I will have to admit that I don’t spend that much time in this section of G2IC, but now I think I need some advise.
I have noticed for the last 1-2 years, my doors seem to flex (or shift) while closed. My example is when I am driving it happens when I hit the brakes medium to hard and when I take off from a stop. You can see the door shift just a little and hear the hinge &/or latch creak. Is this a common issue due to age, or is it just mine? Is this a case where the hinge bolts need to be removed and re-torqued with thread sealant? Or is this one of those things that won’t go away without a full tear down and stitch welding of the whole shell?
The car has been in a few “fender benders”, but it has always been repaired by quality shops. The body hasn’t been worked on in several years (just FYI). I hope this makes some sense.
The only thing I can find in the helms, is adjustment proceedures. It does not indicate anything can be replaced (striker or hinge bolts) If you want, I can get you the instructions on how to do the adjustment with torque specs. Maybe one of the hinges is under torqued, or needs adjustment.
That would be great if you can get it to me. I am not sure that my Haynes has anything useful. Of course I would have to find it first.
I don’t really think it is an adjustment, but rather something is loose so the torque specs would help with that. I just don’t know if it is the hinges or if the flex is in the body/frame. :shrug:
I do know that the front driver’s side door mount was damaged back when the car was less than 2-3yrs old. We don’t like to talk about that low point in time. :tsk:
WTF - I think I know why I never mess with body panels.
It looks like the bolts that secure the hinge to the frame are under the front fender. Removing the front fender is the only way to check these? Am I missing something?
Would it be a valid test for me to open the door & try carefully lifting up on the lower edge while watching the hinges? Could I see movement, or will I be unable to apply the same kind of force as when I’m driving?
You should beable to apply enough force to see if the hinges are worn out or not. The door is not that heavy. The only problem is you lifting is not going to put your head in a good place to see what is worn out on the hinges. I would get a second person to help with this, just so you can get your head in the door jam, and really get a good look at whats worn out.
Or you could use a jack. Slowly jack it up, just becareful you dont end up lifting the car wit hthe door. I am sure those hinges are not designed for that much weight.
I’ll see what I can rig up. The “helper” route is probably not going to work since my 2 helpers probably weight less than the door. One is 5’3" - 100lbs, the other is 2’8" - 27lbs.
I would do the lifting but for anyone that has ever tried explaining anything auto related to a “helper” that doesn’t understand cars… it’s easier to :bang:
I be the 100 # one would work for lifting. Or you could use a lever. A 2x4 and the car jack would work, have them step on the 2x4 and it would lift the door up. Just drop the 27# one on the lever, and the door pops up. I am sure the 27# one will think its a game and shout “do it again!”
Thats what my 45# one does. And the 20# one cant talk yet, but she loves bouncing. Just started walking, she is in the stage my father calls “the unguided missile” stage. Oh what fun.
Would it be a valid test for me to open the door & try carefully lifting up on the lower edge while watching the hinges?
Yes.
It is probably that the hinges are just worn out. My hinges on my 93 were starting to get a little loose when moving the door up and down but they were not bad enough to shake while driving.
This may sound like a stupid question… If the hinges are worn (do they really wear out like that), wouldn’t a lot more members have this problem?
Not doubting what you are suggesting, but I haven’t seen anyone else complain about the hinges??? Maybe I just missed it, but I would think it would be a wider spread issue.
Maybe yours were damaged at some point, or atleast worn more. Maybe something you or a prev. owner did made them start to sag. (Like opening the door, and sitting on the top of it with the window down) Who knows. Or some dirt got into the bushings, and wore it out faster than someone who didn’t get dirt in it.
My father’s Corvette wore the passengers hinges out. The drivers were just fine. Talk about odd, the drivers side should gete like 10x the wear the passengers side would.
The only previous owner was Honda of Japan. I am one of the few here that took delivery of my Teg fresh off the boat 14 years ago.
I didn’t get the chance to look at it over the weekend. Too much going on. I did look around the hinges where they mount to the door and the frame before I got in today. I would have thought if it was a bolt/torque issue I would see evidence of movement. You know like scratches or missing paint, etc… I didn’t see anything, but I should have a chance to wiggle the doors in the next day or so.
Cool that your the orig. owner. The original owner of mine lives behind my parents. I remember going to the Science Place to see the Soviet exhibit in that car back in 1991. Pretty wierd owning the car now.
So I am sitting in the parking lot downstairs (work), and I get a spark of motivation to check the hinges. FYI - for anyone looking at replacing hinges they are around $120-$150 per side. I positioned myself to sit on the door sill facing forward looking into the “inside” area of the hinge between the door & dash. I put one hand under the door and the other I put on the inner door handle (also tried on top of the door). Then I used my arms (plus some leg) to lift up on the door. The suspension must have traveled at least 1" or more & I couldn’t see/feel any movement in either door.
This leads me to believe there are only 2 possibilities:
this is not enough force to make it move.
the frame/body is somehow flexing around where the frame and fender meet.
sorry to resurrect old threads but
has a solution for this been created?
I’m pretty sure it’s my passenger (RHD) side front door hing that is making this awful creak. but meh, add it to the never ending list
I wish I could tell you I have a confirmed fix, but I am afraid mine is just due to age/fatigue. As far as I can tell it is not my hinges that are moving, on mine you can watch the back of the door shift up and down with braking & acceleration.
If you believe it is your hinges, just double check the torque of the bolts. Maybe crack them loose (one at a time) and re-torque. It shouldn’t take more than a few min.
While it is probably true that chassis flex is the cause, there ARE things that can be done. They are painful and very time consuming but will help in the long run.
I am not a fabricator/welder, but I have watched/read a lot about fabrication and metal work. Since our cars have the frame as part of the shell the only way to eliminate the flex due to age is to strengthen the whole shell. With the proper tools and knowledge you can position the car on jack stands so the shell returns to a “natural” position and all the panels & doors line-up like new. At this point you would need to strip the interior out and go along all of the main body/frame seams and stitch weld them. It is hard to describe the process but it is like a “back-stepping connect the dots” to join the panels where they are spot welded. It is a lot of prep for the seam to be welded, and a lot of time to strip the interior, plus it will add a little weight to the car.
This is something I would definitely do for a ground up restoration, but I don’t think it is very reasonable to try with out a HUGE commitment to getting your hands dirty.
