Door issues...

Hey everyone. I posted a few days ago about buying a 94 XJ 2-door sport. I decided Im probably going to go with it. Now I have a body question... The doors are in kind of bad shape. The passenger side door rubs the fender and makes a popping noise when you open it. The front of the door rubs the back of the fender. When closed the gap is really close. The gap at the back of the door is really big. This happened on an 87 we had sitting around a long time ago. I looked, but didnt see any adjustment. Is there any? Anyway around this? The driver's door is ok...but alittle loose. There is some up and down movement in the hinges while opened. Let me know what kind of mess Im looking at. Thanks in advance.

Justin

The hinges, especially on the 2-door models, tend to break. If you look at where they attach to the body, you will notice that they are breaking loose. The fix is to re-weld them back on.

Thanks for the tip. I kinda thought thats what it was, but I didnt notice any cracking when I looked. I gotta look closer when I have some time. I just couldnt figure out how the whole door would move forward. Its not like just the top or bottom is moved in. But I will check that out and warm up the welder if it seems like it will help. Thanks!

Justin

I had my drivers side roll pin fly out the other nite on my 98 4 door when I was getting out to go to dinner, little sob smacked me in the shin and drew blood on it's way off to some other dimension. Stuck a cut off 10 penny nail in the hole for a temp fix, man what a racket that made, sounded like a .38 going off. The roll pin held that lever that keeps the door half open and full open, replaced it the next day for .15 cents. Man I like cheap fixes

Check if it has shims installed. They will be between the hinge and the door. Mine has 2 shims in the front... without them I would have the same problems you are describing. If the other door is okay, take note of the shims and compare. Usually when a Cherokee has a hinge problem, it is on the drivers door.... I'm betting on the shims.
-Brian

If the hinge has not separated at the body, there still might be severe wear of the hinge pins, especially the top one, that will cause the door to sag. You can try to replace the pin - I think there's a factory repair kit, even. Or you can sometimes compensate for the sag by changing the shims between the hinge and the door. All the XJ's I've dug into came originally with one shim per hinge. It is possible to compensate for sag either by removing the top shim and adding it to the bottom, or making another shim of your own to put some lift in the bottom. The shims are slotted, so you needn't take the door all the way off to slip one in or out. There is also a good deal of latitude in the hinges for in-out adjustment, which you'll need to do as well.

By the way, on a two door with properly adjusted doors, the gap at the rear is still a little wider than most cars, so don't worry too much as long as the front lines up and the latch closes without interference.

Hey thanks for the ideas. Tomorrow is the first day Ill have to really dig into her. I thought shims too. I gotta check again, but I dont remember seeing any damage where the hinges are welded to the body. If there is... I can re-weld no problem. I talked to jeep they do sell hinge parts, so thats a route I might take. The drivers door is sagging alittle...and there is play up and down, but it works fine. No binding or hard shutting. On the other side, there is no sagging, but it binds. So I have to look into it. Ill let you all know what I find...I will be keeping all of your suggestions and info in mind. Thanks again.

Justin

P.S. I cant wait to get the little stuff fixed on this thing. I already have plans for a lift and tires and some other goodies. I miss my old 4X4 and the whole off-roading scene. I bought a trans am and kinda lost sight of it for awhile.