Common Problem(door) Any Solution?

rbruce1314 · Post by **rbruce1314** » 15 Aug 2005, 17:37

Right- Xant Estate. Drivers door has just started to drop. It is at the stage where it just touches the top of the o/s/r door as it closes but otherwise closes freely. Is there any way of preventing it getting worse, and if not how far do I let it go before forking out hard cash?

James.UK · Post by **James.UK** » 15 Aug 2005, 18:49

Try:- Get two pieces of wood approx 2 inch by one and a half inches, about 12 inches long, and a short plank, 5 to 6 foot long.
Place one piece of wood on the door sill to protect it, then slide the plank under the door and onto the wood. (you may need to lift one side of your car if the plank is too long). Then put the other short piece of wood on top of the plank, but under the door so that the plank does not lift on the door skin.. Keep the plank as far from the door hinge as possible to give max leverage on them.
Then lift the end of the plank up carefully to lever the door upwards a little, try the door for fit after each lift untill it swings into place freely without the bottom of the door catching its sill..
When you are happy with its fit, the job is done.. This was a very common practice on Jaguars etc with worn drivers door hinges due mainly to the heavy weight of its doors, and always worked very well...
You had better examine the state of the metal around the door hinges on a modern car to make sure its capable of taking the lift first though, dont want your hinges to come off the car!!

Post by **Peter.N.** » 15 Aug 2005, 19:01

I was going to suggest putting a jack under it, but your way is much kinder to the door!

aengus · Post by **aengus** » 15 Aug 2005, 19:13

nooo, you don't want to do that!
do a search for "xantia door drop" and read the other threads, looks like its a common problem.
Forcing the hinge may just make it a lot worse, as it seems it's a weld failing that is the root cause. If you're really lucky then it may just be the hinge pin

rbruce1314 · Post by **rbruce1314** » 15 Aug 2005, 19:27

OK thanks for advice so far. However, having looked at the other threads on the search, it is NOT the hinges, and it does NOT hit the latch on closing (latch has not been adjusted either)yet.
I'm also with Aengus. I've done the jack/wood trick on other cars successfully, but if the welds are weak it will just make things worse.
So, back to the original question- it's started but is not a problem yet,so is there any way I can stop it getting worse?

James.UK · Post by **James.UK** » 15 Aug 2005, 20:03

Is there any play? if so where? get someone to lift the door up and down while you examine the hinges, is it a worn pin? something come loose? metal seperating? more info would be a help. [:)]
.

NiSk · Post by **NiSk** » 15 Aug 2005, 21:36

Open the door fully and carefully apply upward and downward pressure on the open end - if you can see the hinge attachment panel flex, then you have the ususl problem with insufficient weld penetration. There are a number of suggestion on fixing this on the forum, from drilling and welding to just drilling and bolting. But get it done quickly, before any more damage is done.
//NiSk

stewart_c · Post by **stewart_c** » 16 Aug 2005, 01:10

You will have to bite the bullit sometime and get it welded (the original weld does not have good adhesion to the bulkhead).
Had mine done 2 years ago and (touch wood) it is still o.k. it all started as yours has done,I think all estates need it done sooner or later [:(]

citronut · Post by **citronut** » 16 Aug 2005, 01:21

this is normaly down to welds or hindge pins
regards malcolm

rbruce1314 · Post by **rbruce1314** » 16 Aug 2005, 02:15

IT'S NOT THE [:(!][:(!][:(!][:(!] HINGES- I've checked. Movement with door fully open is of door and hinges together. Guess there is no answer then other than to leave it to get bad then get it welded- what I had hoped for was a fix to stop it getting any worse.

citronut · Post by **citronut** » 16 Aug 2005, 02:37

just dont leave it till it comes away completly,because its not very easy to get it back in line,its beter to get it welded as soon as you see a crack
regards malcolm

rossnunn · Post by **rossnunn** » 16 Aug 2005, 04:22

I know you say its not the hinges, but open the door fully & look at the pin in the centre of the hinge, both of them had come undone a little on our blue xantia, not enough to worry about but it did make the difference between shutting the door once & slaming it twice!
If you have alredy checked this then don't bite my head off - I only have one

robsons · Post by **robsons** » 16 Aug 2005, 12:34

I used to have this on my estate. All I used to do was grab the door when open about 4" and pull it up by hand. I used to do this every few months. From what I can remember the panel the hinge is welded to is quite thin guage steel and just deformed. Although I did this many times it never propagated a crack although there will be a point when this causes fatigue and it does crack. Make sure the striker pin is in line with where the hinge places the door. If this is set wrongly then as you drive the car and it flexes, the additional stresses placed on the hinge will crack it way before any manhandling you do will.
If you do leave it drooped, the striker plate will be lifting the door up constantly and the hinge panel will be flexed elastically. The flex whist driving will cause it to keep bending back and forth all the time. It will crack quicker like this! Bend it by hand once into the right position, adjust the striker (if it needs it) and keep an eye on it.
Better it be bent a few times a year than all the time driving.
JMHO
Stoo

davek-uk · Post by **davek-uk** » 16 Aug 2005, 18:40

The best thread on the subject is http://www.andyspares.com/discussionfor ... IC_ID=5425

rbruce1314 · Post by **rbruce1314** » 17 Aug 2005, 17:50

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by rossnunn</i>

If you have alredy checked this then don't bite my head off - I only have one

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Sorry mate- it was late when I posted [:I]
Hinge pins on mine are Torx-headed and are as tight as they can be.
Otherwise- does pulling the door up really work on this vehicle and is it sensible: there appears to be some confusion as to whether it protects the striker or damages the weld panel further.