90 twisted bulk head

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Daffin

Member
Posts
16
Hi all I have recently bought a 200tdi defender
Now the drivers door won’t line up properly, I found out that the defender was written off in 2005 with a front off side colision which leads me to believe the bulk head may be slightly twisted is there a way around putting a new bulk head on my defender, the door shuts but doesn’t like up properly
Thanks
 
Its a pretty time consuming job to change a bulkhead as well as the cost.
new door.JPG
As the door shuts it can not be to far out. As @miktdish says pics of door closed and open and the chassis beneath the bulkhead floor may help us advise you. Fitted a new door to my 1990 truck a couple of years ago. Took a fair bit of fettling to get it right [enough]
 
Daffin said:
Hi all I have recently bought a 200tdi defender
Now the drivers door won’t line up properly, I found out that the defender was written off in 2005 with a front off side colision which leads me to believe the bulk head may be slightly twisted is there a way around putting a new bulk head on my defender, the door shuts but doesn’t like up properly
Thanks
Click to expand...
What do you mean by 'now'? Did the door line up previously?

There is adjustment in the hinges, so it may be possible to make it better. Depends how bad it is and how much you want it to change.

Bulkheads are available (Google is your friend.......)

Reasonable amount of labour to swap. And tbh may not fix this issue. Plus a bulkhead removal may reveal other things to spend money on. A lot cheaper if you are doing it yourself and likely quite pricey to get someone else to do it.
 
300bhp/ton said:
What do you mean by 'now'? Did the door line up previously?

There is adjustment in the hinges, so it may be possible to make it better. Depends how bad it is and how much you want it to change.

Bulkheads are available (Google is your friend.......)

Reasonable amount of labour to swap. And tbh may not fix this issue. Plus a bulkhead removal may reveal other things to spend money on. A lot cheaper if you are doing it yourself and likely quite pricey to get someone else to do it.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your reply
Yeah the rear quarter was done, I’m not sure if the door shut properly before though, I’m aware of the bulkhead will be a lot of work to replace and a fair bit of money, I think I’ll have to acept the fact it’s never going to be perfect as it’s a Land Rover
 
Daffin said:
Hi all I have recently bought a 200tdi defender
Now the drivers door won’t line up properly, I found out that the defender was written off in 2005 with a front off side colision which leads me to believe the bulk head may be slightly twisted is there a way around putting a new bulk head on my defender, the door shuts but doesn’t like up properly
Thanks
Click to expand...
The doors didn't line up particularly well when they left the factory, ad years of wear and tears to things and it is fairly common. what is your frame of reference for how you think they "should" line up? is it other defenders or is it more modern vehicles?

Pictures would certainly help and I would try adjusting the hinges and if that does not give you enough then adjusting the bulkhead before replacing it. The only reason to go through the cost and effort of replacement would be if the current one is rotted.

To aid the door alignment you can space the bulkhead from the fixed point of the rear tub by adding or removing washers between the outrigger and the bottom of the bulkhead, you then adjust the angle of the bulkhead using the front mounting brackets so the door is level. Once both of these are done fine adjustment can be done in the hinges and the catch. But do not expect a perfect shut line from a vehicle originally built by brummies' with a hammer!
 
My first trough on that is that the bulkhead needs moving forward by adding a couple of washers between it and the chassis on that side. You can do that without actually stripping everything down just loosen all the bulkhead mounting bolts and removing the one through the outrigger on that side.

see my thread here on getting doors to align during my rebuild: LINK
 
You may not like this but to sort the door top leaning out wind window down, get both knees against at window level, grab the top of door with both hands and give a good heave to bend it in a tad.
It is the sort of stuff they did at the factory would you believe. I have been there, seen it happen.
 
Daffin said:
Thanks for your reply
Yeah the rear quarter was done, I’m not sure if the door shut properly before though, I’m aware of the bulkhead will be a lot of work to replace and a fair bit of money, I think I’ll have to acept the fact it’s never going to be perfect as it’s a Land Rover
Click to expand...
Have you tried messing about with the hinges? There might not be enough movement, then try what @dag019 suggests. But I'd at least start with the hinges.
 
tottot said:
You may not like this but to sort the door top leaning out wind window down, get both knees against at window level, grab the top of door with both hands and give a good heave to bend it in a tad.
It is the sort of stuff they did at the factory would you believe. I have been there, seen it happen.
Click to expand...
Yeah I think your right with that bend it all to shape 😂😂
 
Daffin said:
Yeah we messed about with this door for hours to get it where it is now
Click to expand...
If you have done as much adjusting as you can at the hinges then you do need to space the bulkhead forward, contrary to my previous post this is done by removing washers rather than adding! Ignore the rust it is a pic from google, but if you have any spacer washers on this bolt between the outrigger and the bulkhead remove them. This will, in theory, move the whole bulkhead forward on that corner by the thickness of the washer, depending on how many you have you may not need to remove all of them. you also do not need the same number on each side.
1744719051778.png
 
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