Re-hanging Driver Door

[jay01m]

Hi all - Well I've owned my 97 Viper GTS (blue w/white stripes) for about 3-weeks now, and I must say, although it was initially painful to drop the $$$ to buy it, I now smile every time I look at it, so although I've been a Corvette guy most of my life (I'm 28), I am now officially a member of the elite Viper community as well

There are a couple things I need to fix on it, however, one of which is getting the driver door re-hung. I'm inclined to have it done by the local dealer, because I have no idea what goes into this and am worried about doing more harm than good by doing it myself. I am wondering if anyone on here has done it themselves, and what you would recommend. I am mechanically inclined, but since I've never re-hung a door before, this will be new to me. Do I need to buy a new hinge? Anything else I need to buy? Does the door have to come all the way off? How much should I expect to pay to have the door re-hung by the dealer?

Thanks all in advance for your time and input.

Jason
97 Blue GTS
91 Yellow Corvette ZR1

 

[carguy07]

Try this DIY first. (borrowed from the other site).



#1 remove 5 screws holding plastic piece in front of door. I used 5/16 socket.

#2 place towel in spot where door rubs on weather stripping. Then close door as much as possible, it won't close all the way, just close it enough that it is pinching the towel and supporting the weight of the door.

#3 Loosen the 4 bolts (13 mm)holding the hinge to the car itself, but do not remove them. Once you start loosening them a little bit, you will feel the door adjusting itself because you have the towel in place. After it adjusts re-tighten the bolts.

#4 Remove towel and check door to see how it closes. It might take 2 or 3 times of loosening and tightening. If this is the case, vary how much towel is wedged between the door and sill. I was lucky and only had to do this twice on each side.

#5 Once you are satisfied that they are adjusted correctly, then re-attach the plastic piece .

#6 Check all gaps and make sure nothing hits the paint.

Also lube the hinge and use a pencil to mark the original position , in case you need to go back and start over.

 

[CROM]

It is not difficult. Takes two people to do...preferably a strong person to hold the door...it is fairly heavy. I did the door holding, my dad did the bolt tightening/loosening.

You simply take the cover off that hides the door hinge. This is attached by 5 bolts/screws if I recall correctly. Be careful with the shims behind the bolts/screws. I taped them down (they were pretty tightly squeezed on but didn't want to take any chances). Then loosen the door hinge bolts and align the door and tighten the bolts. Not as easy as 1-2-3, but close. Just takes a little patience, some choice 4 letter words, and 10 or so minutes. The tricky part is getting the door aligned properly of course. The door doesn't always hang the correct way once you have it in the right spot and tighten the bolts.

Crap, carguy beat me to it.

 

[kcobean]

Jason,
Where in VA are you?

Make sure you put your car's VIN in your profile and shoot a PM to Lee00BlackSilverGTS so he can change your title from Enthusiast to Viper Owner. Then spend the $100 and join the VCA...it's well worth it. Our region is great and pretty active, and you can make that $100 back in discounts from the Vendors easily!

 

[jay01m]

Hey fellas thanks for all the advise. This job sounds pretty simple, now I have a very good idea on how its done, I think I'll do it myself and enlist the help of a friend.

kcobean - I'm in the Tidewater area, right now in Chesapeake but am moving to Suffolk next month after I close on my new Townhome. My car's VIN is in my profile, but will have to shoot Lee a PM. Where are you at? I'm all about finding places where car guys meet, and wouldn't mind linking up with other Viper owners, I need to start learning this car.

Jason
97 GTS
91 Corvette ZR1

 

[CROM]

Hey! What about me Kelly? =)

 

[RoadiJeff]

This job sounds pretty simple, now I have a very good idea on how its done, I think I'll do it myself and enlist the help of a friend.

Sorry to get in on this discussion a bit late - I've been away for a few days. Anyway, you can do it yourself without an assistant. To align the door you follow the above procedures but fold up a towel and lay it in the door opening. Close the door on it and the towel will hold it in place while you tighten the hinge bolts. You may have to experiment a few times with the number of folds to get the towel the right thickness so that it lines up the way you want it.

Also, be careful that you do not move the door forward towards the front fender when you have the hinge bolts loose or you'll end up with the door rubbing the fender. As long as you notice it right away it's not that big an issue and you can move it back. One suggestion I read is to not loosen the very top hinge bolt so that the door cannot move forward. Just loosen the others when it can pivot up and down.