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Fixing A 'Dropped' Door - How?


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my driver's side door has dropped about 3 or 4 mms (it's been like that since i bought it) and i have to 'jerk' the door handle when opening it.

when i close it, it doesn't have the same convincing sound that the passenger side door has and i can also hear wind coming in when driving at speed.

i've decided that it is time to address this fault with my car - how hard is it to fix this problem?

i can see a nut which i'm figuring i can tighten to fix it. i am considering jacking the door up (underneath a book or something) just enough to compensate for the 3 or 4 mm drop, then tightening the nut...

would this work?

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You can jack the door it will only be a temp fix. I have the same problem on my girlfriends golf its 93. I was told by the garage that the hinges have fatigued and it happens more on 3drs than two as the doors are longer thus heavier.

Two things what you could do, first would be obvioulsy get a new hinge and fit (might need to replace both). Or you could put shims in between the door and the hinge. I tried the shimming method but wasn't happy with the results so we just 'lift' the door every 3 months or so. Our local VAG dealer have a tool for this, i think its one they made but it was to VAG specs so it is a known problem on 3dr MK3's! :(

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No, no welding required just a torx driver if i remember, i think its size 30 but not 100% sure. Maybe a philips screw driver might be use full too for the door stop mechanism too. Its a while since i messed with the door hinges :(

I think this is or was covered on Vortex in one of the threads in the Mk3 forums, sorry i can't be of more help :(

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Convertables may suffer more due to the extra strengh(and weight) it needs to compensate for having no roof, not too sure if the doors are different? (they never built a mk2 convertable, due to the fact that the chassis could not be strenthened enough!)

can't remember the exact torque size you will need, seem to think it will be more like 40 or 45 tho. Will check tommorow.

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Would door dropping explain the 3mm gap I have between the top of the door and the body? IT makes an awful windy noise when driving!

Could do, but a droped door just means it doesn't locate onto the latch squarely. You could try adjusting the latch on the body and having the door sorted as well they should both help! :)

Regards,

Matt

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