Door Adjusters...

[666markyboy]

Are there any adjusters on the door hinges so you can align your doors ?? the bottom of my passenger door looks like it want pulling in a tiny little bit.... as you move up the panel towards the lock it's lined up fine so just pulling the slam panel in more would not fix it

 

[vetch]

I would also like to know this, as I'm sure the passenger door is ever slightly out of line with the adjacent panel. Certain cars/brands are associated with certain issues, I'm not sure if this is one is a bit of myth, but Ive heard the mk4 Golf/A3 etc is known for doors dropping out of alignment (or words to that effect)?

 

[rolo tomassi]

The hinges might need new pins. The doors on the s3 fairly heavy.

 

[vetch]

The hinges might need new pins. The doors on the s3 fairly heavy.

The S3 doors are indeed super heavy.

Replacing the pins, difficult and/or big job?

Excellent username by the way. Awesome film.

 

[rolo tomassi]

Not sure, havn't had to do mine yet, but I reckon the door would to have come off and the electrics disconnected.

Getting the pins themselves out could be the most awkward bit.

Cheers, it's a good show alright.

 

[ash_pearce]

There are some adjustments to be made. I replaced my window glass guides recently and put it back together and the bottom was out of line...

Take off the door trim, two screws at the top at each corner, one screw behind the handle inside the car that removes a plastic cover that then exposes another two screws. Carefully ease the door card up and then out slightly, you will then need to unclip the handle mechanism cable, and all the wiring clips(speakers window switches and central locking) you will see which ones to unplug when you look behind the door card.


Door card off... the top half of the door including the window glass is bolted to the bottom using 4 torx head bolts, two at the top two at the bottom. From here on in is trial and error untill yours lines up properly. I loosened all the bolts slightly to allow a little movement. You will see that the bottom bolts have a aluminium wedge between the bolt and door - this is your adjustment, mine was a case of moving the wedge down a little on both sides. Do the bolts back up and see if it fits.

Hope this helps

 

[A3Tom]

Trolley jack and a bit of 2 x 4?.......bodge tastic but works well on 1967 VW Beetles

 

[666markyboy]

Ash you may well have hit on something there... i've never noticed the door being out of line before and i'm sure i would have... just the other week i had the window out because of the usual broken plastic clips.... so this must have in some way nudged it slightly out...

 

[666markyboy]

so if i want to pull the bottom of the door back in a bit i give it a little less wedge on those aluminium wedges ?

 

[ash_pearce]

so if i want to pull the bottom of the door back in a bit i give it a little less wedge on those aluminium wedges ?

Sorry I cant remember which way round i adjusted mine, more or less on the wedges. Trial and error time. I only moved the bottom wedges though left the top ones where they were. Good luck mate!

 

[Mr.Blonde]

Yeah ive got the same prob on my A3.So is this the same on a A3 1.8T to do?.

 

[Imteyaz]

I don't know if this will work on the A3/S3's but on MKII Golf's there was no adjustements either and the way round it was to use a socket and slide it over the lower bolt of the hinge on the door (where the door hing and pillar meet). Then you would gently put pressure on it by trying to close the door - gently push the door against the socket (obviously don't slam it shut!).

By doing this, it will bend the hinge out a little and create some 'lift'. The whole process is trial and error and I managed to get all 4 doors on a 15 year old car to line up perfectly with the swage line on the front/rear panels (I did go too far on one door and had to put the socket on the upper hinge to lower the door down!).

I'm gonna attempt it on my A3 soon as I have noticed today that the passenger door drops once it's opened by just a little. Will report back if it's a success or not soon!

 

[ash_pearce]

I don't know if this will work on the A3/S3's but on MKII Golf's there was no adjustements either and the way round it was to use a socket and slide it over the lower bolt of the hinge on the door (where the door hing and pillar meet). Then you would gently put pressure on it by trying to close the door - gently push the door against the socket (obviously don't slam it shut!).

By doing this, it will bend the hinge out a little and create some 'lift'. The whole process is trial and error and I managed to get all 4 doors on a 15 year old car to line up perfectly with the swage line on the front/rear panels (I did go too far on one door and had to put the socket on the upper hinge to lower the door down!).

I'm gonna attempt it on my A3 soon as I have noticed today that the passenger door drops once it's opened by just a little. Will report back if it's a success or not soon!

You missed the point, there is adjustment on a3/s3's, you are talking about worn hinges when the door drops. We are talking about when the bottom of the door doesn't close as much as the top. I wouldnt recommend anyone bending anything on there a3/s3 to align the doors.

 

[Imteyaz]

My bad...

 

[ash_pearce]

My bad...

I wasn't having a dig at you mate, ive done crazy stuff to older cars to get them running right, but older cars tend to be more basic with little options and todays cars are to be honest more fragile to brutal treatment.

 

[Imteyaz]

No offence taken mate, I should have read the post properly before putting my tuppence in... it's cool.

 

[666markyboy]

if it's nice tomorrow i'll take a look at this... otherwise it will be next week when my shifts finish..... i'm pretty sure Ash is right though as i never had a problem with the door alignment until i messed with that window

 

[Mr.Blonde]

Is it the Torx bolts that are on a black frame that you have to undo to adjust?..

 

[ash_pearce]

yeah there is 4 in total, although its the bottom ones that do most of the adjustments. You will need to slacken the top 2 just to give you some movement. Its worth using a felt tip or marker to put a small mark on the aluminuim wedges just so you know where they were to start with. Sorry its hard to explain but if you take the door card off and have a look around you'll see what i mean.

 

[Mr.Blonde]

Yeah dude,i took the card off last night but dont have torx bit that big.so gotta go get one today.you know what size it is?...i think i should post some pics up.

 

[ash_pearce]

I'm sure its a T45 99% sure, if you can wait till tomorrow i'll check tonight for you.

 

[Mr.Blonde]

No its cool mate,im gonna pop down my local motor fators.cheers for ya help tho

 

[ash_pearce]

No its cool mate,im gonna pop down my local motor fators.cheers for ya help tho

:thumbsup: no probs

 

[Mr.Blonde]

Sorted!..Just done it.you need two peopel really dont you?.one to tighten up the bolts while other holds the door how you want it...

 

[ash_pearce]

Sorted!..Just done it.you need two peopel really dont you?.one to tighten up the bolts while other holds the door how you want it...

depends how skilled you are..

glad your sorted mate!