dantastic Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 At the top of my doors there's a pretty massive gap. Bit worse on the drivers side. I am trying to fix it so the doors close properly, I know deep in my heart it can be done, regardless of what countless people all over the internet says! The problem I have is the gap between the top of the door and the roof is too big. It looks like the door should sit higher up in the door frame. One of the most commonly suggested fixes is to bend the top of the door but that won't actually do much in my case. The door doesn't need to come in, it needs to come up. With that in mind the most obvious fix would be to change the hinges. Which I did yesterday and it made absolutely no difference. Whilst changing the hinges I also tried adjusting them. This adjustment-ability is merely an illusion though, there is no adjustment in the hinges. You can add or remove shims but you can't really adjust anything. So the only thing I can think of next is to adjust the door frame itself. Looking at it it looks like maybe the back of the door is sitting a touch lower than the front of the door. I'm thinking if I push the top of the bulkhead forward a bit this would bring the back of the door up. I'm thinking a bottle jack and a few planks. Am I on the right direction here or what should I look at adjusting next? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverik Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 Pictures would help... Panel lines are a pig to sort out, I've only ever sorted it the re-build stage when everything is still loose... You wont budget the bulkhead unless the wings are removed (or very loose), you've then got the transmission tunnel that helps holding it in place, then the door sill too... Is the curve of the body mid way down aligned with the curve on the door? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dantastic Posted July 22, 2015 Author Share Posted July 22, 2015 I will have to take a few photos later. So the bulkhead is not that easy to move. Not even with a hydraulic jack?? The odd things is, all gaps look even and correct, except for the top of the door. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverik Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 is your roof attached correctly...? Yeah a hydraulic jack will easily move a bulkhead... but you're likely to damage and dint in the process... they are rather springy things, and you can try force it, but it will just spring back to where all the bolts are holding it in place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dantastic Posted July 22, 2015 Author Share Posted July 22, 2015 I see what you are saying. Is the roof attached correctly. I don't know. Initial tough is, of course it's bloody attached correctly! But thinking about it I'm not sure. I think it is, it looks right. I measured the height from the top of the tub to the roof and it was the same both sides. Can't remember what it was exactly but it was the same anyway. How much of a job is it to loosen all the bolts holding the bulkhead in place? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverik Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 Depends on your definition of a big job... If you look through my build thread I suffered from this issue when I first acquired my 90, I never really got to the bottom of what caused it, I had a theory it was something to do with the bulkhead being 1986 and the doors being 2000 (Td5 era) I know they're meant to be a straight swap but I've had different experiences. It took a lot of jiggling when I put it all back together to get the gap to disappear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retroanaconda Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 The height of the door in the gap is set by the hinges. There is some limited adjustment in the bulkhead side of the hinge as they are spire nut type things. However the curve in the door panel needs to line up with the curve in the bulkhead and rear tub, so even if you were able to shift it on the hinges you won't be able to go any higher than the point where the curves match without it looking carp and not sealing. Make sure the bulkhead A pillar is parallel with the B pillar on the tub front edge, and that the gap is correct (door width plus 10-15 mm or so). I use a piece of wood cut to the right length to check it at the top and bottom. If the door gaps are correct and the bodywork is in line (look down the barrel of the body curve to check it is in line all the way down) then the only reason your door wouldn't be reaching the roof is either A: the roof is not fitted correctly as above (unlikely, but possible) or B: the door is too short. Are they the original doors? As above moving the bulkhead is a pretty major job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dantastic Posted July 22, 2015 Author Share Posted July 22, 2015 Well, this might be awkward now. The doors are original as far as I know. The roof however, is not. The roof and the cab back panel are from a Puma, mine is a TD5. If the back panel was a smidgen taller it would explain things. I didn't even consider this. Could someone with a truck cab measure the distance from the top of the tub to the bottom of the roof? So the measurement would include the seals etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dantastic Posted July 23, 2015 Author Share Posted July 23, 2015 Ok, photos. When I first fitted the new hinges the crease along the side did line up with the door but the door has dropped a bit. I don't actually think there is any adjustment at all in the door hinges. They will sit where they want to sit. Looking at some of the pics from the outside it looks like just the back of the door needs to come up just a very small bit. But if you look from the inside there is just too much of a gap. The top of the door ends before the rubber seal starts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 Your top hinge looks broken, or maybe just badly misaligned, won't particularly help your door gap problem, but just noticed it as I was scanning. Looks to me like you want to just give the door a good yank from the top to pull it over Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Brock Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 You have got the top and bottom hinges the right way round they are different (sucking eggs and all lol) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dantastic Posted July 23, 2015 Author Share Posted July 23, 2015 Yea, the hinges aren't straight, have quite a lot of angle in them. The top ones also have holes for the mirrors so you can't actually get them wrong. Top one does look a bit crooked. I have tried loosen and refixing, it is where it wants to be...... It will need a bit more than just bending, it needs to come up but I just don't know how. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Brock Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 You can if you get the NS and OS the wrong way round as they would be upside down ! I'm sure some of they are handed and there is an angle on them it might be the bottom one cant remember http://www.johncraddockltd.co.uk/land-rover-defender/defender-90-and-110/parts/body-and-fittings/door-locks-handles-and-hinges/bdb710200-hinge-top-rh-front-door-from-wa138480.html http://www.johncraddockltd.co.uk/land-rover-defender/defender-90-and-110/parts/body-and-fittings/door-locks-handles-and-hinges/bdb710210-hinge-top-lh-front-door-from-wa138480.html http://www.johncraddockltd.co.uk/land-rover-defender/defender-90-and-110/parts/body-and-fittings/door-locks-handles-and-hinges/bdb710220-door-hinge-rh-lower-2001-onwards.html http://www.johncraddockltd.co.uk/land-rover-defender/defender-90-and-110/parts/body-and-fittings/door-locks-handles-and-hinges/bdb710230-hinge-door-left-hand-lower-2001-on.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve b Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 This is a problem I've seen lots , I think it's down to tolerance build -up , extending the lip on the hardtop to allow the seal to actually come contact with the door top frame is probably the easiest way to sort it . From your pics the form line on the doors and bulkhead/tub seem to be right so its not a case of lifting the door , and you can't lower the hardtop ... The door hinges are all handed and different upper to lower so it's not possible to fit them in the wrong place cheers Steveb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oneandtwo Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 My parents had a 300tdi county station wagon that suffered from this - the door just about sealed but it always seemed like the roof wasn't pulled down enough over the screen frame. Drivers side was worse but it came new from landrover like this and had never been fiddled with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dantastic Posted July 24, 2015 Author Share Posted July 24, 2015 Steve might have the solution I think. Adding a bit of a lip to lower the seal might do the trick. Like you say, the door looks to be right! Lol, why do we love these faulty things! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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