M1009 door adjustment

[Jetnoise400]

Hi All,

I make no claims whatsoever about having any ability or experience in regard to autobody repair, so apologies up front for this one... BUT.....

Both doors on my 1009 are badly out of adjustment. Not so much in and out, but rather front to back. Both rub on the fenders when opening and closing. I see where the hinges attach to the body, and how an adjustment would be made, what I don't see is how in the heck to get a wrench on those hinge bolts without removing the front fenders.

Anyone have any tips or tricks that doesn't involve a $200 unobtanium wrench from GM?

TIA!

 

[Armada]

How are the hinge pin bushings? They are usually the first to go. Is there play in the hinges when you lift them up and down. A bushing kit is available at most auto parts stores.
Back when my engineering job took me to the auto assembly plants, whenever a door wasn't adjusted correctly a guy at the end of the line would adjust the doors by using his body weight, muscle, and strategically placed nylon wedges. You know, leg against the side of the door and pull the top outward, use his weight to force door down, etc.

 

[Jetnoise400]

Well, to be honest, I haven't gotten far enough into the process to check the hinge play. My friend recently pointed out that both my doors dont exactly match the camo pattern, so he thinks they were swapped out at some point and just slapped in there without much regard for alignment.

I'll take a look at the hinges themselves and see if there's any play.

Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[ARMYMAN30YearsPlus]

I have the same problem on the driver door of the M1009 I just bought from Government Liquidation last week. What most door issues come from is a collision or some other non typical occurance. I am looking at adjusting the door when I get off work this weekend and will let you know what I find. I can tell you having taken several doors off and re-installed them that it is one reason to have children. Do not attempt it yourself unless you have a good door jack. Scribe the present hinge locations so that you will have an idea of which way to go and how far based on the distance the door is off center. Usually a door that is out of wack front to rear is not a hinge pin issue that normally shows up with a door draging it's tail on the door frame and making a distinct mark on the door striker. The bolts can be loosened and taken out with a socket wrench or a box end wrench. I would make sure to use PB blaster on them the night before. The trick to getting them out is getting the door at just the right position to access the bolts.

God bless America

Very Respectfully,
David

1970 M35A2
1984 M1009
1979 M105A2
1968 M332
1983 M101
too many other's to mention

 

[Jetnoise400]

Thanks for the suggestions David, and thanks for your service.

I was looking at those hinge bolts and wondering if it were possible to access them. Maybe this is a good time to justfy the purchase of that flex head gearwrench set I've been wanting

Good luck with your door adjustment, and I look forward to hearing any tips you might have from the "been there-done that" perspective.