Help me, I had to drive a Jeep Today :)

[rejeep]

After all the rain the past few days there has been a virtual swimming pool in my rover on the driver side..
I think I have pinpointed the issue, however I really don’t have an intelligent solution on how to fix it..
As you can see from the attached pictures, the door top sits a good ¼” bellow the seal.. and the door capping as well is also miss aligned.
I have tried adjusting the doors, with and without latches installed to see if that make s difference and I just can’t get any more height out of the door..
It’s obviously leaking water because the seal is not being compressed on anything and there is visible daylight in the gap..
I have not moved the bulkhead during paint, however I also can’t guarantee that is was 100% correct when I received the truck.. since this is my first rover and the learning curve has mostly been obtained this winter..
Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated…
I had to drive my SRT8 today due to the weather… and that’s just not right.

http://i534.photobucket.com/albums/ee343/rejeep/74%20Series%20III/IMG-20110426-00004.jpg
http://i534.photobucket.com/albums/ee343/rejeep/74%20Series%20III/IMG-20110426-00005.jpg
http://i534.photobucket.com/albums/ee343/rejeep/74%20Series%20III/IMG-20110426-00006.jpg
http://i534.photobucket.com/albums/ee343/rejeep/74%20Series%20III/IMG-20110426-00007.jpg

[LaneRover]

Is it that it is too short or that it is not 'angled in' towards the truck enough at the top?

[rejeep]

I would say too short...
the gap from the door top to roof is even from front to back..
the misalignment in the door capping is also "even" from front of door to back..

[LaneRover]

Not sure what you should do. I forget if there is any 'up or down' adjustment using the door hinge bolts. But if it is any consolation on mine they touch the seal but it still doesn't do much good.

[rejeep]

well I am going to put some secondary weather stripping on the door top itself to create a better seal.. but if the door would line up a bit better it would prob make a WORLD of difference..
funny thing is.. the passenger door closes better than the doors on the Wrangler.. the middle doors close and seal tight with a good solid close and the rear door is great after a slam…

[albersj51]

Have you tried goig back to series hinges? that probably has nothing to do with it, but its worth a shot.

[crankin]

Here was my fix.
I lined the door up so that the seals lined up on the lower door.

For the door tops...
I drilled out the rivets holding the capping and went to lowes and found some aluminum stock that was a quarter inch thick (or whatever your gap is) and was that same width as the door top. Then I went back home marked my holes for the door top post on the aluminum stock and drilled the holes for the rivets to pass through as well as the door top post.

Following?

Basically, the aluminum stock pushes the door top up, closing the gap on the seal and leaves the door bottom the same. All being head under the door capping.

[rejeep]

I was thinking about a "shim" and hiding it under the capping...
or getting an extra thick rubber seal to essentially do the same thing you are suggesting..
I guess I’m glad I’m not the only one with this problem or similar

[amcordo]

Here was my fix.
I lined the door up so that the seals lined up on the lower door.

For the door tops...
I drilled out the rivets holding the capping and went to lowes and found some aluminum stock that was a quarter inch thick (or whatever your gap is) and was that same width as the door top. Then I went back home marked my holes for the door top post on the aluminum stock and drilled the holes for the rivets to pass through as well as the door top post.

Following?

Basically, the aluminum stock pushes the door top up, closing the gap on the seal and leaves the door bottom the same. All being head under the door capping.


That is a really smart, easy fix. I'm glad you posted this.

[Broadstone]

There is some movement for adjustment in the bulkhead and door portions of the hinge. The hinge pins could be quite worn though, if you open the door and all hardware in hinges is tight but there is play then the pins are worn. In regards to the doortop gap take the top off and bend the studs inward, this should help close the gap. I have cut studs off and rewelded them on doortops that were good but the studs threads were gone from rust.

[Terrys]

The curve at the top of your door looks to be a good 1/4" below the curve in the B pillar. There shouldn't be any movement in the hinge to door fit, as the bolts go through tubes, but there is a lot of possible movement in the hinge to doorpost fit. Try loosening those four screws and see if the door will go straight up. If not, the shim under the capping sounds like a good idea.

[SafeAirOne]

A couple of things...

If you shim under the galv capping on the front doors, the rear door "capping" will not be on line with the fronts. There is a bit of adjustability possible with the rear door "cappings", however. The rear door "cappings" aren't really cappings, they're just galv trim pieces fastened to the sides of the rear doors by...I want to say 3...nuts on the inside of the door.

It's nice to see you attempting to cure this. I just wear a raincoat and expect to arive at work with a wet right leg and foot on rainy days.

If you think the door seal gap is a nusiance, wait till your shift lever boots get old and crack/rot and you run through a puddle at road speed--Quite a...refreshing, experience!

[rejeep]

as a general rule of thumb...
im ok with water from the ground up... its water from the top down that irks me..

[Terrys]

If you shim under the galv capping on the front doors, the rear door "capping" will not be on line with the fronts.
They aren't 'in line' now Mark. Look at the pictures in the first post; the capping is quite a bit lower than the trim piece on the rear door, and the whole door appears to be down judging from the B pillar.

[rejeep]

yes the whole door sits lower in the opening..
I am enlisting the help of a friend this afternoon to really lift up on the door with the bulkhead bolts loose and see how much movement there is.

depending on what I can get out of that movement I will prob end up shimming the capping to be in line with the middle doors.

then it will be on to the door latch... another issue only on this door for some reason:rolleyes:

[Terrys]

While your friend is lifting the door up, give the hinges a tap on the bottom edges with a block of wood and hammer. That way the bolts and captive nuts will slide up. The stricker on the B pillar has a fair range of adjustment too.

[LR Max]

I'm watching this thread because today while looking at my 109, I noticed both doors are sagging a touch.

Probably just going to remove the door top, loosen the striker plate for the latch and the door hinges then start fiddling.

Forget keeping the rain out, I just want to keep out the bees. I've gotten out of my truck, then saw a bee, got back in, THEN IT FLEW IN THROUGH THE DOOR GAP :eek:

Yes I freaked. Didn't think that was gonna happen.