Sloppy passenger door closing on 88
 

My passenger door striker makes a hard noise when I close the door. There is movement up and down when I lift the door but not much. Driver door doesn’t move up and down. Is it correct that I will need a door hinge pin, bushing and a new spring?

Don't bother trying to re-bush the old hinges. They're pooched and won't last long even if you do re-bush them. Scribe a light line around the perimeter of the hinge on both the body and the door (or use a brand-new fine tipped Sharpie if you're worried about damaging the paint) and then drill a 1/8" dia. hole through each hinge into the body to act as an alignment hole. Then block up the door and remove one hinge. Clamp the face of the hinge to the new replacement (you might want to paint it first) and then when it's clamped good and tight together, use the existing hole to drill the new hinge. Then take your hinge and - using the 1/8" dia. drill bit as your alignment pin - hang your hinge onto your body and begin tightening the bolts to the body and then to the door. Repeat on your lower hinge. By doing it this way you'll put the new hinges back into the same place that the old ones originally were. In most cases you'll find that the hinges themselves haven't actually moved - rather their pins have worn out and have subsequently cause their bores to become oval shaped which causes your door to sag. That's why re-drilling them and re-bushing them frequently doesn't do a long-term repair. I've done this repair on many different cars and it always works well if you take your time. You may find that minor adjustments are required but they'll be just that - minor. Good luck with your repair.

Had the same issue on my high mile 86.

i re-bushed 3 out of 4 mine. one was toast in that the steel was egged. easy to tell. i got a replacement hinge, rebushed that one, and now have new hinges.

i did use a sharpie.

the sharpie allowed me to get close.
from there its trial and error and small adjustments. i used my floor jack to hold the door with a piece of wood and a rag.

It seems strange to me that your passenger door hinges wore out before the drivers side! Have you tried re-adjusting the position of the striker pin in the door jamb?

:confused:

Probably a passenger using the door as leverage to get out.

Unless the door is really sagging, I would adjust the striker pin first.

I can't speak for what happened to the 88 since I bought it used in 95 with 59,000 miles. All I know is the door opened and closed like it should. But in the last several years I really have to shut the door hard to close it. There you have it. Don't want to break the glass while slamming the door.

One more thing to consider is the glass. When I close the door the top back edged of the glass now almost hits the hard plastic that is located where the weather-strip is seated to the fiberglass bow. After the door is closed the door glass seats in just like the driver side. Its like the door bolt lifts the door to the correct height.

you have a hinge that has a worn bushing and possibly egged out. ill find my post when i did mine and show u.

Thank you VT.