Doors Hard to Close - Body Mounts?

[kstang67]

I bought a 74 Bronco and am in the process of doing a light restoration. Both doors are very hard to close. You have to slam them really hard to get them to fully latch. The guy at the body shop said I need to replace the body mount bushings, and this will fix the problem with the doors. He said he put a floor jack under the rear corner of the cab and lightly lifted it, and the doors closed easily. Does that make sense to anyone? Do you think this will really fix the problem? Thanks.

 

[airbur]

I had the exact same problem. I replaced all the body mounts and it got worse. I then replaced the hinges and that didn't help. I ended up having the Bronco Hut take a look and they used a few shims on each door (under the hinges) to get them lined up right. They close like new now

 

[kstang67]

Thanks. Unfortunately, we don't have a "Bronco Hut" here in OKC. I've already ordered the body mount kit from Tom's Bronco Parts so I guess we will give this a try first. If that doesn't work, I'll have him try to shim the door hinges.

 

[airbur]

Any good body shop should be able to get them aligned. Good luck!

 

[youngbronco]

If the mounts are original, replace them. My mounts were shot, some worse than others, had everything out of whack. My passenger door was hitting the tub behind the door handle, now it is perfect. The driver door is better, but isnt flush, shuts hard now. The hinges need to be loosened and the door shifted up and rotated out just a little.

 

[aaron6920]

I had the same problem and I put this kit in:

http://www.bcbroncos.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=507

Now they shut great.

 

[crews44]

He very well could be right. if the body mounts are shot then it will twist the body and cause alignment issues. It would be a good place to start to go with new ones then shim them as needed to get it perfect...

 

[garberz]

I bought a 74 Bronco and am in the process of doing a light restoration. Both doors are very hard to close. You have to slam them really hard to get them to fully latch. The guy at the body shop said I need to replace the body mount bushings, and this will fix the problem with the doors. He said he put a floor jack under the rear corner of the cab and lightly lifted it, and the doors closed easily. Does that make sense to anyone? Do you think this will really fix the problem? Thanks.

Yes, that makes good sense. The body flexes a lot, and when the rubber mounts deteriorate, the door openings become out of square. Usually bad mounts make for a tight fitting door at the tops of the door panels, and bigger gaps down towards the rockers. If your doors closed good with the jack under the body, then I'd say he's right. The other suggestions are all things that we all have done to help with door alignment, but if yours is fixable with new bushings, I'd do that first. Good luck.

 

[beaux312]

I had the same problem, I put a jack under my body mount under my feet and the everything lined up, my inner rocker panel was rusted out so bad the floor had rasied up about an inch. Check your inner rocker panel and the inner kick panel it ties every thing together, it supports your hinge piller. If its rusted replace it. If you did put in new door seals they just need to break in.

 

[kstang67]

Thanks to everyone for the information. I don't think the inner rocker is rusted, although the floorpans are and there is a slight gap 1/8" between the rocker and driverside quarter panel. I think it makes sense that if the body mounts are old and compressed, the tub will sag in the back and the door will no longer align properly with the frame. Here is a link to the body mount kit I have ordered. http://www.tomsbroncoparts.com/product.php?category=61&id=326

Hopefully this will solve the problem. If not I will check out the hinge replacement kit. If it does happen to be the hinges, has anyone ever used the hinges designed for quick door removal? Would you recommend them?

 

[airbur]

I have the stainless removable door hinges and would indeed recommend them.

 

[Steve83]

I ... am in the process of doing a light restoration.

%) Just keep telling yourself that! ;D

Jack up the body & inspect the FRAME under the body mounts - they're known to rust out. They're fairly easy to repair with a big washer, but it has to be welded to the frame to be effective & safe.

 

[canadian broco]

I have the stainless removable door hinges and would indeed recommend them.

I agree 100%. I had a 'hinge bind' issue as well. It can be awkward to apply shims behind the hinges, but with the removable ones becomes easier. It also really helped when painting (must have taken the doors off a dozen times and didn't lose my adjustment!)

 

[kstang67]

Just keep telling yourself that!

I know... I did a '67 S-Code Convertible Mustang about 5 years ago. Removed every single possible bolt and screw and rebuilt or replaced every part. $20K later... I have a show car that I won't let my wife drive. This will not go to that extreme.

I'll take a look at the quick removable hinges. Thanks.