Sagging drivers door fix

[455firebird1969]

My 2000 Formula drivers door has been out of alignment and getting harder to close. I went to NAPA and ordered a door hinge kit. The NAPA-solutions 600-5551 kit was made in China. The job took me about four hours to complete, see my list of required steps below.

1- drive front wheels onto ramps, level rear of car with jack stands under rear axle
2- support drivers lower control arm on a wood block (car still level) remove front wheel
3- remove inner fender liner, three screws, two bolts and three plastic push-retainers
4-remove upper hinge first, it's difficult to reach, but a 13 mm wrench works OK
5-grind OEM swaged end off of the two axle pins and drive pins out with a drift and hammer
6-assemble hinge with new bushings, axle pin/bolts and nuts, I added a SS flat washer in gap
7-reinstall upper hinge, I had my kid push-in the foreword upper end as I torqued hardware
8-remove lower hinge, it's easy to get to this one
9- grind OEM swaged ends and drive old pins out using a drift and hammer
10- reassemble lower hinge with new bushings axle pin/bolts and nuts, I added a SS flat washer
11- reinstall lower hinge and check door operation and alignment, adjust as necessary.
12-reinstall inner fender liner using old screws and new push-retainers ($3 each from GM)
13-reinstall drivers side front wheel and test drive

Note: I conducted the test drive prior to reinstalling inner fender to assure no wind noise from window/door misalignment. This way I could make fine tuning adjustments without having to remove the fender liner again.

I added a stainless steel flat washer (two different thickness's) to each hinge because I didn't like the gap after installing the new parts. I suspect the made in china bushings were not to specification. Either way, I shimmed them to my liking, and I greased everything during assembly.

The car was sitting on its suspension as normal during this process to prevent body flex that would misalign the doors.

[455firebird1969]

Hardware pile

[455firebird1969]

Lower hinge

[455firebird1969]

Elevated car sitting level

[eric_cspan]

That's a doorman kit. Great write up though. We've sold a lot of these kits with people having the same issues.

[455firebird1969]

I think I need to replace the weatherstrip next. The door is lined-up and closes fine. The window goes up and down fine. If I get in and drive the car without ever moving the window everything is fine, but if I roll the window down, than back up, I have wind noise from the window not sealing right. If I stop and open & close the door, the wind noise goes away. If I lower and then raise the window while driving, I get the wind whistling noise again.

[eric_cspan]

The door/t-top seals are a common replacement item on these cars. We carry a good supplier.

[455firebird1969]

Originally Posted by eric_cspan

We carry a good supplier.

Who is "We" ? PY?

How hard is it to remove and replace the weather stripping and have it fit, function and appear as well as the stuff that came from the factory?

I installed "soft seal" weather stripping on my 1969 firebird about 20-25 years ago, and I was not too impressed with the end result.

These newer cars (1998-2002) were sealed very well when they were newer, I know because I had one. The one I have now is 14 years old and it leaks when it rains and it whistles driving down the road. It would be nice to make it seal up like when it was new.

[eric_cspan]

Originally Posted by 455firebird1969

Who is "We" ? PY?

How hard is it to remove and replace the weather stripping and have it fit, function and appear as well as the stuff that came from the factory?

I installed "soft seal" weather stripping on my 1969 firebird about 20-25 years ago, and I was not too impressed with the end result.

These newer cars (1998-2002) were sealed very well when they were newer, I know because I had one. The one I have now is 14 years old and it leaks when it rains and it whistles driving down the road. It would be nice to make it seal up like when it was new.

Yes. PY and GTOG8TA.com specifically.

The new seals are pretty good quality. Are they perfect? Probably not. We haven't had complaints with them.

Is yours t-top?

[455firebird1969]

Yes, my car has t-tops, but the t tops don't seem to have any wind noise problems. It all seems to be coming from the drivers door/window. The passenger side does not have the wind noise problems, but it leaks when it rains. I always see water drops running down over the passenger side plastic where the middle speaker is.

Do you have a link for the replacement weather strip kits?

[eric_cspan]

I'm sorry. Are you looking for the window felts that run along the door glass or the rubber that runs around the door on the body itself?

[455firebird1969]

The window glass seats against a soft rubber weatherstrip.

[455firebird1969]

Originally Posted by eric_cspan

I'm sorry. Are you looking for the window felts that run along the door glass or the rubber that runs around the door on the body itself?

I need the rubber that is on the body.

[455firebird1969]

I found this at you're website:

http://gtog8ta.com/93-02-firebird/tr...erstrip-t-top/

Do you have replacement weatherstrip for the t-tops? I didn't see them. I would think replacing both the door and t-top rubber would be the best way to get it sealed up again.

[455firebird1969]

Originally Posted by 455firebird1969

I found this at you're website:

http://gtog8ta.com/93-02-firebird/tr...erstrip-t-top/

Do you have replacement weatherstrip for the t-tops? I didn't see them. I would think replacing both the door and t-top rubber would be the best way to get it sealed up again.

eric, you jumped in, and then no reply?

I still want to replace the weatherstripping on my formula, including the T-top strips. Do you have them or not?

[eric_cspan]

Originally Posted by 455firebird1969

eric, you jumped in, and then no reply?

I still want to replace the weatherstripping on my formula, including the T-top strips. Do you have them or not?

Sorry for the delay. Yes we carry them. It is all one piece. One kit does the doors (rubber on the body and the T-tops).

That link you posted is what you need.

[455firebird1969]

Good, thanks for the reply. My car was hit by a helicopter at work, and will be getting a new passenger door and fender now. I'll be replacing the passenger door hinges while replacing everything, the old hinges were sagging, but it's way out of whack now, so I'm replacing the hinges due to the impact damage. I'll replace the weatherstrip for both doors after the paint work is done.

[455firebird1969]

After the helicopter crashed into my car, I had the pleasure of replacing the passenger door and fender. I get to use the bushing kit on the passenger side door sooner than planned. I'll be replacing both door weatherstrips after the paint work is finished.

[455firebird1969]

Repair work in progress.

[455firebird1969]

Ready for a little bodywork and paint. Both doors have new bushings, no more sag or misalignment.