Closing doors

[yellowviper]

My 2001 RT/10 doors need to be push somwhat hard to close. Could this be due to people leaning on the door to exit the car and throwing them out of alignment? Anyone else experiece this- is it an adjustment a good body shop could make? I need you imput, thanks.

 

[speedracervr4]

Sounds like "door sag". Common issue on Gen 2s. You can adjust the hinge by removing the plastic cover and adjusting the 4 bolts that hold the hinge to the frame while holding the door up with a floor jack. Some have had sucess with placing a towel in the door to support the door, but that technique did not work for me. Make sure you mark your starting position with a pencil so you can go back to the original postion if needed.

 

[tlcobra]

Just did my 98 passenger's side door sunday.
Its tricky ....it got worse before I got it right.

 

[Jeffsss]

ah yes... door sag. happens with age. I wouldnt place blame on exiting passengers.. try using the method that speedracer suggested... worked for me.. after several attempts.. dont expect it to close like a new lexus.

 

[speedracervr4]

Its tricky ....it got worse before I got it right.

Same here, it's good enough for me now...

 

[mjorgensen Woodhouse]

It is important to adjust the door early when it starts to drag, the door seals around the opening are quickly damaged from the sag and they are EXPENSIVE!

 

[crackleking]

I have a 98 rt/10 and the passenger door has a slight sag in it, and when it is pulled to pushed to be closed, it rubs a little bit on the inside and has to be pulled or pushed harder to close. I know my door needs an adjustment, but I have not gotten to it. I am afraid I will just make it worse.

 

[Talon]

Sounds like "door sag". Common issue on Gen 2s. You can adjust the hinge by removing the plastic cover and adjusting the 4 bolts that hold the hinge to the frame while holding the door up with a floor jack. Some have had sucess with placing a towel in the door to support the door, but that technique did not work for me. Make sure you mark your starting position with a pencil so you can go back to the original postion if needed.

@Speedracer, do you have any photos or videos on this? The driver's door on my new-to-me Gen 2 has some sagging and its rubbing the door seals. Which plastic cover are you referring to? Also, the door hold?? (I don't know what the official name is) is worn out so when I open the door it wants to swing back shut. Should that be done at the same time or is that a totally different task entirely?

Any additional description you can give would be helpful. Also, since a couple of you made the adjustments, what did everyone find to be the best way to get it right? Is it very small adjustments? Larger adjustments?

 

[speedracervr4]

Here is a great write up http://forums.viperclub.org/threads...otos-and-what-I-did?highlight=door+adjustment

I tried the towel in the door trick first, but it did not work for me. Be patient and take your time with the adjustments. Mine got worse be for it got better.

 

[Bugman Jeff]

The plastic cover he's referring to is the body color panel directly in front of the door. It'd held on with a few screws, and covers the hinge bolts. The cover is missing and you can see the two forward most hinge bolts(there are four) in this pic:

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Your door holding issue is likely a broken spring, it's a fairly common problem. Snake Oyl sells a kit to repair it. I'm cheap, and for the cost of the kit, I just let my door swing shut.

It's helpful to have two people when adjusting the door, and make small adjustments. If you're by yourself, use a floor jack with some padding to support the door while you loosen the hinge. As stated above trace around the hinge on the body so you can put it back to it's original position if you need to. Put some masking tape and a towel on the sill cover, and tape the edges of the door so you don't accidentally scratch the paint. It's not hard, but can be tedious and frustrating if it's your first time doing it.

 

[Talon]

Thanks guys. That is really helpful. Also, that picture pains me seeing the door all damaged. Ouch!

By the way is the forum supposed to give me a notification when I get replies to these threads or do I need to turn some notification thing on or just monitor my posts for replies? Clearly I'm still a noobie to this forum.

 

[Bugman Jeff]

The guy I got it from slid it into a pole. Bad for him, good for me

At the top, click "My Profile." Then, on the left you'll see a "My account" tab with a "general settings" submenu. You can choose how you want to be notified in the "Default Thread Subscription Mode" section.

 

[Ricketts]

I have a 98 rt/10 and the passenger door has a slight sag in it, and when it is pulled to pushed to be closed, it rubs a little bit on the inside and has to be pulled or pushed harder to close. I know my door needs an adjustment, but I have not gotten to it. I am afraid I will just make it worse.

Where in NC are you at? If close by, you and me can knock it out one weekend for you.

 

[Talon]

Thanks Bugman!

 

[Grisoman]

All great suggestions here. I've been putting this fix off by simply pulling up slightly on the door handle but plan to eventually match-mark the four bolt positions and loosen slightly and adjust in small increments.

For those with the worn door detent hold spring (me included), be careful not to let the door swing fully open if you can. The wire bundle from the body to the door has very little slack and may actually break the wires/insulation over time due to full open stresses.

 

[klamathpro]

That Snake Oyl kit looks to be an absolute ripoff. $125 for this??? It makes me want to duplicate it and give them away for $25 just to tell them they can't Viper tax us for no good reason. These things literally look like they were made in 3 minutes with a pair of pliers.

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I've had to readjust my door hinges so many times, I can do it in 5 minutes with a jack with little to no error. The trick is to leave one of the bolts tightened enough so that the front of the door doesn't mis-align during the process and all you do is swing it up some.

 

[Ricketts]

Agreed!!!!

That Snake Oyl kit looks to be an absolute ripoff. $125 for this???

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.

 

[Fatboy 18]

Thing is guys, that kit from Snake Oyl uses Sprung steel, Its not just bent metal. The steel has to go through some tempering to make it function properly.

If there are any guys here that know about the process in more detail I would be interested to hear

 

[Bugman Jeff]

You can buy strips of pre-tempered spring steel, the trick is finding the "right" one as there are hundreds of different grades or hardnesses available. You need something hard enough to give a decent "spring," but not so hard that it cracks in use(the problem with the factory springs). It can be bent into shape, and generally it ***** to drill through unless you've got some really good drill bits.