Need help with door alignment.

[Nathan43]

Maybe the front needs picked up and not the back if that's what the level is showing. You might try shimming the front one and the one under the front floor and leave the back two mounts bolted down without any shims.
If you have two jacks you might loosen those two and gently jack up the one under the floor board and then gently move the front one and see if it helps and how much you have to move it to make a difference. That way your not replacing shims every time you want to change it a little bit.
I have had trouble in the past and sometimes it's easy and sometimes it makes no sense what actually fixes the problem. At least in my head! I look forward to seeing what actually fixes this.

Yea thats what I was using was jacks to add shims. Thanks I'll update this if I can figure it out.

 

[Teal68]

From the original photos at the top to me it looks like the lower hinge needs slight shimming and the back body mount shimmed.

The hinge shim will get you parallel to the rocker and the body shim will tighten the gap at the top of the jamb.

 

[JefeAZ]

Im having latching issues on my drivers side door as well. Passenger closes fine but closing the drivers side door slowly you can see the door raise up about a 1/4" when trying to latch. Adjusted the striker and it didn't get much better. No shims on the latches so I guess I need to take a look inside the door

 

[Nathan43]

I found part of the problem. The floor and floor channel support that are right near the door post is sagging from the mount on out.

Between halfway straightening it out and adding a shim at the rear mount the gap was just about right. I think I am going to go in and add a piece of angle iron underneath along side the floor channel to brace and straighten it out.

Is that a good idea?

 

[langester]

If it was mine and a driver not a show truck I would do whatever is necessary to get it to work. I have had Broncos in the past in various states of repair and I think if you are comfortable with the fix, go for it. I am sure there are some folks that will tell you to "fix it right", but for me I would do something like you are describing and get back to enjoying my ride. You can always go back and fix it differently at a later date.
Just my thoughts, good luck with whatever you end up doing!

 

[Nathan43]

If it was mine and a driver not a show truck I would do whatever is necessary to get it to work. I have had Broncos in the past in various states of repair and I think if you are comfortable with the fix, go for it. I am sure there are some folks that will tell you to "fix it right", but for me I would do something like you are describing and get back to enjoying my ride. You can always go back and fix it differently at a later date.
Just my thoughts, good luck with whatever you end up doing!

What would be the fix it right scenario?

 

[langester]

Depends on what is causing the problem. Rust, being smashed or broken somewhere. I would think replacing the damaged part of the rail would be the ultimate fix. That could turn out to be quite a bit of work depending on what is messed up. I had this happen to the support under the front floor, I had to replace a section of that because it was basically shattered.
Is it obvious what happened to yours?

 

[Nathan43]

Depends on what is causing the problem. Rust, being smashed or broken somewhere. I would think replacing the damaged part of the rail would be the ultimate fix. That could turn out to be quite a bit of work depending on what is messed up. I had this happen to the support under the front floor, I had to replace a section of that because it was basically shattered.
Is it obvious what happened to yours?

Not sure yet. But like I said it was rearended once. Oh well.

Thanks for the help I'll post here when I decide.

 

[Teal68]

Im having latching issues on my drivers side door as well. Passenger closes fine but closing the drivers side door slowly you can see the door raise up about a 1/4" when trying to latch. Adjusted the striker and it didn't get much better. No shims on the latches so I guess I need to take a look inside the door

If when it goes up that 1/4" it aligns with the body line, the door is flush with the quarter, and the reveal is good all around then the striker bolt needs to stay put. If that's the case your lower hinge is worn and it needs to be re-built, re-placed, or shimmed. You may want to post up pics here or in another thread for more accurate guidance.

 

[JefeAZ]

Thanks for the info. Ill get photos of everything and get it posted one of these days

 

[langester]

Nathan43,
Whenever you get it fixed post up some pics too. Might help someone else down the road. Good luck and hope it turns out to be an easy fix!
Have a good one!

 

[Nathan43]

Nathan43,
Whenever you get it fixed post up some pics too. Might help someone else down the road. Good luck and hope it turns out to be an easy fix!
Have a good one!

Will do. I'll even post a pic of the sag too.

 

[Nathan43]

It may not be the best way or the right way but it worked great for me. The door shuts much nicer now. I'll still need to work a little with some shims but everything lines up much better. I still need to clean them up and make it look a little better.

I used two 1 1/2" by 1/4" thickness angle iron cut at 20" lengths. I had to shave one off to 3/4" to clear the frame and mount. The other I just had to notch. The front brace I used 4 bolts through the floor to mount it but they will be covered by heat/sound insulation and a full floor mat.

Sorry for the pictures, I need a new bulb in the drop light. It may look likes its rusty underneath, but its not at all. Thats a nice coating of dirt. The pictures don't like this bronco at all.
Opinions welcome.

The first pic is before, the others are after. You can see the gap where the original floor braces is caved a little where the bushing is

 

[Rustytruck]

I'm glad you got this worked out to a good conclusion.

 

[langester]

Looks good. Sometimes you gotta do what ya gotta do. Glad to see everything is working out for you.
Have a good one!

 

[Nathan43]

I'm glad you got this worked out to a good conclusion.

Not exactly. I got back on it today. After bolting everthing back down it didn't help the 1/2" gap.

After trying a hundred different shims at different locations and combinations then measuring, measuring, and measuring some more. Measuring from the same points as the pic below I'm at 39 and just shy of 1/16" from I to I', 39 1/16" from H to H', and it kicks out way at the top at 39 3/8" on B to C. With no shims just the new mounts all the way around that striker post just looks a little high.

Again the only thing that helps that gap is raising up the drivers side mount at the tailgate by a 1/2". that also in turn raises the rocker up to close to the door and then makes the rear of the bronco look bad. Letting the middle body mount down does not help at all.

 

[gunnibronco]

So I've been working a lot on my tub and getting my doors back aligned.

I looked at your pics on the 1st post, assuming they still look the same, here is what I would do.

First, remove your striker post. Tighten all the body to frame bolts. At this point, I'm assuming your gaps still look like the pics in the 1st post. I'd also pull the door off completely, but that is just me.

Second, attempt to get the B-C measurement as close to 39". You can do this by shimming up the front core support body mount. Or possibly using a come-a-long, ratchet strap, or other made-up tool pull the A pillar (measurement B) towards the rear of the truck (loosen the front core support mount while doing this).

Third, when you get the measurement close then you can start messing with aligning the door to the quarter. Don't worry about the fender gap, address that after you get the door aligned to the quarter. You can shim the outside 2 hinge bolts to move the door back towards the quarter, or shim the inside hinge bolt to move the door forward away from the quarter. You can shim the uppers or lowers differently. Get the rear door edge square to the quarter with a nice gap. Then, if the door sits low in the door opening, you can jack and shim the front tub body mount (under the drivers feet). If a roll cage (with front cage)is installed, you'll have to unbolt it before trying to lift the body mounts & shim them. You can always slot/ovalize the holes in the hinges to give you more room to raise the door. With the bend in the body braces, all bets are off, and you'll have to break a few "rules" to get the door right.

You also want the door closing evenly to the window frame and even to the quarter. Move the lower hinge out to push the top of the door in, and vice versa. Once the door closes nice in the door opening with no interference or pressure, then put the striker back in and adjust it so it holds the door tight to the weather stripping. The striker should not pull the door up or down as it latches. Put the striker in to match the nicely closing door.

Then worry about getting the fender to front door edge looking good. The fender is very easily moved & adjusted, compared to the quarter panel.

It's really a step by step process, looking at the truck after each adjustment before making the next. I'm super close to getting my gaps right (my truck's body is a mess from PO roll over & lots of abuse), I just need to pull my cage so I can jack up my front tub mounts and raise the doors a bit.

 

[Nathan43]

Well I stepped back a day or two and thought about it and reread yalls replys over again.
I got it to set where I want it.
After adding the brace, all it took was a few shims under the very front drivers side mount, so it would push the door post back.

Thanks greatly for everyone's help. That was a pain, but now some work is really going to get done.

 

[langester]

Sweet! Nothing better than finally winning a battle!

 

[Nathan43]

Now I just gotta finish the war. Eh who am I kidding, it won't ever be finished. ;D