Driver side door seems to drag on the bottom only when you close it. Never wrecked, nothing appears broken, no leakes but it is annoying. Any suggestions on how to adjust or fix?
This is usually caused from worn door hinge pins. One way to adjust the door is take a floor jack and place a hunk of 2X4 on the saddle. Open the door just enough so the floor jack can be positioned under the back part of the door. Raise up the door with the floor jack and release. Try closing the door. Repeat until the door no longer drags on the door sill.
Tester
I had this happen on my 1978 Oldsmobile Cutlass when it was 23 years old. The hinge was worn. I went to a body shop and they said that I would have to find the hinge for them. They suggested either a salvage yard or the dealer. I went to the dealer and they got the manager from the body shop. She looked at the door and said that it probably wasn’t possible to get a replacement hinge. I told her that I was really disappointed. I had purchased the car new from the agency and I was assured when I purchased the car that they would always be able to keep it going for me. She replied that they didn’t expect someone to drive the car 23 years and 225,000 miles. However she said she would see what she could do. She disappeared into the shop area and came back with a great big technician named Bruce. Bruce was carrying a long wrench, a long pin and a sledge hammer. He loosened the bolts on the hinge, put the big pin on the bottom of the hinge and drove it up with the sledge hammer. He tightened the bolts and the door worked perefectly and still does. When I asked about the charge, he said, “There is no charge. We guarantee these babies 25 years or 250,000 miles”. We all had a good laugh. At any rate, you might try Bruce’s technique for fixing your door.
Lifting The Door From The End That Swings Out Should Begin Lifting The whole Car. The Door Shouldn’t Wiggle Or Clunk Up And Down.
If it does then the hinge pins or hinges are worn out or broken. Try following Tester’s advice.
Also, on some cheesey little Asian cars sometimes just lifting hard on the door can bend the hinges enough without need of a jack. I’ve done it.
CSA
Get a telephone book.
Open it, and put an inch or so of it between the two halves of the lower door hinge. Close the door, gently at first, then using more force as it gets closer to closed. Remove the book and see if the door closes any better. If necessary, put more of the book into the hinge and repeat.
What you’re after here is to bend the lower hinge out enough to raise the lower edge of the door. Do it in SMALL increments.
The hinge pins and/or bushings are worn out. Jacking up the door is patch work and when the bushing finally falls out and is replaced the door will then be out of alignment and something like the door shell or hinge pillar will need to be bent to align it properly. Just replace what is worn.