M491,

I am not sure I understand why you think that if the tabs broke free that this ultimately will lead to much bigger issues. Correct me if I am wrong, but assuming the tabs did in fact break free, I would have thought that as long as you dont stress the actual hinges (i.e don't open the door to a point whereby the hinges bottom out) then what damage can u really create?

 

If your welds haven't yet given up the ghost, you could try reducing the stress on them by following Robin's DIY:-

www.p-car.com/diy/doorcheck

 

Since the door still operates and only a clicking noise is heard, the tabs are still attached. If they are coming loose, though, it's an easy job to tack weld them in place.

If it is the tabs on the door post breaking loose, or the mounting on the door side, if you keep using the door, you can tear up the sheet metal which the tabs and/or door check stop mechanism is attached (depending on which side the problem is on). That's a much bigger problem to solve.

 

Steve's pic on the first page is of the tab on the door post side.

The other side - on the door itself - will look something like this:



If it is this side that is causing the problem, you can save a lot of work if you catch it early. No welding required if you get it early, just remove the door panel and install a reinforcement kit and new check stop mechanism.

But if you let it go, you can really tear up the sheet metal. If you do that, it needs to be rebuilt up by welding in a new patch panel, etc. A lot more work.

The bottom line is this: The door should not click. If it does, it needs to be fixed, and there's no reason to put it off, as only more damage can occur.

 

My driver's door was spot welded several years ago and it still working just fine. You don't notice the repair.

 

I had mine TIG welded, which is a nicer appearing weld than a MIG weld. Barely noticeable and appears as factory after touching up with a brush. You will need to disconnect the battery and it is recommended to disconnect the wiring harness from the computer under the drivers seat.

 

Can we see some pics of the MIG/TIG welds?
I need to have this done locally and need to show how its done (properly).

 

Here is what my body shop (Korva) did :



Its held up for over four years now with no problems. I like the smooth look.

Cheers,

Mike

 

If it is already clicking, is it too late to do the pcar.com mod and/or the Pelican Door Stay Reinforcement Kit? Does clicking mean welding is now the only option?

 

The Pelican door kit is for the frame of the door, not the body side. As far as I know there is no kit for the body side since its fully visible. You have to weld it back on. Its a crappy design to begin with and they just fail...

Cheers,

Mike

 

My clicking seems to be coming from the indents inside the door. As far as I can tell, the frame seems to be holding up.

 

i want to thank Blue Ocean for the nail tip. actually i used three sheet metal screws to wedge it till i can get it welded. damn good idea. many thanks
david

 

That 'click' in the door strap is precisely what initiates the metal fatigue that eventually snaps the body side bracket off: this would be a good time to fix the strap mechanism ... ... or you'll end up welding the door post like the rest of us.

 

There is also a DIY (it on Robin's site) to reduce the size of the indents so there is not as much stress on the strap and mount.

Cheers,

Mike

 

Do it now before it ends up looking like this:



I plan to fix it up down the road. The first time I saw it, I poked it with a pen thinking it was bubble gum painted silver...