Door Adjustment

[Old Guy]

I recently replaced the outside window scraper / trim piece on my driver side door. Following that, I noticed that the driver side door has become slightly harder to shut and when the door latch is released, the door pops out ever so slightly as if it were spring loaded. You can also feel that the latch is under tension as it is slightly harder to release.

My initial reaction was to adjust the strike slightly outwards by about 1 -2 mm. This returned the operation of the door latching to pretty much the way it was before the replacement of the scraper; however, the back edge of the door sat about 1-2 mm proud of the rear 1/4 panel which being self admitted anal about stuff like that, was no good. So the strike is back in its original position and the door requires a bit of a push to ensure that it latches.

I surmise that the new window scraper is pushing the door glass inward slightly which is causing the top of the glass to press against the top gasket more, hence the additional resistance when closing the door. The scraper has no provision for adjustment. I think I have two possible options. Wait and see is the scraper rubber relaxes a bit over time and resolves the problem or adjust the glass outward slightly to reduce the contact pressure.

In the event that I become impatient with the scraper and decide to adjust the glass, is the procedure to adjust the strike first and then adjust the glass. That would seem logical; however, the service manual is silent on that. The second question is how painful is the adjustment of the door glass on a T top? The service manual dedicates a number of pages to the procedure. Some comments on real world experience with adjustment of the glass might influence how long I am prepared to wait to see if the problem resolves itself.

 

[The King]

I need my drivers window adjusted also, as it leaks a fair amount of air at the upper part. Not really a concern most of the time, as I keep the roof off usually. I remember seeing a procedure described at one point, possibly by Kaz, that involved making shims out of wood in varying thicknesses. That combined with the chance of breaking tabs off the door panel while removing has kept me from addressing the problem.

 

[Larry Bastanza]

The window glass is adjusted by two things:

1. Each window track, two of them, are mounted using a three point system, (2 bottom, 1 top) the track is mounted on these three screws that can be moved in/out to align the window position. Also there are two max height adjusters, that essentially stop the glass at the height you set the bolts to. (height adjustment is on the door top section, 2 adjustments).

So if you want to keep the window from going up too high and hitting the top bead of the rubber adjust those. If you want to change the position of the window(in/out) adjust the rails.

Whenever I take a door/window apart to relube, I mark, then count the bolt turns as I unscrew them, then reposition them and only typically perform minor adjustments, if any. The two adjustments above can set the window wherever you need it. BTW, each bolt typically has about 13-18 full turns from all the way in to all the way out, so you get a full range of adjustments.

HTH,
LarryB

 

[Old Guy]

Whenever I take a door/window apart to relube, I mark, then count the bolt turns as I unscrew them, then reposition them and only typically perform minor adjustments, if any. The two adjustments above can set the window wherever you need it. BTW, each bolt typically has about 13-18 full turns from all the way in to all the way out, so you get a full range of adjustments.

HTH,
LarryB

That is a good tip. Now I would just have to remember where I wrote down the number of turns. I have Hugo's window regulator kit that I am going to install at some point. I will probably try the glass in-out adjustment at that point if door closure is still an issue.

 

[99NCNSX]

The window glass is adjusted by two things:

1. Each window track, two of them, are mounted using a three point system, (2 bottom, 1 top) the track is mounted on these three screws that can be moved in/out to align the window position. Also there are two max height adjusters, that essentially stop the glass at the height you set the bolts to. (height adjustment is on the door top section, 2 adjustments).

So if you want to keep the window from going up too high and hitting the top bead of the rubber adjust those. If you want to change the position of the window(in/out) adjust the rails.

Whenever I take a door/window apart to relube, I mark, then count the bolt turns as I unscrew them, then reposition them and only typically perform minor adjustments, if any. The two adjustments above can set the window wherever you need it. BTW, each bolt typically has about 13-18 full turns from all the way in to all the way out, so you get a full range of adjustments.

HTH,
LarryB

Larry, it never ceases to amaze me how much you know about these cars!