door sag

[golfobx]

alright i know there has been a lot of write up on this, however consensus statement is what im looking for...

my passenger door sags pretty bad...there are no rust issues, the body mounts are fine, and the hinges have no play in them...

so what im looking for...is my last resort option shimming the lower hinge so that it stops sagging down? is this pretty common that this is the only resort you have left and never really identify the true "cause"?

 

[mattt]

Door post replacement time. It's most likely rusting from the inside out. If hinges are tight, the other place to go is where the hinges attach......the door posts themselves. Good luck.

 

[golfobx]

i got up under there and looked and really dont see a lot of rust...yes,yes...its an old bronco, but truly not seeing much and its really solid feeling...my assumption is it has to be that, yet i dont see it...so wondering what else it could be

 

[Wyflyer]

Body mounts?

 

[golfobx]

body mounts are fine

 

[GRW]

What about the pins?
Not sure if Bronco's are prone to pin issues but other cars (with heavy doors).
Is everything snugged up good?

 

[golfobx]

yea, with the door open or half open, and i grab the rear most portion of the door and pick it up, there is no give in the brackets or pins, the only thing that moves is the entire vehicle...

 

[englewoodcowboy]

How are you checking to know the mounts are fine? They may look fine but could be rusted through the frame and dropping. The easiest way would be to take some good photos of what you are seeing and post them up. Take photos of the door and lower gap as well as the rear gap against the striker. Also under the front fender looking back at the door post, pictures of the hinges etc. Asking is very vague in this issue where pictures truly are worth a thousand words. Good luck!

 

[old 71]

I had no play in my hinges either , no door play ,,, until I took a hinge off and it rattled like nobodies business . If the hinges check out still good and as you say the mounts and posts are good aswell its shim time at the hinges or at the body mounts.

Good luck

Dale

 

[Pa PITT]

Of course we don't know your Bronco But I to say body mounts . Or just your frame may have the slight droup in it. Try adding some big ass washers under the pucks to lift the center of the body. I have differents amount under my Bronco to try & level it out . & not have the Bronco lean.

 

[mattt]

I would be looking at body mounts IF you were saying the doors are not aligned correctly in the door opening. When you said you "pick up" the door when it's open and the whole body moves that is a problem. The door should not be able to be "picked up." It should be snug in holding it's location.

I had a sagging drivers door in the past that I had to "pick up" to even get it to close and latch. When the old door post was removed and replaced I was straight up SHOCKED at how much rust there was inside the door post itself. I then had the other side done for good measure even though the door wasn't sagging.....yet. Again, I was SHOCKED at how much internal rust there was inside the door post.

Tell me this....can you remove the bolts that hold the hinges to the body/door post. If you start breaking those bolts when trying to remove them, you have internally rusted door post(s).

 

[golfobx]

Body mounts are as good as new. Perfectly round pucks. No chips or cracks. All body mounts appear to be in great shape.

When I say I am picking up the door, I'm grabbing the rear end of the door trying to see if the hinges have any wiggle. Instead they are so tight that I just start making the bronco have body roll on the shocks. The door posts don't warp or twist. It's very solid. I can loosen those bolts with a little elbow grease and get them extremely tight as well.

 

[englewoodcowboy]

Body mounts are as good as new. Perfectly round pucks. No chips or cracks. All body mounts appear to be in great shape.

When I say I am picking up the door, I'm grabbing the rear end of the door trying to see if the hinges have any wiggle. Instead they are so tight that I just start making the bronco have body roll on the shocks. The door posts don't warp or twist. It's very solid. I can loosen those bolts with a little elbow grease and get them extremely tight as well.

I think you are missing the point we are trying to make. The pucks usually are and stay round, what I as well as others are thinking is it is common for where the puck rests on the frame, that area will rot out. You will have the appearance at static rest that all is well but will get excessive movement. The only way to know for sure is grab a friend and have them make the movements you are seeing the body flex and get down and look closely at each one. You also have to take into consideration that maybe a PO might have replaced the pucks and did not install the steel bushings which also would allow excessive movement.

 

[Wyflyer]

I've never done this but always thought you should be able to measure the gap between the body and the frame mount. They should all be the same.

 

[golfobx]

Alright. That's a great tip. Didn't really consider that about the mounts! I'll get that done this evening. Thank you so much guys. Really appreciative of all this help

 

[twisted 66]

I had to shim my body mounts to get the gaps in the doors decent.

 

[roundhouse]

Get a friend with a bright flashlight to look at the back of the door post thru the fender well while you lift the door

Sometimes they move more than you think but you won't be able to see it without two people