02 Savanna door problem

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edp

Last night a gust of wind caught my door in a parking lot as I was opening it, pulled it out of my hand & took a hard bounce off the hinge, it now has a door seal leak thats really noticeable - whistles while driving.

It seems like it must of been tweaked a bit, I looked at the hinges to see if there's some adjustment & they actually look welded to the front pillar / frame assembly so no adjustment I can see to try & move the door back towards the seal & opening.

anyone ever hung a door on a Savanna or Chev express van & have any great idea's or even lousy ones for how to tighten up the door against the seal ?

Thanks, Evan

PS - I'd post a pic but there really isn't anything to see other then the door itself.
 
Welded hinges are a B++++ however, where is the leak at, is there a metal frame around the glass, if that is the leak, can be tightened up with a knee adjustment.

Never worked on that model in my life, don't even know what it looks like.

Picture may help as a 2x4 or knee has tightened many of doors, before.
 
Take a good look at the skin where it attaches to the front of the doorframe-sometimes the bond breaks there and the skin will shift, also look for buckles where the hinges attach. Is the door still flush with the fender? Is it high or low at the latch? is the top of the window area in far enough to fit with the seal? Sometimes wind can really wreck a door. I seen a newer Ford PU door get totalled when the wind blew it forward with enough force to snap the limiter and bend the hinges and structure of the door-the ford design has the intrusion beam running diagonally to the lower hinge area, big heavy door with undersized hinges and limiter. Post up a pic and I bet the people here can help you out.
 
Check the top and bottom with a dollar bill with the door closed.The tension of the "pull" will give you an idea of if it's the top,bottom or both.
Old school way for welded and sprung out is to,
Place a wood block between the door hinge section and the pillar bracket.Then push the door end back into the block with as little force as necessary to effectively re-bend the "sprung" area back into alignment.Be careful so's not to go too far as you can break the spot welds or hem flange. HTH,Mike. Hinge adjust.jpg
 
here's a pic's of the van - I'll take a current one tomorrow that might show the out of alignment issues.
PICT0029.jpg


a few years ago the left ft. corner was clipped by some dingbat chick w/no insurance & the fender, grill, bumper, hood maybe - cant remember were replaced. The door fit was never perfect after that but I really didn't notice it & now of course the GMC dealer that did the work is out of biz, go figure!

After looking at the gaps this AM I noticed a difference between the passenger door & the drivers, I did try the slight bending of the upper door frame (I just pulled in on it w/my knee into the door a bit) & it seemed to tighten it some but it could use a little more. I'll have to look closer at the hinges before I go to town with a block of wood, I'd thought about that already but hadn't had time to mess with it yet.

Boy it is annoying to listen to your door whistle at you going down the road :mad::mad:

thanks all!
 
Here we have a shipyard close by that is regularly getting the doors of one of their vehicles screwed up by the wind right on the water. The would bring them to the shop I used to work at to get them fixed.

Normally when "adjusting" hinges from that type of deal, I use a 3/8" or 1/2" drive socket. Place the socket between the 2 parts of the hinges and force the door closed a little at a time until you get the right fit. Normally you would need to do each hinge separately, a little at a time.

Aaron
 
Yeah, the right size socket works wonders. I use black impact sockets, they seem a bit less slippery than chrome and less likely to jump out. Keep your fingers out of the door jamb! LOL
 
Thanks for all the suggestions, I did the socket trick as well as a 1 x 4 @ the top of the door frame & now I need a completely new door, thanks guys ;););)

Just kidding, it worked out pretty well - 90% of whistling is gone, I may need to give it another tweak to see if I can get out completely. Whoever invented welded on hinges?? seems like a monumentally stupid idea.

Thanks all, much appreciated.
 
The welded on hinges are for a faster assembly at the plant, I agree they suck. Some of the newer GM designs with the half pins are even worse.
 
I made a door hinge adjuster in metal shop while in high school. My uncle was a b&f man at a local Ford dealership and told me what I needed.

I turned a piece of tool steel to 5/8" dia with a 1/8" groove turned onto it on one end and then I put a heavy knurl on it, then tempered it.

I wrapped a piece of 1/8" steel wire around the grooved area for a handle.

It worked great, fixed the sprung hinges on my 56 Fairlane :)
 
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