Help aligning doors - Land Rovers Only

black and tan · 03-24-2007, 08:11 PM

I've just finished reading ALL the series forums threads...Just couldn't stop!
(If there is about 24, if there is more oops), along with searching.

I'm looking for tips to aligning the side doors as they drop about 1/2" (from hinge to rear of door) on each side and only catch on the secondary (little) door pillar latch indent.

Any wise ones know some sort of trick... I just put new hardware in and the fitment is exact, there is no slop in the hinge-to-door flange, however if I gently lift up on the doors I can get about 1/4" vertical movement....from the front 1/4" panel hinge mounts.

Looking for advise, I'll be posting pics soon, as it's too dark now for my camera to get a good shot. Thanks in advance for any help

Greg S · 03-24-2007, 11:28 PM

You don't say anything about it so it leaves me wondering if you adjusted the hinge. Sounds too basic.

The bulkhead has sliding, captive nuts in it for adjusting the door hinge. Loosen the hinge bolts into the bulkhead and lift up on the rear of the door to slide the top one forward or the bottom one rearward. After adjusting to the right spot, there will still be some movement allowed in the brass ball/ pin assembly. Or do you have series 3 hinges? If so, ignore the part about the brass ball/ pin and just do the captive nut adjustment.

Make sure that after the adjustment, you aren't hitting the windshield with the door top.

scatterling · 03-25-2007, 05:30 AM

If the Rover in your avatar is the one you are talking about then it looks like you have series three hinges. Greg is right, you should do the adjustment at the bulkhead - don't know what hardware you just replaced but you might want to get an extra set of captive nuts and bolts to match before you start messing with the old.
The captive nuts rust, wear out and or break over time. The first time I tried to adjust my doors I needed to drill two of the bolts out to replace all of the captive nuts. Frustrating to have to wait days for new hardware to arrive after butchering an "oh, it should only take a minute, right?" task like door adjustment!!

Come to think of it, just go ahead and order every spare part you might ever need now!! Good Luck

TerryS · 03-25-2007, 08:14 AM

Aligning the doors can be a time consuming task, but not difficult. Three things need to fall into place.
1.Getting the doors to align, so that the gap between the doors and the bulkhead is uniform.
2. Getting the gap to be uniform between the doors and tub.
3. Sighting down the galvanized trim piece on top of the tub, so that the galvanized top of the lower doors is straight & in the same plane as the tub.

The door hinges have a fair bit of range in adjustment on the bulkhead, but not on the doors themselves. Loosening the lower two hinges to bulkhead bolts, and moving the hinge rearward raises the back top edge of the door. Doing the same to the top hinge lowers the top rear edge of the door.
The striker plate is adjustable too, both in/out, and up/down.
All else failing, the front of the tub can be raised or lowered, at the five tabs attaching it to the frame, and the bulkhead can be pitched forward or backward, by loosening the three bolts, each side where the bulhead brackets join the frame. This is usually only necessary when the wings are off, and is an alignment done when the car is built (or rebuilt)

Nothing more obvious than tapered gaps and galvanized pieces out of line, and can be a pain, but only because it takes alot of time and fiddling, but far from hard.
Not getting the latch adjusted just right can and often mean the door will pop open when the truck goes round a corner, and flexes.

pickuprover · 03-25-2007, 09:19 AM

If worse comes to worse, you can also drill the holes on the door a little bigger, giving you a little more adjustment.. (I had to do that to mine to get mine lined up as I used all the bulkhead adjustments..... )

black and tan · 03-25-2007, 11:55 PM

Yeah, seems basic, but you never know... thanks Terry S and others I really didn't want to have to start fiddling with the bulkhead bolts as mine are Phillips head and I can see them stripping. But that's just what I'll have to do. I figure with that and the striker plate I'll be good to go, thanks again. no pics today got to busy fabbing mounts for the ultimate recovery tool, the towbar.

03-24-2007, 08:11 PM	#1 (permalink)
black and tan You can run, but you'll only die tired. Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: NW Florida Posts: 16 Gallery: 0	Help aligning doors I've just finished reading ALL the series forums threads...Just couldn't stop! (If there is about 24, if there is more oops), along with searching. I'm looking for tips to aligning the side doors as they drop about 1/2" (from hinge to rear of door) on each side and only catch on the secondary (little) door pillar latch indent. Any wise ones know some sort of trick... I just put new hardware in and the fitment is exact, there is no slop in the hinge-to-door flange, however if I gently lift up on the doors I can get about 1/4" vertical movement....from the front 1/4" panel hinge mounts. Looking for advise, I'll be posting pics soon, as it's too dark now for my camera to get a good shot. Thanks in advance for any help

03-25-2007, 05:30 AM	#3 (permalink)
scatterling Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Pennsylvania, USA Posts: 25 Gallery: 0	If the Rover in your avatar is the one you are talking about then it looks like you have series three hinges. Greg is right, you should do the adjustment at the bulkhead - don't know what hardware you just replaced but you might want to get an extra set of captive nuts and bolts to match before you start messing with the old. The captive nuts rust, wear out and or break over time. The first time I tried to adjust my doors I needed to drill two of the bolts out to replace all of the captive nuts. Frustrating to have to wait days for new hardware to arrive after butchering an "oh, it should only take a minute, right?" task like door adjustment!! Come to think of it, just go ahead and order every spare part you might ever need now!! Good Luck __________________ Neil Hanekom 1975 exMOD 109"

03-25-2007, 09:19 AM	#5 (permalink)
pickuprover Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: London, Ontario, Canada Posts: 2,364 Gallery: 0	If worse comes to worse, you can also drill the holes on the door a little bigger, giving you a little more adjustment.. (I had to do that to mine to get mine lined up as I used all the bulkhead adjustments..... ) __________________ Andrew Barr. 1972 Series III 109. "the Tin Turtle" "However, that was his ploy and I caved....totally caved... LOL!" Jellijo

03-25-2007, 11:55 PM	#6 (permalink)
black and tan You can run, but you'll only die tired. Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: NW Florida Posts: 16 Gallery: 0	Thanks Yeah, seems basic, but you never know... thanks Terry S and others I really didn't want to have to start fiddling with the bulkhead bolts as mine are Phillips head and I can see them stripping. But that's just what I'll have to do. I figure with that and the striker plate I'll be good to go, thanks again. no pics today got to busy fabbing mounts for the ultimate recovery tool, the towbar.

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03-24-2007, 11:28 PM	#2 (permalink)
Greg S Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Duncan, B.C. Canada. Posts: 145 Gallery: 0	You don't say anything about it so it leaves me wondering if you adjusted the hinge. Sounds too basic. The bulkhead has sliding, captive nuts in it for adjusting the door hinge. Loosen the hinge bolts into the bulkhead and lift up on the rear of the door to slide the top one forward or the bottom one rearward. After adjusting to the right spot, there will still be some movement allowed in the brass ball/ pin assembly. Or do you have series 3 hinges? If so, ignore the part about the brass ball/ pin and just do the captive nut adjustment. Make sure that after the adjustment, you aren't hitting the windshield with the door top.

03-25-2007, 08:14 AM	#4 (permalink)
TerryS Moderator Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Bloomfield, CT If I died today, I lived there all my life. Posts: 2,233 Gallery: 0	Aligning the doors can be a time consuming task, but not difficult. Three things need to fall into place. 1.Getting the doors to align, so that the gap between the doors and the bulkhead is uniform. 2. Getting the gap to be uniform between the doors and tub. 3. Sighting down the galvanized trim piece on top of the tub, so that the galvanized top of the lower doors is straight & in the same plane as the tub. The door hinges have a fair bit of range in adjustment on the bulkhead, but not on the doors themselves. Loosening the lower two hinges to bulkhead bolts, and moving the hinge rearward raises the back top edge of the door. Doing the same to the top hinge lowers the top rear edge of the door. The striker plate is adjustable too, both in/out, and up/down. All else failing, the front of the tub can be raised or lowered, at the five tabs attaching it to the frame, and the bulkhead can be pitched forward or backward, by loosening the three bolts, each side where the bulhead brackets join the frame. This is usually only necessary when the wings are off, and is an alignment done when the car is built (or rebuilt) Nothing more obvious than tapered gaps and galvanized pieces out of line, and can be a pain, but only because it takes alot of time and fiddling, but far from hard. Not getting the latch adjusted just right can and often mean the door will pop open when the truck goes round a corner, and flexes.

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