Shorty said:
None? how is it, then, that the rarely (if ever) used rear door hinges on both of mine were torn from the pillar and needed welding? I'm not tryin' to be a "knowitall noob" but I was under the impression that the doors added triangulation (all-be-it slight) to the flimsy stamped steel unit body construction.
They don't really add structure, if you feel the gap between the door and body while flexing, you can feel the body twisting around the doors.
Door hinges generally need to be fixed because to body twists with the door ON. There is obviously force against the hinges with the door there, but they are not strong enough to add "triangulation", therefore they can eventually break. If they were meant to add structure, I would think they would have used a bolt instead of a little pin to hold them on.
This can happen to any car, especially a unibody. For example, I had a 5.0 Mustang that needed hinge adjustment due to body twist form just the engine. As exciting as it may have been, I never took the doors off...lol
Over time, just the weight of the door can cause it, especially if you lean on it while open.
I do agree they may help in case of a rollover though.
The main reason many who take their doors of their XJs have problems is because they didn't re-adjust the door hinge. Because your changing the hinge from a double shear to single, the door sits a little different than it was. Not much, but enough to cause some closing issues.
I wheel mine with the front doors off (when it's nice out), through some ruff twisty stuff, and have not had any problems putting them back on.
Yeah I know...poser pic (I'm not in the Jeep), this was just my parking job at one of our local club events.
