Rear door adjustment and leaks (1 Viewer)

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Jan 19, 2005
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I am starting down the road of chasing leaks. My most noticeable leak is at the top of the rear passenger door. I just assumed it was from a trashed seal on the door. After finally getting around to investigating the seal it appears to be in good shape. But the water is definitely coming in through the top of the door......

Upon closer inspection it appears the door is not seating properly when closed. The door hinges open and close very smoothly and latches with no problems, but I can clearly see the top of the door is not flush with the body like it should be. I feel like the whole door should shift forward a bit.

This rig has taken some good smacks with big rocks and trees so I am hoping the body and or door aren't tweaked beyond repair. I don't actually see anything bent or dented on the door or roof, but the body under the door has taken a hit for sure.

The FSM has a page on adjusting the rear doors but it is quite vague on what hinges to use and how to do it.

Question #1: Do these door/body lines look like I have bent/damaged the body to much to get a good seal?

Question #2: Do you all think I can adjust the door for a better fit using the hinges and cure my leak?

Question #3: Assuming I decide to try and adjust the door, what is the best procedure?

Pictures:

Seal where water is coming in:
16123105976307404518109615041821.jpg


Passenger door (leaking) closed tight in picture:
16123106838305349827145014759200.jpg


1612310727472686562748238724840.jpg


Body damage under leaking door:
16123107641616871827197242387320.jpg


Drivers rear door that doesn't leak:
16123108145648226173091618120338.jpg


Thanks for the input
 
Clearly looks tweaked. Toe in on the bottom and toe out at the top. My gas tank cover looked similar a couple weeks back. I just twisted it the opposite direction until it was flush. Not sure how to do that with a door. How do the hinges look?
 
How do the hinges look?
Hinges look normal. That being said I am not a hinge expert lol.

I also thought it looked "toed in" on the bottom but the drivers side door seems to be the same on the bottom.
 
The same door on my rig is tweaked. It was from previous owner and collision. It’s hard to close but doesn’t appear to be leaking. I was going to try to adjust it by loosen the hinges slightly to get exact fit then tighten them back down. Unfortunately my standard Phillips point bits could not budge the screws and I didn’t want to mar them too bad before getting the right sized bits. I did finally get some Japanese spec bits but haven’t gotten around to an adjustment yet.
 
Damn leaks....

I have also had some water dripping from this spot.

20210202_173858.jpg


I tried the weed eater line in the drains and there was zero resistance. Poured some water in the drains and it all drained right out of both sides.

So why am I getting drips from the passenger side ceiling?

20210202_172727.jpg
20210202_173330.jpg
 
Damn leaks....

I have also had some water dripping from this spot.

View attachment 2573831

I tried the weed eater line in the drains and there was zero resistance. Poured some water in the drains and it all drained right out of both sides.

So why am I getting drips from the passenger side ceiling?

View attachment 2573834View attachment 2573835

This fixed my sunroof leak. I tried everything. Drains were clear but my glass was misaligned with the roof along with the gasket being shrunken over all the years in the CA sunshine.

Get a bicycle tube I believe it's 26"
Take sunroof glass out.
Cut a strip out of the bicycle tube. (Like a giant rubber band)
Work its way between the gasket and the seal.
(That will come apparent when you take it off the vehicle)
When you reinstall the glass you may need a washer or 2 to help shim the glass higher so it seals.

My leak was in the same spot and this was my fix.
 
I am starting down the road of chasing leaks. My most noticeable leak is at the top of the rear passenger door. I just assumed it was from a trashed seal on the door. After finally getting around to investigating the seal it appears to be in good shape. But the water is definitely coming in through the top of the door......

Upon closer inspection it appears the door is not seating properly when closed. The door hinges open and close very smoothly and latches with no problems, but I can clearly see the top of the door is not flush with the body like it should be. I feel like the whole door should shift forward a bit.

This rig has taken some good smacks with big rocks and trees so I am hoping the body and or door aren't tweaked beyond repair. I don't actually see anything bent or dented on the door or roof, but the body under the door has taken a hit for sure.

The FSM has a page on adjusting the rear doors but it is quite vague on what hinges to use and how to do it.

Question #1: Do these door/body lines look like I have bent/damaged the body to much to get a good seal?

Question #2: Do you all think I can adjust the door for a better fit using the hinges and cure my leak?

Question #3: Assuming I decide to try and adjust the door, what is the best procedure?

Pictures:

Seal where water is coming in:
View attachment 2573618

Passenger door (leaking) closed tight in picture:
View attachment 2573623

View attachment 2573626

Body damage under leaking door:
View attachment 2573628

Drivers rear door that doesn't leak:
View attachment 2573629

Thanks for the input
Did you ever figure out how to fix this issue? Mine leaks at the same spot, same side and same door. Maybe this is a common thing with these rigs?
 
The door in the 3rd picture looks like it was closed hard with something blocking the top part of the door from closing. Maybe even the roof rack foot, if it ever was loose and obstructing the door and then someone slammed or leaned on the door to close it. It doesn't really take that much to bend the window frame out of alignment on a door like this.

You typically can put something in the door to prevent it from closing all the way, like a thick softcover book and then carefully/slowly push the top of the door in to bend it back to shape. My basic approach with this door would be to roll the main glass pane down to protect it from flexing then find a firm object to hold the door open that won't damage the paint, seals or doorcard. Place this object near the striker plate as that part of the door should be strong enough to support pushing on the window frame. Then, gently/slowly push in on the window frame until you feel it bend a bit. From there you remove the door block, close the door and see if you made any progress. You don't want to over-bend, break the fixed pane of glass or do any damage to the door card, seal etc. so just bend a little at a time to get the feel for it and check to see where you need to apply pressure to get the best possible alignment. Sometimes you have to move the block around to a high point and then press near it to straighten a section/etc. but typically placing the block near the striker and pushing in on the top-rear corner of the window frame catches the most likely damage.

Once the door looks like it's aligned again you can take something like a dollar bill and close it in the door so that the seal is holding it in place. Then reach through the window with one hand to grab one end of the bill and grab the other end of the bill with the hand that is outside the truck. Slide the bill it in/out under the door seal and work it around the door to find any tight or loose areas of the seal. Continue to adjust as needed and you may also need to refresh the seal, adjust the striker and/or the hinges to get it consistently snug all the way around.

Once you get the hang of this you can use the dollar bill on all 4 doors and the rear hatch to identify any further door alignment work or seal replacement that is needed.
 
I don't think I have anything new to add. I agree that the 2 very similar pictures of doors make it look like the passenger door is tweaked. I was also wondering about the roof rack foot, and what looks like a "step" or seam in the passenger gutter rail. The last car door hinges I messed with were on an old Subaru Loyale wagon I had for a bit. I remember it being a finnicky process, but without a window frame.
 
Did you ever figure out how to fix this issue? Mine leaks at the same spot, same side and same door. Maybe this is a common thing with these rigs?
If your asking about the leak where my rear passenger door seals in the door frame than yes I fixed it. Although the moonroof still leaks a little.

My door and body is very tweaked. This rig was used hard by the PO and spent some time on its side at sand hollow a few times......

I made a shim/spacer out of 1/4" steel plate to fit inbetween the bottom door hinge and the body.
I used extended bolts for the hinge and installed the shim/spacer.


This made the door close tighter along the top and for much better. The shim/spacer made the leak 90% better. But it still leaked a little not in the car wash.

So next I bought a strip of generic foam weather strip stuff from home depot. It was 1/2" wide and 1/8" thick. I installed this along the top of the door opening and this finished curing the leak.
 
The door in the 3rd picture looks like it was closed hard with something blocking the top part of the door from closing.
Nope, just rolled into a giant slab of sandstone.

@JLH911

Here is a link to a post in the weekend thread with more details and pictures on how I fixed the leak at the top of my rear passenger door.

Post in thread 'What Did You Do with Your 80 This Weekend?' https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/what-did-you-do-with-your-80-this-weekend.586191/post-13653596
 
It's almost as if that thread is gone?
 
It's almost as if that thread is gone?
Thats weird, the first link I posted doesnt work for me but the 2nd one works.

It is literally post #55707 in the "what did you do with your 80 this weekend" sticky thread
 
second link worked for me. Nice job. I also dig your welding cart/table.
 

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