Door adjustment
Thread Starter
Three Wheelin'
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 1,926
Likes: 5
From: Seattle xburb - I can't see the Emerald City, but I know it's out there somewhere
Door adjustment
Both doors on my '91 C4 Targa seem to fit fine once they're closed, but a casual toss doesn't always close them completely, it only just 'clicks' them. They seem to like an authoritative close, not a fingertip push like a Japanese car. I assume this is normal for it's age? It's pretty consistent with every 2-door car I've ever had when it's past a certain number of years. Q: To improve this requires an adjustment of the latch or striker, or shimming the hinges - or both?
Three Wheelin'
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 1,632
Likes: 2
From: Milton Keynes, UK
It may not be the same problem but I also had a problem with my driver's door being a little difficult to shut. The problem on my car stemmed from the fact that the hinge pins were worn quite badly allowing the door to drop a little. This meant that the window frame would catch on the B pillar and hinder the door shutting easily. Whilst the car is having a respray at the moment I'm getting the body shop to replace the hinge pins and bushes on both hinges on the driver's door. That should eliminate the drop and, hopefully, solve the problem.
You can check if the door has dropped by opening the door and lifting it by the door handle. If it lifts at all the hinge pins are worn. The passenger door rarely suffers the same fate since it tends to get used much less.
Regards
Dave
You can check if the door has dropped by opening the door and lifting it by the door handle. If it lifts at all the hinge pins are worn. The passenger door rarely suffers the same fate since it tends to get used much less.
Regards
Dave
Instructor
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 219
Likes: 1
From: Columbus OH
My doors only seem hard to close when the windows are all up. If a window or the sunroof is open the doors close fairly easily. If all the windows are shut you really have to slam it. Takes some getting used to as my last car was an Acura and you could just give the door a gentle shove and it would almost close itself. Probably has something to do with being a 40 year old design.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 909
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Yup what Darth said. In fact there is a little flap that opens and lets the air out when you do this. you can hear it go ping ping. Drove me nuts the first 2-3 times I heard it. Thought something was loose somewhere.
Its very air tight. Call it good or bad, its the nature of the beast.
Its very air tight. Call it good or bad, its the nature of the beast.
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Rennlist Member
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 190
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From: San Diego, CA
These doors definitely require more effort to close than any other cars I've owned. I hate slamming doors on a car, so half the time I have to do it twice on the 964 because I forgot to use sufficient "authority" the first time. They close easily when a window or the sunroof is open, so it is all about air pressure inside. I also noticed that it was exacerbated when I replaced the door seals, which proved, I suppose, that the old seals really were shot.
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Rennlist Member
Joined: Jul 2003
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From: Atlanta
Mine closes fairly easily, and yes, there is a big difference if a window or the room is open. I recall on my early 911 that replacing the door seals made closing more difficult until the seals had time to compress.
Thread Starter
Three Wheelin'
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 1,926
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From: Seattle xburb - I can't see the Emerald City, but I know it's out there somewhere
Thanks for the responses - upon further examination, I see that it's not really misalignment or hinge wear or air pressure (I'll bet a targa doesn't quite seal up like a coupe), but rather the top forward edge of the window contacting the targa top seal, in the last couple inches before the door closes. Put the windows down, and the doors close with a nice "chunk" with minimal effort. Another little quirk of Targaland, I guess.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 828
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The door latch on the frame can be adjusted if you have the right star wrench. There is enough play in the latch that allows some adjustment that should help. Seems that the driver side has the most problems which makes sense since that door opens and closes the most. Dave's response about worn hinges makes a lot of sense and sooner or later will need to be replaced if you want a perfect fit. Afterall, age does take it's toll, nothing lasts forever.
