# Door Adjustment



## Love_iTT (Aug 18, 2002)

Has anyone tried adjusting the doors on their TT? Not in-out but up and down. My drivers door appears to have lowered itself - just through age I guess - by a few mm and I would like to bring it back up level again.

There doesn't appear to be any wear on the door hinge itself ie, the door does not have any play in it if moved up or down. I looked in the Bently manual and there is a lot of adjustment for the sub frame but it's not clear (to me anyway) that this is the adjustmet for the door itself.

Graham


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## YELLOW_TT (Feb 25, 2004)

did'nt wak fit a door with some body i am sure he could help graham


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## Wak (May 6, 2002)

AFAIK
the only up down adjustment is on the hinges on the end and the striker position to take some weight when the door is closed...









we had to play with holding the door a little higher then tightening the bolts so it sat ok when the weight was taken up. there is only a few mm to play with.


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## Love_iTT (Aug 18, 2002)

Thats perfect Wak, just what I was after. Thanks.

I shall have a play at the weekend :wink:

Graham


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## j600.com (Jun 30, 2005)

Love_iTT said:


> Has anyone tried adjusting the doors on their TT? Not in-out but up and down. My drivers door appears to have lowered itself - just through age I guess - by a few mm and I would like to bring it back up level again.
> 
> There doesn't appear to be any wear on the door hinge itself ie, the door does not have any play in it if moved up or down. I looked in the Bently manual and there is a lot of adjustment for the sub frame but it's not clear (to me anyway) that this is the adjustmet for the door itself.
> 
> Graham


mines exactly the same as yours i think, its the line where the door handle is that doesnt line up that made me notice mine.

do u have any photo's of yours so i can see if i have the same problem?

also, i have seen that Wak (again :lol: ) has the answer but can this be done without taking the door completely off? is it a tough/time consuming job?

im thinking of maybe asking teesside audi to have a look at it when my car goes in for its service on saturday


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## garvin (May 7, 2002)

Graham,

Just a little tip which may make adjustment easier. Open the door wide and 'support' the striker end of the door on the car jack (with piece of wood twixt jack and door to prevent damage to door). You can then undo the hinge bolts and just use finger pressure on the jack adjuster to lift the door ever so slightly. It means you can do the job single handed without having a lot of people heaving and holding while you undo/tighten the bolts. I have used this method many times and it works a treat.

PS : DO NOT sit in the car when the door is on the jack - it doesn't like it :wink:


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## Wak (May 6, 2002)

garvin said:


> Graham,
> 
> Just a little tip which may make adjustment easier. Open the door wide and 'support' the striker end of the door on the car jack (with piece of wood twixt jack and door to prevent damage to door). You can then undo the hinge bolts and just use finger pressure on the jack adjuster to lift the door ever so slightly. It means you can do the job single handed without having a lot of people heaving and holding while you undo/tighten the bolts. I have used this method many times and it works a treat.
> 
> PS : DO NOT sit in the car when the door is on the jack - it doesn't like it :wink:


good tips there!


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## YELLOW_TT (Feb 25, 2004)

garvin said:


> Graham,
> 
> Just a little tip which may make adjustment easier. Open the door wide and 'support' the striker end of the door on the car jack (with piece of wood twixt jack and door to prevent damage to door). You can then undo the hinge bolts and just use finger pressure on the jack adjuster to lift the door ever so slightly. It means you can do the job single handed without having a lot of people heaving and holding while you undo/tighten the bolts. I have used this method many times and it works a treat.
> 
> PS : DO NOT sit in the car when the door is on the jack - it doesn't like it :wink:


OMG i rememder this tip from a mag called car fix it about 22 years ago


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## garvin (May 7, 2002)

YELLOW_TT said:


> garvin said:
> 
> 
> > Graham,
> ...


Maybe so ..................... I've been using it for nigh on 30 years now


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## m4ttc (May 6, 2002)

IIRC the was a problem with the door strikers on TTRs upto about 2001/02 ish. TTR doors are obviously heaver than the TTC counterparts.

I remember having a conversation with Martyn at VAGParts (or whatever it was called) and he told me they were being replaced with strikers off the Passat which were stronger and thicker. TTR owners were having problems with door drop and also flexing when on the move.

Not sure if this affect your cars but hope it helps?


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## John-H (Jul 13, 2005)

An old Ford method was to grab hold of the open door rear and heave it up to bend the door up slightly. Quicker than fiddling with bolts. Sounds aweful doesn't it? :?


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## Love_iTT (Aug 18, 2002)

I looked at adjusting the drivers door today and rather than delve straight in and adjust the hinges I thought that I would see if adjusting the striker plate (I don't know if that is the correct term for that peice or not - it's the black tapered plastic bit on the door and locates in the door jam which I don't think coupes have but I might be wrong there), anyway there was enough adjustment there for me to have a go, so I adjusted the one on the door jam up and the mating part on the door I moved down a little.

Apart from the door swage line not lining up with the swage line on the rear of the body, the main point for trying this was to eliminate a rubbing-creaking sound which was driving me mad. I knew it wasn't anything to do with the suspension bushes and I was convinced that it was either the hood or something to do with the door. Looking closely at the rubber infill on the top of the door (where the red reflector sits) I also noticed that in certain areas it was getting shiney so that was also a good indication that it was rubbing.

After I had finished adjusting the drivers door I also adjusted the passenger side as well although this was not quite as bad as the drivers side. I then took it up the road for a test, I knew that it had worked before I had even got the car out of the garage - it would have creaked in the first yard of driving it backwards out of the garage and a trip round the block confirmed that it had been eliminated.

AT LAST! A rattle, creek free car  and the good thing about it was that it only took about 3/4 hour to do. The pic below shows the swage line before and after djustment - the red lines are what I put on the photograph, they are not newly added red pin stripes :wink:

http://www.********.co.uk/gallery/loveitt/door.jpg

Graham


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## garvin (May 7, 2002)

John-H said:


> An old Ford method was to grab hold of the open door rear and heave it up to bend the door up slightly. Quicker than fiddling with bolts. Sounds aweful doesn't it? :?


Not just a Ford method. Jaguar (before they were owned by Ford) used to employ a man with a purpose built 'lever' that would locate/hook under the door and allow the top to be levered in to adjust the door frame onto the door seal. This man was known as the 'door f***er'


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## mitlom (Dec 13, 2010)

I know this is a very old thread, but thought I would let all those interested know that there is a significant amount of adjustment available on the door hinge BUT on the side attached to the chassis NOT the door.

It is quite fiddly to do, there are two T45 bolts that are hard to access, one on the top hinge and a second on the bottom hinge. These are accesses by opening the door as wide as it will go and using a very long T45 bit, if you do not have access to one of these then the easiest way is to unbolt the wing to gain access.

In addition to these two T45 bolts there is a third 13mm HEX head bolt that needs to be loosened from inside the car, this is accessed by removing the lower 'A' pillar trim panel and then removing a plastic grommet.

To adjust then use the jack procedure mentioned above with only difference being only open door to minimum amount to get jack under and tighten the 13mm HEX bolt to hold bottom hinge in place and to check alignment before tightening the two T45s.

I have got to do the passenger side at some point so let me know if you need pics posting or have any questions.

Tim


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## jas6004 (May 4, 2009)

Same problem with my door, if you have a look on this link there is a door adjustment guide from the Bentley manual, I have not tried to do it yet but hope to when the weather gets much better. Hope it helps.
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=172816
Jas


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## mitlom (Dec 13, 2010)

jas6004 said:


> Same problem with my door, if you have a look on this link there is a door adjustment guide from the Bentley manual, I have not tried to do it yet but hope to when the weather gets much better. Hope it helps.
> viewtopic.php?f=2&t=172816
> Jas


Hi Jas,

That procedure is for adjustment of the door glass subframe not the door itself. What I have described above is adjustment of the whole door to re-align the swage line between door and rear quarter panel when door has dropped over time.

Tim


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## jas6004 (May 4, 2009)

Hi Tim, thanks for that, glad I haven't tried it yet, I would of been scratching my head for hours.
Looks like I was given a bum steer with that info. :lol:


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## Love_iTT (Aug 18, 2002)

Blimey! That's a rave from the grave. 

Luckily, this TTR doesn't need it's doors adjusting yet.

Graham


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## T3RBO (Dec 9, 2003)

One of mine needs slight adjustment and that guide looks well excellent, although slightly complicated.


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## John-H (Jul 13, 2005)

Love_iTT said:


> Blimey! That's a rave from the grave.
> 
> Luckily, this TTR doesn't need it's doors adjusting yet.
> 
> Graham


I thought it sounded familiar :lol:


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## nordic (Apr 26, 2010)

I had similar prob on another coupe car, sorted by adding a bolt washer or few of required thickness between lower hinge and door, it will raise opposite side of the door as much as you want [smiley=gossip.gif]


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## miknix (Jul 26, 2015)

...and 7 years later I show up with the same problem. I had to order a T45 bit, didn't have it on my toolbox.

EDIT: God, it's hard to believe the car is already 17 years old.


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## BadgerFerret (Sep 12, 2017)

Morning gang

Sorry to also be digging up an old thread :roll: , but I'm going to be attempting this at the weekend. My swage lines are out...and have some wind noise over my right shoulder (when in the car...!).

Have seen a few posts suggesting inserting some washers/padding/metal insert under the bottom door hinge bolt, but in this thread the suggestion seems to be simply loosening, lifting and then tightening back up (at risk of oversimplifying!). Is that the overall accepted best practice (and does it work?)?

Any top tips gratefully accepted!

Cheers


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## smiffy1019 (May 3, 2014)

Can you not use shim ring washers on the door hinges bolts?
All sorts of sizes diameter/thickness. Cheap from ebay. [smiley=gossip.gif]


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## John-H (Jul 13, 2005)

Which particular lines are out and in what plane?


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## David C (Apr 15, 2013)

BadgerFerret said:


> Morning gang
> 
> Sorry to also be digging up an old thread :roll: , but I'm going to be attempting this at the weekend. My swage lines are out...and have some wind noise over my right shoulder (when in the car...!).
> 
> ...


I think that in order to get to the proper adjustment bolts to do the loosen-lift-tighten, you need the front wings off.
So instead the DIY method of shims between door and hinge is easier.

That assumes that the issue is the rear of the door sagging.


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## BadgerFerret (Sep 12, 2017)

David C said:


> BadgerFerret said:
> 
> 
> > Morning gang
> ...


Hi there

That's it exactly - the back edge of the door is slightly low, presumably just due to the weight over the life of the car (and it's the shoulder line from the door handle to the rear lights that shows the slight drop). There's a little evidence of rubbing on the inside of the door frame (again at should height) from when the door's being shut, and just a little road/wind noise. Am fairly sure this is the cause.

Any thoughts on the size of the shims required (diameter, presumably - am aware the thickness will depend on the amount of lift required)? I Don think have a drive, so am keen to avoid taking the door off more than once...!

Cheers so much for your help

Sent from my Commodore 64 using spit and blu tack


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## David C (Apr 15, 2013)

I got some shims from someone in here, think they were made from a coke can..! A baked bean tin could be a thicker option.
It doesn't need much at the hinge end to lift the lock end.
You don't take the door off or remove bolts completely, you just loosen the bolts in the lower hinge to the door, lift the door gently with a trolley jack an pop the shims in.
The shims had a cutout to go round the bolts.
You could probably make a template from card without loosening anything.

But yes, not the sort of thing you'd want to do on a busy street!!


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## BadgerFerret (Sep 12, 2017)

That's ace - thanks David. Have found the thread about the shim-building!

I've actually ordered some stainless steel off cuts (la-de-daa - no coke cans for me!), and will give this a shot.

Cheers


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