1971 Door sag, weekend project Options

[milwlandrover]

Both my doors sag. Can I just shim them with washers or is there another way to correct the sag. It is off enough to affect the latch on the drivers door sometimes but not always.

I am thanking you in advance

cheers!

[jdamiano]

Hmmm You might want to investigate the cause of the sag! It can be a symptom of bigger trouble.

[McMark]

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Fix the problem, not the symptom.

[burton73]

Hmmm You might want to investigate the cause of the sag! It can be a symptom of bigger trouble.

It is a much bigger problem!

Bob B

[Tom_T]

What they're not saying, is that it could be that your structural longitudinals below the doors are rusted out & sagging, bringing the doors with them.

Try putting a long level on the thresholds & along the bottom of the underside to see if it's straight. Also take off your rocker covers (drill-out or cut the rivets on top) & poke around outside, & pull back the carpet on the long sides inside & poke around. If you have access to a long snake-camera, then you can also run it down the holes next to the firewall on top of the longs, into the longs from the engine bay & see inside them. Also inspect at the battery tray & hell hole area.

My guess is that you'll find some rust on/in the longs from your description, but hard to say without pix.

If not level & solid, then you should stop driving it, & get the longs rebuilt & all other rust damage around it fixed with new sheet metal/parts/etc., & that's a good time to do one of the long stiffening kits "while you're in there".

A quick check is to stand 10' from the car with the doors closed & see if the door gaps are wider at the bottom on L &/or R doors, which is the usual hint that you've got long problems.

Good Luck! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)
Tom
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[milwlandrover]

That is the info I needed.

cheers!
Tom

[dr914@autoatlanta.com]

we have never had door sag on a 914 as they are pretty firmly attached and the front door hinge pillars are strong. It is caused by the inner wheelhouse and longitudinal getting rusted, thus breaking the backbone of the car. Removing the rocker carpeting and the outer rocker panels will tell all

Both my doors sag. Can I just shim them with washers or is there another way to correct the sag. It is off enough to affect the latch on the drivers door sometimes but not always.

I am thanking you in advance

cheers!

[jkb944t]

A quick way to determine if the longs are significantly compromised (rotted) is to open the rear trunk lid. Have an assistant watch the door gaps while you push up and down on the rear trunk panel near the trunk latch.

If your assistant sees the door gap changing (i.e. gap opening and closing from top to bottom) then you have some serious issues with the structural stability of the longitudinals that will need addressed immediately.

Jeff B

[mepstein]

Something that should be checked at time of purchase.

[SirAndy]

Also worth mentioning, some people tend to put their weight on the top rear of the door when getting out of the car which overtime will make them sag just enough that the door catch won't align correctly anymore.

So if there is indeed no rust in the longs and the doors still sag, you can un-sag them by opening them about half way, grabbing the bottom rear of the door and gently pulling it upwards until it settles in the correct position.
No shims needed ...

Of course, if there is any rust, the above won't do you any good.
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/shades.gif)

PS: Same goes for the top windshield frame, i see people using it to lift themselves out of the car all the time. That part is also easy to bend and will result in the door triangle window post not seating correctly in the seal.

[jkb944t]

Something that should be checked at time of purchase.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif)

Jeff B

[burton73]

Something that should be checked at time of purchase.

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Jeff B

Jack the car up by the jacking post. If the door can open and close without a scraping, sticking a car may be worth buying.

If not, as Mt T said “I predict pain”.

I took pictures of my 76 jacked 4 inches off the ground and videoed it.

Bob B
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[GeorgeRud]

Remove the outer rocker panels and look for deterioration in the longitudinal panels. Replacement parts are available, but their proper installation is best left to someone with extensive knowledge. You do have some experienced folks in the Midwest should you need them. Mb911 and 914Ltd come to mind.

[porschetub]

Something that should be checked at time of purchase.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif)

Jeff B

Jack the car up by the jacking post. If the door can open and close without a scraping, sticking a car may be worth buying.

If not, as Mt T said “I predict pain”.

I took pictures of my 76 jacked 4 inches off the ground and videoed it.

Bob B

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif) 100% no point in looking for external problems because its most likely happened inside,my car is solid but they do flex a lot corrosion quickly makes it a BIG problem.