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Door adjustment

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Billsboat

Sr. Member
Joined
Apr 3, 2013
Messages
461
Loc.
Rowlett tx
Driver side is not too bad, sits fairly square in opening. Passenger side not so much. When closeting the latch hits the post and makes the door ride high in the opening. Tried shimming the top hinge but it just messed the hole thing up. I put bake the way it was and tried to move the latch post but could not loosen the two screws.
 

El Kabong

Contributor
Driving stuff Henry built
Joined
Oct 8, 2009
Messages
1,486
Check your body mounts, especially the one under the passenger floor. If the body is low there, it can throw the passenger door off.
 

Past_Miner

Contributor
Bronco Guru
Joined
Oct 22, 2003
Messages
1,020
It's not uncommon for the screws in the post to be rusted in place. The back tire basically throws all of the moisture it picks up off of the road right at the back of the adjuster plate that those screws go in. After 40+ years they are usually stuck right where they are.

First, I would assume that your hinge pins are worn and that is allowing the door to sag. At some point somebody probably moved the strikerpost up to compensate. I will leave it up to you to search for a thread about replacing the hinge pins. It's not very hard and all of the major EB vendors sell the kits.

I had to drill out the screws on my current project to get them out. The good news is that it's possible to salvage the adjuster plate after drilling if you are careful. I started by trying an impact screwdriver bit. I made mine, which I quickly broke. You can buy a real #4 phillips impact bit and, if you are lucky, you can sometimes remove the screws. I was able to remove exactly one out of four so I got out the drill. The scews are 5/16 diameter phillips head. If you very carefully use a 1/4" drill bit you can drill the center out of the screws and then re-tap the holes in the adjuster plate. The phillips head will act like a centering hole to start the drill. Just be warned that you have to go easy to start or you will break the drill off on the jagged edge. Once you knock the corners off you should be able to drill right through the center of the screw. I couldn't find a phillips head replacement screw but I found some flat head socket cap screws at my local hardware store that were dimensionally the same. I would recommend coating the new screws with anti-sieze to slow down the rusting. Here are a few pictures that I could find. I hope they help.
 

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okie4570

Contributor
Bronco Guru
Joined
Jul 16, 2012
Messages
9,227
Loc.
NW OK
oh man. I'm getting my doors soon and this is not the type of posting I like to read.
I'm going to post bomb if I run into trouble.:cry:

If it makes you feel better, when I picked up my EB, the PO said I'd need to strap around the bronco, because every time it hits a big bump, the doors come open. 2 minutes with a giant phillips screwdriver on each door and that problem was solved, no rust. Screws weren't easy to turn, but they turned.
 

DuctTape

Bronco Guru
Joined
Jun 20, 2008
Messages
1,148
Loc.
Bozeman, MT
Check your body mounts, especially the one under the passenger floor. If the body is low there, it can throw the passenger door off.

x2 and x2 on the hinges sagging. Hinges could also be sagging from weakness in the hinge mount on the door. Best way I found to diagnose is to look at the vertical gaps first. If you can muscle the door into a position where the vertical gaps are consistent (two edges on each side parallel), then body mount is probably not the fix.

Note also that you can adjust the hinges where they attach into the door post. Guessing you already figured that out.

If you have some bending you may have some success using a tool like this to bend them back.

http://www.alibaba.com/product-tp/146793133/Steck_Manufacturing_STC21845_EZ_Store_Door.html

Finally, you may have a twisted door. I have one twisted door that I haven't fixed yet. Not 100% sure how I'm going to attack it but I think it is going to involve ratchet straps and comealongs.
 

bk005

Sr. Member
Joined
Nov 20, 2011
Messages
366
Loc.
San Antonio
Settign doors in gerenal sucks, bronco doors bit more that some IMHO.


Below is delicate fine tuning method I have honed the skills of. I call it the block of wood brute force but dont dent it method. Factory approved (seriously thats how they did/do it).



DSC01628.jpg


IMG_7835.jpg


IMG_7829.jpg





That illustration is exagerated, that took fixing a backwards body mount, new hinges, and adjustments, but was still necessary to tweak the door frame to get it closer.
 
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OP
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Billsboat

Sr. Member
Joined
Apr 3, 2013
Messages
461
Loc.
Rowlett tx
I'm also thinking I need to loosen roll bar(6 point mount) as this may be tweaking things a bit as well before I start twisting the door around. I looked for that number 4 Phillips bit at my h d, but no luck. Will try auto parts place later today...thanks everyone!
 

Rustytruck

Bronco Guru
Joined
Feb 24, 2002
Messages
10,875
The striker bolt screws go through to the back side. Get a long handled wire brush and work them over as best as you can then spray some penetrant. I use PB Blaster or Kroil and let them soak in that stuff for a couple of days. spray them every day and let it soak in. Then I use a hand held impact driver and whack the driver with a big hammer to loosten the screws.
Just to let you know Bronco body alignment was not up to par when they came out from the factory. They were a utility vechicle not a luxury sedan so dont expect too much without alot of work.
 

DuctTape

Bronco Guru
Joined
Jun 20, 2008
Messages
1,148
Loc.
Bozeman, MT
Settign doors in gerenal sucks, bronco doors bit more that some IMHO.


Below is delicate fine tuning method I have honed the skills of. I call it the block of wood brute force but dont dent it method. Factory approved (seriously thats how they did/do it).

That illustration is exagerated, that took fixing a backwards body mount, new hinges, and adjustments, but was still necessary to tweak the door frame to get it closer.

Check. Belay that ratchet strap order. Thanks for this I'm going to try this.
 
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OP
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Billsboat

Sr. Member
Joined
Apr 3, 2013
Messages
461
Loc.
Rowlett tx
So I never got to the auto parts place tonight, but I did loosen up the roll bar. It made all the difference in the world! ( I've only owned this thing for about 6 months. The p o said the roll bar was made up by a friend) so after releasing the presses of the roll bar mounts, the body/doors are lining up much better. And I understand what rustytruck is saying as it relates to not a lot of attention to detail to body alignment out of factory. I sill have more work...replacing body bushings... But it already looks better! Again, thanks for all u r input. I will keep u up to date on this project, I look foward to any more input!
 
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