Door alignment

Birdbrain · Mar 2, 2020

Morning all.
2 year as ago we rebuilt my Defender with galv chassis, bulkhead & A/B posts. We really struggled with drivers door alignment but decided to leave it & revisit at another date. It’s now getting on my nerves! This is the only door we’ve had an issue with. Front edge is aligning with wing but rear edge standing proud & only way it would line up is if we took off door rubbers. Rear door, on same side, aligns perfectly with B post as does roof. See photos.
Anyone got any ideas please?

tottot · Mar 2, 2020

For us to see we need a square on pic of the whole door.

Birdbrain · Mar 2, 2020

Here you go:

Huddy84 · Mar 3, 2020

Presume the gaps to the front and rear of the door are even. When I put my doors back on I got the gap between the tub and door correct first, a small bit of movement in the hinges will be seen biggest at the rear edge of the door. The front should fit regardless.

Also where your finger is in the joint, if the door is fully closed the striker may need to be moved inboard.

Birdbrain · Mar 3, 2020

If I move the striker inboard anymoreI can’t shut the door. The seals are genuine Landrover ones. All other doors are fine. If I remove door seals I can get shut line perfect

mick the builder · Mar 3, 2020

If all adjustments have failed, You may need to get the 3x2 out. Wrap towel around it and start twisting the door. Be careful of the glass.

frog hopper · Mar 4, 2020

+1 ^^^^^ as said, wind the window right down first, it's the way they were done on the assembly line.

tottot · Mar 4, 2020

I think the top hinge needs to move forward, if there is no free play for the hinge to move forward then the bulkhead needs to be cranked forward some at the point of the hinge.
The movement needed is not much but you will need to loosen the footwell/chassis bracket at the chassis, the roof, the wing to chassis and front grill.
See other posts on this subject on folk using ratchet straps to get the correct position. I say again the movement is small and will be at the bracket on the chassis, others have had to elongate holes here.
The door latch needs to move outward a bit so the second stage of the latch can catch.
Doors do sometimes need a bit of brute force to get the final fit.
There is a video of the last Defender coming off the line having its final checks and at one point the chap puts his knee in the door and gives the top a heave before shutting it with a satisfied look.

Birdbrain · Mar 4, 2020

Thanks all. I’ll give it another look. The gap between edge of door & B post is the same for its full length so not sure if moving top hinge will cure anything. It’s almost as if the B post needs moving but then it’ll affect rear door.

Awkward · Mar 4, 2020

Something I have noticed over the years is that the drivers side door rubber is sometimes slightly fatter than the passengers side. Iv had 2 defenders and on both the drivers side door was a nightmare to align. I sorted it by ordering 4 door seals and choosing the thinnest and sent back the other 3. Then moved the door post latch as far in as possible so I had to slam the door to shut it. After 6 months re-adjusted the door post latch and hay presto door fits way better.....

mick the builder · Mar 4, 2020

Another trick is to cut a small slit in the door rubber at the bends and remove the rubber stiffener at these points. It helps door to compress seal move evenly.

nobber · Mar 4, 2020

To me it looks like an alignment problem with the bulkhead rather than the door, if the gap is too tight the seal wont compress properly and the door wont shut tight, The gap isnt like a normal car, they need a fair old gap to work correctly. Your first photo clearly shows misalignment of the bulkhead, first photo in post 3 shows the gap between door and B post to be way too small.

zeaphod · Mar 4, 2020

Whenever I've renewed door rubbers I always have to bend the lip it sits on inwards to let the door close flush with the body. Also, to my eyes, the gap at the front of the door/bulkhead is bigger at the top hinge - two mm of adjustment there might be enough.

Birdbrain · Mar 5, 2020

Thanks all

Door alignment

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