Door alignment

[ghetdjc320]

Is there any sort of write up regarding alignin the doors on here? Hadn’t come across a specific post yet. I got my dire centered just fine in the hole but need to get it to close tighter to the cab. I moved the striker inwards (toward the cab) as far as it would go but that didn’t help close the door tighter and just made it harder to latch. It is otherwise very well aligned in the opening and the front is nicely aligned depth-wise. Just need the back of the door to go closer to the cab by maybe 1/4-3/8”

[Strokermjcomanche]

 Did you put new door seals in? If you did (and they were the newer style seals ) you may be fighting a losing battle. Some of those seals don't allow you to shut it all the way properly because they are too thick .  You may have to ditch those seals or allow them to compress a bit more before you can get that adjustment made. I would say if it didn't lineup to the fender properly you could bring the front door out which would allow the rear of the door to come in some ,but I guess that's not the case. Got any pictures of the door gaps?

[MiNi Beast]

I have nothing much to add but.... 

[ghetdjc320]

I’ll take some picture shortly. The door rubbers were new 3 years ago and they are still pretty thick but have definitely compressed from when they were new. So here is exactly what’s happening: I installed the hoolihans off-road door hinge peace plates when I was stateside last year. Welded them in and put nos hinges on at the same time. Shimmed the door and got all the gaps spot on. The door sits perfect in the jamb from what I can tell. Zero wind noise either which was hard to get right. My problem was that my door stuck out too far from the cab only at the back of the door. The from lines up great with the fender. I proceeded to move the door striker inwards and get it shimmed properly to latch. The door moved in slightly but not much. Now you have to slam the door to get it to latch. If you close it lightly the door just “bounces” off of the door frame. It closed well before but the hinges were going out so I replaced them. Passenger side is good but needs a shim or two on the bottom hinge to better align the door. 

[MiNi Beast]

Its not sagging by chance is it? 

[ghetdjc320]

Here are some pics. I had to weld on a large fender washer to reinforce the striker area. Having a similar issue with the hood. The center of it is about 3/8” higher than the header panel. Upon closer inspection the drivers door only sticks out about 1/8” from the cab but that is with the striker all the time easy towards the cab and you have to slaw it to get it to latch. When you open the door handle it “pops” open

[ghetdjc320]

4 minutes ago, MiNi Beast said:

Its not sagging by chance is it? 

Not that I can see. It has zero vertical play and lines up dead center with the striker. It never leaks either. I went through this whole Jeep finding any spots that would leak and getting them also fixed. I can go through a car was now or monsoon downpour leak free 

[Strokermjcomanche]

Just checking... as you know the latch has two places it catches . The first is enough that the door is latched,  and the second is where it's closed all the way . Do both work properly? 

 

Id also suggest (with the new hinge plates and hinges put on ) that either the hinge is possibly contacting itself when closing fully or maybe just the bolts are .  I'm just trying to go through the process that's all , some things are harder to diagnose when you're thousands of miles away.

 

 What year doors do you have? And that striker looks different with the added piece, that could be restricting the door Possibly 

[ghetdjc320]

1 hour ago, Strokermjcomanche said:

Just checking... as you know the latch has two places it catches . The first is enough that the door is latched,  and the second is where it's closed all the way . Do both work properly? 

 

Id also suggest (with the new hinge plates and hinges put on ) that either the hinge is possibly contacting itself when closing fully or maybe just the bolts are .  I'm just trying to go through the process that's all , some things are harder to diagnose when you're thousands of miles away.

 

 What year doors do you have? And that striker looks different with the added piece, that could be restricting the door Possibly 

I’ll try to get some closeups of the latch to striker contact. I fee the latch is just catching but not fully engaging. That’s a good though about the bolts perhaps interfering on the hinge. I’m going to check that right away. 

[OldSch88L]

I'll give you some pointers, since I used to work in a body shop. First of all, don't lose sleep on the panel adjustment; it's an '80s designed american vehicle, there's only so much you can do. That being said, you always start adjusting panels from the back forward, since the last panel (rear quarter in a car, cab in your case) is fixed and non adjustable. So align the door with the cab, loosening the hinge screws on the door and pulling the front edge of the door outwards might help you get the back edge inwards a litlle. Then, if the front edge of the door sticks out a little bit, you compensate by adjusting the rear edge of the fender. But like I said, don't go too crazy with this; personnally I think the gaps look surprisingly good, as for the depth, I've seen worse...