# drivers side door dropped?



## ttpaul.a (Apr 1, 2010)

Hi,
Need some advice please  
Whilst cleaning my pride and Joy today, 2003 tt225 i noticed some light scuff marks on the drivers side bottom door well (on the plastic bit just above the alloy tt sill protector?) looks like my door has dropped slightly and is catching this plastic although i can't feel any play on the door itself? :? ........just wondered if anyone else has had this problem? and can the door be re-adjusted? if so, some info or a how to would be good!  
Many thanks.


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## SteviedTT (Apr 10, 2009)

Hi ttpaul.a, the usual sign that a door has dropped is the paint getting scuffed were the door closes into the frame, just above the door handle. The seal rubs it there as the door is lifted from it's dropped position up into it's normal position on the latch. Are you sure the marks you are describing aren't from foot wear, or something, catching the sill as you get in and out? Did you test the door with it wide open to see if there's any play in the hinges? Hope this has been of some help.


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## ttpaul.a (Apr 1, 2010)

Hi Again,
Ive had the door wide open and there is no play when i try to lift the door? :? also the scuffing i described just on the plastic above the tt alloy sill protector is definately from the door catching!....i have the same scuff marks under the door that line up exactly with the scuff marks on the plastic inside the door well at the bottom of the door. i think the door only needs minor adjustment upward somehow to clear?........ but im not sure how to do this? :?


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## ttpaul.a (Apr 1, 2010)

sorry!.... i forgot to mention that the door open and closes great nothing amiss there, gaps look good too and definately not catching anywhere else.....like i said , just a little upward movement would would clear it.....
somehow....if i cant find how to do it , it looks like a trip to the stealers. :roll:


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## jas6004 (May 4, 2009)

I get the feeling that this is quite a common problem as my drivers door has dropped a tad, noticeable by the line in the bodywork not lining up. This was mentioned on here quite sometime ago and some people have moved the striker plate slightly to try to cure the problem. I have moved mine a bit and it helps line it up when the door is shut, but makes it harder to open and close the door. I am thinking of loosening the bottom door hinge at the point where it bolts to the car chassis and lifting door then re-tightening. There is a spline bolt holding the hinge onto the car but i think there is another bolted through the other way, from inside car outwards. I am guessing that this is accessed by removing the trim where the bonnet release handle is. It would be interesting to know if anyone else has attempted this, and a How-To would be good.

Hope this helps

Jas


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## ttpaul.a (Apr 1, 2010)

Thanks for the Info!
I think i'm gonna move the striker plate up a notch or too, i think that will do it, just enough to clear the door bottom from catching the plastic trim....i don't think i need much movement..i'll post a reply if this works!! :wink:


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## rabTT (Nov 14, 2006)

There's is a way to adjust the door which I'm going to do with mine before fitting new sill protectors. It's in my Bentley manual - give me some time to reproduce it on here :wink:


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## jas6004 (May 4, 2009)

Hi RabTT, I really hope there is an easy way to adjust the doors, so i look forward to hearing the info from your Bentley Manual.

Jas


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## rabTT (Nov 14, 2006)

Quotes from the Bentley manual:









_"Door striker adjustment is only for inward/outward alignment"_

_"Remove trim covers and loosen lock nuts (3, 7 and 12). Loosen rear adjuster lock nut (14). If downward adjustment is needed, also loosen stop bolt (13).

Adjust front and rear height with adjuster screws (15).

After completeing height adjustment, back stop bolt (13) out as far as possible without forcing it.

When tightening lock nuts (3, 7) counterhold adjuster screws (4, 6) with a Torx T30 to prevent movement.

When tightening lock nut (12), counterhold stop bolt (13) to prevent movement.

When tightening lock nut (14), counterhold adjuster screw (15) to prevent movement.

Install trim covers._

I hope this helps. You can right-click the image and save it to your PC, then enlarge it via your image viewer


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## gadgetboy38 (Mar 9, 2005)

Hey sorry to resurrect an old thread but did you have any luck adjusting your door using the bentley method ??


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## rabTT (Nov 14, 2006)

You know something .. .. no, I never [smiley=bigcry.gif] based on the fact that there were (are) too many variables for one person - IMHO. Hold this, do that, loosen here, tighten there! :?

Although I've managed to 'align' my door, it now, by the *very slightest* of margins sits out at the top .. how do I know this? Increased wind noise :x May hand diagram and car over to a competent bodyshop to look at.


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## gadgetboy38 (Mar 9, 2005)

well i just managed to do mine it takes a bit of fiddling and lots of opening and closing the door but i looks better, although the front triangle shape window sits a lot tighter than i would like but the only way to adjust that is to lower the rest of the window again..

According to Audi mine has already had new hinges because the first ones dropped apparently there was a re-call !!!


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## rabTT (Nov 14, 2006)

gadgetboy38 said:


> well i just managed to do mine it takes a bit of fiddling and lots of opening and closing the door but i looks better, although the front triangle shape window sits a lot tighter than i would like but the only way to adjust that is to lower the rest of the window again..
> 
> According to Audi mine has already had new hinges because the first ones dropped apparently there was a re-call !!!


Can any readers 'recall' this recall :roll: and if so, what were the details?


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## bigG225 (Apr 27, 2009)

I've just had a go at sorting my dropping door problem and youre right, its a f#*cking nightmare!!!!
I think another go when its light...


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## Mondo (Feb 20, 2009)

I've got the same classic signs of a dropped drivers door - crease line on the outside of the door doesn't quite line up, and the black 'TT' plate is scuffed. Wak had an idea which we tried, with some success, but we'll try a variation on the same theme in a few weeks. If it works I'll let you know.

As a teaser, it involved losening the lower door bolts and sliding in some thin layers of foil, to effectively push the bottom of the door out - and the back of the door up. More details after a successful Take 2 in a few weeks.


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## T3RBO (Dec 9, 2003)

Would really love to know how you get on with this as also suffering from scuffed plates. Cabbie-uk and I tried to use that above guide a few weeks back but to no avail.


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## burns (Jun 2, 2009)

I have a scuffing issue where the door closes into the frame. TBH I didn't realise it was such a pain of a job to adjust it - I just thought I would hand the car over to a mechanic and it would be a simple enough job for them to do. I clearly need to think again!


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## TTMBTT (Jul 22, 2010)

I think the Bentley diagram shows how to adjust the door glass carrier framework only, the
door adjustment is i think adjusted by loosening the door hinges at the "A" pillar, a very tricky
job to carry out succesfully, minimum two clued up body techs to adjust correctly. [smiley=book2.gif]

Mark.


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## T3RBO (Dec 9, 2003)

That's more or less the conclusion we came too :wink:


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## JNmercury00 (May 22, 2007)

When mine was low I just unscrewed and repositioned the door striker thing, took a bit of fiddling but it's spot on now


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## Mondo (Feb 20, 2009)

OK, so last night in the pi$$ing rain (but under cover of canvass) Wak weaved some magic and my door now sits as well as it's going to. The door comfortably clears the black plastic sill and the horizontal crease down the side lines up beautifully with the matching one in the rear body panel.

Wak's idea (and this is where I violate his patent on the process) was to loosen two bolts at the bottom of the A pillar, but on the door, and slip a kind of spacer in there, to push the bottom of the door kind of backwards and up slightly. Foil was the first attemp; worked, but needed too many folds to be useful. Take 2 last night was 0.9mm and then, IIRC, 1.2mm alu strips about 1cm wide slipped down the bottom of the door. Worked well and much easier than faffing about with the door hinges.

Will take a pic this weekend of the hinge and where these alu strips go, but I'm chuffed to bits with the result.

Oh, and Wak, guess I'll see you in court, just after the Apple/Samsung hearing.


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## T3RBO (Dec 9, 2003)

Excellent... look forward to your pictorial write up


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## Gazzer (Jun 12, 2010)

as i was reading this thread i was actually thinking surely you can just shim it up as we used to in engineering to get over machine alignment probs. and bingo wak has already done it......top man as usual


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## Mondo (Feb 20, 2009)

Mate, if 'shim' is geek-speak for a spacer of some sort then yes, you were right. That's effectively what Wak did; bung a wee spacer in between the door bracket and the door itself. Like this:

















Looks like there's a spacer in there already. Not sure if that's the body shop (I had a new door skin fitted awhile ago) or standard Audi operating procedure. Whatever; great minds, etc.

Wak bent the top to make them easier to (re)fit. They're even body-coloured! :wink: Works a treat and was done in about 10 minutes - weight of the door taken by two jacks, bolts loosened, metal strips cut to length and inserted, bolts tightened, door checked. Nice.


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## T3RBO (Dec 9, 2003)

Looks simple enough... now where do I get 1cm wide 1.2mm thick alu strips from :lol:


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## Mondo (Feb 20, 2009)

T3RBO said:


> Looks simple enough... now where do I get 1cm wide 1.2mm thick alu strips from :lol:


Staines... :wink:


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## T3RBO (Dec 9, 2003)

That's a long way to go... does he do mail order


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## Mondo (Feb 20, 2009)

T3RBO said:


> That's a long way to go... does he do mail order


 :lol:


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## Wak (May 6, 2002)

Friend on mine is coming to see you! 









Its not pretty but it does the job and a fold helps you grab it to position or remove the strips.

Ebay is a good source of metal suppliers, Raymonds door drop is one of the most severe I have seen so 1.2mm may be too much for most, getting a few thicknesses will be best to allow adjustment.

if the sill is getting badly scored then 1.2mm should work fine, 0.7-1.0mm may do for others.


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## jas6004 (May 4, 2009)

Thanks for the tips on sorting the door, I have ordered some 1.0mm and 1.2mm aluminium off cuts from eBay and will try to sort my door soon. Ordered them off a seller called metaloffcuts and they do various thicknesses and sizes.


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## Gazzer (Jun 12, 2010)

alu is ok but as it is a soft metal will flatten over time and drop a tad, the normal is stainless steel shims ranging guage thickness from .1 up to 1.8mm or if you want me to get techy lol and geeky......there is a microns in measurment to go down to  . but being serious for once.....stainless strips are better as wont corode or give as much.


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## Gazzer (Jun 12, 2010)

had a forum member pm me asking if i can get shim material for the door alignment trick wak has done. i have tried several local companies i deal with and most only use .1 to .3 of a mm in sizes. so........if their is enough interest i will buy the material that is basically £23 per can of 60" in length material +vat and will have them cut into lengths for users on here. of course divided up in price per inch say to equate this down to per piece. if that helps folks?


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## rw5340 (Aug 22, 2014)

I plan to use galvanised 8" joist supports, it is roughly 1mm thick and can be cut into strips with some tin snips.
I will paint cut edges or all of it before I fit. These are around £1.60 each from B&Q or similar shops.
Maybe a tad soft but can be revisited later.... Just trying to find some tool to allow clearance to get the torques undone!


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## eldiablott (Jun 18, 2014)

I'm glad this thread has come up as my drivers door is also dropped a tad and it's pissing me off.is it an easy fix for a mechanic to do?


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## rw5340 (Aug 22, 2014)

Now perfectly aligned, cost much cheapness and took 25 minutes.
Was quite bad. 4 - 5mm drop on the bodywork lines, added 2mm packing to the hinge.
Lined up well for that 2mm. Looks good!

Thanks for the Forum info!


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## daytoncarcare (Nov 24, 2018)

rabTT said:


> Quotes from the Bentley manual:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


So this procedure adjusts the regulator and how the window aligns with the door frame/seals? Mine is slightly off and overlaps the rear seal on the rear triangle window. Or should I loosen the bolts on the hinges and move the whole door up slightly? By the way it's aligned with the striker fine and not dragging on the bottom sill


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## daytoncarcare (Nov 24, 2018)

^^^ Did this procedure and it worked great to realign my window with the seals. Loosened all 5 nuts then made fine adjustments until it fit better.


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