Fitting doors

Just put my doors back on and now I get a lot of wind noise and can see the door isn't seated against the weather stripping properly. I put the shims back they way they were installed, but I guess the door is too low. I had the door closed when I tightened the bolts..

Any tricks on getting doors shimmed properly?

The first time I put mine back on I used the try & then adjust method. JIM.

These doors are a royal pain to reinstall correctly. Were you able to get them off without stripping the heads off the Torx bolts? I couldn't, and was forced to literally rip the doors off the body. Them hinges are mighty strong...

Anyway, I've found that it works best to only tighten one bolt in each hinge during the adjustment process. Once you're sure it's correct, you can tighten down the remaining bolts. If you use this method, be sure that the untightened bolts are just very slightly loose, or the protruding head will come in contact with the hinge when the door is shut, throwing off the adjustment. It might be worthwhile to use regular hex-headed bolts upon reassembly; it's easier to stick a wrench in there and tighten them down.

Make sure the striker hasn't moved, either. How do your door gaps look?

A trick I learned from a body man: to see if you're getting a good seal along the weatherstripping, insert a piece of paper between the door and the frame and shut the door. Move the paper along the seal and see where it loosens up; that's where there's less sealing pressure (and the possibility for wind noise).

I could see how the doors sit low during reattachment. You may want to mark the door/hinge where it's straight front-to-back, and then tighten the bolts with the door open while pulling upwards on the door. That's the method I used; I don't have any wind noise.

Makke sure that you're adjusting the right thing. You may just have the upper hinge too far out, or the lower too far in, or both, so that the door tilts a little out at the top. Try loosening it and pushing in a little. A little compensation goes a long way here, but youmay have to make several attempts to get it right. Watch out for interference between the front edge of the door and the fender. Also, if the hinges have a lot of wear, you might find it helps to remove the shim from the top hinge, and add it to the bottom one. That's especially true on two-doors.

It's also quite possible that the doors have changed their shape a little over the years. Get the panels lined up perfectly, and get the height right, and if the top is still not seating well over the weatherstrip, you can bend it in a little, just with muscle power. Open the door a little, open the window, sit on the seat, brace a knee against the inner panel, and yank inward on the top. You can also lever it with a two-by-four, but don't do too much. Check frequently so you don't overdo, and try to avoid twisting.

Good tip with the paper. I was thinking about using hex-head as well... It looks like I'll have to take the fender off again!

I might have someone sit in the seat to look for a good seal, and tighten the two bolts with the door closed...

I figured replacing the shims exactly how they were would make the door close, but the threaded block in the door that the bolt go into has play as well..

Thanks..