Driver's side door
Moderator: RichardW
Driver's side door
Hi, I need to reposition the driver's door on my Xantia II but find that the hinges are welded at both ends. Can anyone advise me the best way to go about it?
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RichardW
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John,
Is it an estate? If so, these are known to have a problem with the door hinges pulling away, causing the door to drop. Do a search on here, at least one poster has repaired it without resorting to welding. If not it might be worth checking for corrosion around the hinges - my mate had one go on his like this, and it used to be a common problem on BXs.
Is it an estate? If so, these are known to have a problem with the door hinges pulling away, causing the door to drop. Do a search on here, at least one poster has repaired it without resorting to welding. If not it might be worth checking for corrosion around the hinges - my mate had one go on his like this, and it used to be a common problem on BXs.
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!!
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!!
Had the same problem, tried the brute force method - I think that's what caused the hinge to come loose! But this is a known fault on older Xantias and costs a fortune at Citroen, so I foudn Robin's post (see another topic on this website) Having read his suggestions, I started to take the door off - but the lower hinge pin sheared and I'm left with the lower half of it only, so now I can't get the door off.
So, Instead, I took off the door trim and drilled an 8mm hole right through the hinge & various layers of metal, right into the car, having first moved the carpet, sound proofing & wiring out of the way inside & put a pieve of wood there for safety's sake. Then I cut a piece of M8 studding and poked it in, put a nut on the outside of the hinge, a humungous washer on the inside, tightened it all up and BINGO - problem solved!
So don't even try top take off the door, just take off the outside trim & drill through the hole. Needs a long drill, though - I started with a 6mm drill (smaller drills weren't long enough for the pilot hole, enlarged the hole with an ordinary 8mm drill, but it wasn't long enough to go right through. I had a long 8mm masonry drill in the shed so used that (slowly, they don't like getting hot!) to go right thriugh two more layers of thin steel.
Apart from the abortive attrempt at removing the door, total job time was about an hour.
Only thing is, I've now only got half a hinge pin in my lower hinge........ Will be fun if that breaks too - better keep it well oiled!
Thanks a lot for your information in Andyspares - a really useful forum!
So, Instead, I took off the door trim and drilled an 8mm hole right through the hinge & various layers of metal, right into the car, having first moved the carpet, sound proofing & wiring out of the way inside & put a pieve of wood there for safety's sake. Then I cut a piece of M8 studding and poked it in, put a nut on the outside of the hinge, a humungous washer on the inside, tightened it all up and BINGO - problem solved!
So don't even try top take off the door, just take off the outside trim & drill through the hole. Needs a long drill, though - I started with a 6mm drill (smaller drills weren't long enough for the pilot hole, enlarged the hole with an ordinary 8mm drill, but it wasn't long enough to go right through. I had a long 8mm masonry drill in the shed so used that (slowly, they don't like getting hot!) to go right thriugh two more layers of thin steel.
Apart from the abortive attrempt at removing the door, total job time was about an hour.
Only thing is, I've now only got half a hinge pin in my lower hinge........ Will be fun if that breaks too - better keep it well oiled!
Thanks a lot for your information in Andyspares - a really useful forum!