1998 Door Alignment Issue?

[mburnickas]

Well either my driver door (1998 ES) is off or my hinges (latch) are off. My door is to HIGH, not low. I have not tried to adjust it since it was -3 degrees this am driving to work!!!!

I looked at it while in the garage and the door is too high when closing. When I put slight downward pressure on the door, when I close it, the metal sound (snapping) stops. So either the door latch is to high or the car hinge (the latch) it goes into is to high. The sound I found is from the window hitting the hard upper molding around the window/door.

Is it the same issue as SW’s????

Any idea’s?

Thank you

[gbhrps]

mburnickas,

Usually as the door hinge pins wear, the back of the door will drop down, causing alignment and closing problems. For the door to be too high at the back (B pillar), suggests accident damage where someone has misaligned the door during repairs, perhaps. Regardless, a good body shop will be able to realign the door in less than 15 minutes, assuming that no hinges are bent or worn out. In some cases they can correct your kind of problem in less than 30 seconds, by pulling the rear of the door down by hand. Its not for the inexperienced to try, though, as bent and worn parts must be eliminated first, before bolts are loosened, parts readjusted and tightened, or entire doors levered into position. If you don't know what you're doing, you can create a bigger problem than you already have. Good luck!

[mburnickas]

mburnickas,

Usually as the door hinge pins wear, the back of the door will drop down, causing alignment and closing problems. For the door to be too high at the back (B pillar), suggests accident damage where someone has misaligned the door during repairs, perhaps. Regardless, a good body shop will be able to realign the door in less than 15 minutes, assuming that no hinges are bent or worn out. In some cases they can correct your kind of problem in less than 30 seconds, by pulling the rear of the door down by hand. Its not for the inexperienced to try, though, as bent and worn parts must be eliminated first, before bolts are loosened, parts readjusted and tightened, or entire doors levered into position. If you don't know what you're doing, you can create a bigger problem than you already have. Good luck!

Door was corrected at his shop. He said both sides are off. There is a tool for it but he fixed it quicker since the tool takes longer and does the same thing. Said never sees the door TOO high but rather too low.