cowl, hood, fenders, inspection lids, headlight buckets, bumper, etc.) and I'm having trouble with my passenger door. I think I have everything forward of the door lined up now, but the door sits too far to the rear. The gap is too small at the rear quarter panel and too large at the front fender. Any suggestions on how to tackle this problem?