I dont know what happened to my door

[lukedukem]

i have had an issue with alignment on my drivers door and i was OK with it. its just a driver car anyway. but the door is getting harder to close. i can slam it and it still has issues. now its having real hard time closing... and then i found this... wtf

Luke

[birdsandbees]

Looks like you slammed it 10 tooooooo many times. My 'Bird has a minor crack out of one screw, from the previous owner (previous to '89) that couldn't adjust and lube the lock mechanism. 

[lukedukem]

I'm not sure this wasn't there before. its always been hard to close.
is there a fix for this?

Luke

[rick@laysons]

Yes, a welder and a reinforcment backing plate.

[Charger_Fan]

Yes, a welder and a reinforcment backing plate.

Definitely.
The way it is now, the metal around the latch is probably flexing, allowing the latch to move around when you shut the door. You could try adjusting the striker plate on the body, but until you weld those cracks, it probably won't help much.

Are your door hinges sagging? Can you grab the door when it's open & move it up and down?

[tan top]

 yeah what Rick said  

    drill the ends of the cracks & weld them up  , then  adjust door & or replace hinge pins  then adjust striker as required    ,   does the door drop & or catch when opening or closing ?  9 times out of 10  that prolly whats caused the stress cracks worn hinge pins &  miss aligned door  ,


**** EDIT **** CF beat me to it    
& what chargerfan said too   

[b5blue]

See the notch in the top part of the door latch where it hits the striker? Something is bad. Try and see if the door will lift when open, if so your hinges are worn out. (Pull up on it.)

[cdr]

you have to keep all that lubed so the nylon block slides on the striker.

[lukedukem]

Thanks for the help guys. The door does move up and down a bit.

Luke

[Patronus]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Door-Hinge-Pin-Bushing-Kit-Set-4-Pins-8-Bushings-for-Chrysler-Dodge-/310743923089?fits=Year%3A1969|Model%3ACharger&hash=item4859c7f991:g:fnAAAOSwZd1VXt3m&vxp=mtr

Excellent point by TT, be sure to drill a hole at each end of the crack before welding

[hemi-hampton]

Thanks for the help guys. The door does move up and down a bit.

Luke

Then you got worn out hinges that made it hard to close that resulted in the cracked metal. Buy rebuilt hinges from Year one or put new pins in yourself. LEON.

[hemi-hampton]

Some times the holes for bushing & pins are worn out & egg shaped providing a loose fit for the new pins & bushings. LEON.

[GreenMachine]

I would install the reinforcement plates (after fixing the hinge pins), they make them for the door and the jam. If the door is that bad, I'm sure the jam is starting to crack under the paint. Scroll about half way down the page in this link.

http://www.dynamicrenovation.net/viewcategory.php?groupid=2

http://www.hotrod.com/cars/project-vehicles/mopp-0911-dodge-super-bee-restoration-door-jamb-repair/

[lukedukem]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Door-Hinge-Pin-Bushing-Kit-Set-4-Pins-8-Bushings-for-Chrysler-Dodge-/310743923089?fits=Year%3A1969|Model%3ACharger&hash=item4859c7f991:g:fnAAAOSwZd1VXt3m&vxp=mtr

Excellent point by TT, be sure to drill a hole at each end of the crack before welding

Have you used one of these kits. are they easy to do.

Luke

[myk]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Door-Hinge-Pin-Bushing-Kit-Set-4-Pins-8-Bushings-for-Chrysler-Dodge-/310743923089?fits=Year%3A1969|Model%3ACharger&hash=item4859c7f991:g:fnAAAOSwZd1VXt3m&vxp=mtr

Excellent point by TT, be sure to drill a hole at each end of the crack before welding

Have you used one of these kits. are they easy to do.

Luke

I have to lift my door to close it, probably because of worn pins and bushings also.   I think you have to press the old bushing and pin out; I'm not quite sure how to do that though.  Also, you'd have to find a way to support the door at the same time...

[Patronus]

I've done many. It's the very first thing I do on any project. You can do one at a time and leave the door right on. You can probably pick this kit up at your local Napa dealer as well, right off the Help rack. You will have to drill out the holes for the new bushings, it may require some different length drill bits too if I recall. I've had to file some to fit as the flange on the new bushing is thicker so it can be (and should be) tough to wedge together- but worth it!

[b5blue]

Luke your in box is "full".

[lukedukem]

Luke your in box is "full".

Should be empty now

Luke

[b5blue]

 

[UH60L]

Both my doors had that same cracking.  That's partly why I decided to get different doors when it was in the body shop...

[lukedukem]

yeah what Rick said  

    drill the ends of the cracks & weld them up  , then  adjust door & or replace hinge pins  then adjust striker as required    ,   does the door drop & or catch when opening or closing ?  9 times out of 10  that prolly whats caused the stress cracks worn hinge pins &  miss aligned door  ,


**** EDIT **** CF beat me to it    
& what chargerfan said too   

I'm not. To sure what you guys mean by this. I hate to ask but can someone take my pic and use paint to show me where to drill and what not.

Luke

[Brian L]

Drilling a hole at the end of the crack will keep it from cracking further, even after repairing.

[myk]

Learn something everyday...

[Patronus]

It's why the titanic sank.
Or so I'm told.

[lukedukem]

Drilling a hole at the end of the crack will keep it from cracking further, even after repairing.

I understand now. Thanks. So how big of a hole does it need to be.

Luke