Door Adjustment

[Low Truck FNG]

My driver side door doesn't close very well. Kind of a loud clunk. Any adjustment advice?

[Low Truck FNG]

Oh yeah, It's an 86 C10. I should probably put that in my signature block.

[ElGracho]

First off, go buy a hinge pin and bushing kit from the auto parts store for the upper and lower hinges. The hinges wearing out on these trucks is so common, they will have the kits on the shelf. Take the door off paying attention to how it is adjusted now and install the new pins and bushings. Put the door back on and it will be very close if not exact with the hinges where they started.

[ocbaud]

i'm gonna be replacing my hinges and striker bolts VERY soon. my drivers side door sounds like its about to fall off, and my lower hinge pin keeps working its way loose.

[ol84]

Brian,

I had the same problem with my door. I replaced the Hinge Pins and bushings like Joe said and it took care of the problem. Striker bolts would be a good idea also....they are hard to get out, atleast mine were.

[ocbaud]

Originally posted by ol84
Brian,

I had the same problem with my door. I replaced the Hinge Pins and bushings like Joe said and it took care of the problem. Striker bolts would be a good idea also....they are hard to get out, atleast mine were.

all you have to do on my truck is get to the nut, which is behind the rear speakers, which i dont have anymore

[ol84]

LOL, that would explain why I gave up on the task...duh

[ocbaud]

yeap, my door is rattling like a mofo recently.

[PHOENIX]

I can tell just by looking that my striker bolt has had its day. I went to GM dealer to get some other things and asked about the striker bolts. They were something like $20+ each. I passed of course. Is that why it is so hard to shut my doors?
I seriously have to slam them to get them to close all the way. The rubber is ok in the truck, but not great. Does my door slamming problem sound like the striker bolt? My striker bolt (the part that is striked) isnt even round anymore, it is flattened where the latch hits. The door doesnt rattle or anything if slammed. I have adjusted them in the past and it didnt make much difference. Im going to buy some soon and through them on, just hoping maybe someone had the same problem and this was the cause. If not what else could it be? My door seems harder to shut then other 73-87 trucks.

[ElGracho]

The cause is your worn out door hinges. That makes the door sag in the back and the latch mechanism is hitting (as has worn out) the striker bolt. The door hits that bolt and has to move up probably a half inch before it can close all the way, that's why it is hard to close. Replace the strike bolt (also available through Dorman at your local Autozone or whatever) and the door hinge kits, you'll be amazed at the difference.

[ol84]

Word...word

[PHOENIX]

Are you sure? Because when I close the door slowly and look the latch is lined up just right. Doesn't look off at all. I will look again to make sure.

[gmcbob]

I hope you guys have better luck than I did -

I purchased the hinge kits from gm, which included a two new bushings and a new hinge pin for each hinge. Took the door off, and the hinges off, disassemblemed them, and put in the new hinge pins.

About a week after I re-installed them and re-hung the door, the hinge pins kept popping up causing the door to sag. Every day I would have to push the pins back down to get the door to close correctly. I even spot welded the pins in, but they wouldn't hold every long before poppoig up again.

I can't imagine that I did anything wrong during the replacement & installation, but it obviously didn't work.

I ended up purchasing two new complete hinges from gm & replacing them. Had to pull the fender, and it was a ton of work & I was pissed at how long it took, bet now that it's over I'm extremely happy with the results. I can gently close the door and it closes perfectly.

Hope this helps.

Bob

[Low Truck FNG]

Bob is scaring me!!!

[TIMSPEED]

I 2nd Bob's ideas. I bought that hinge kit from GM too..repalced the bushings and pins..stupid pins pop right back up a week after being pushed back down. So..anyone who rides in my truck..I tell em "SLAM and LOCK the door, or you might fall out."

[solidaxel]

Mine did the same thing so I welded the pins in, only one pin would pop up, but the passenger door still is a ***** to close. I don't liking slaming doors especially on a well built truck, but if not you have to close it three times !!

[82 Silverado 4X]

My problem was the junk generic door shell that I installed to replace the rusted one that came on my truck. Even after rebuilding the hinges and replacing the striker it still needed to be slammed shut. From the window down it lined up perfectly with the cab and fender, but from the window up it appears to be pushed in too far.
I recently found a nice original GM rust free shell to install to replace the generic one. I hope this solves the problem.

[Moody Blue]

I am having the same problem with my door, But after reading the reply's, I thing ill weld my doors up and enter through the rear window :p

[82 Silverado 4X]

If you have installed new door rubber it sometimes makes your door difficult to close properly untilit gets seated in.

[old Rusty C10]

it may be just as easy to get a set of donor hinges i got mine from a junkyard for both sides for $15....and they didnt need bushings