I cant seem to get the bottom part of the door to seal aganist the cab. I have replaced the weather stripping. any tips on how to get it to seal. I cant tell if I adjust it at the door or make adjustment at the bracket at the cab. any ideas or do I make the hinge hole more elongated for more adjustment at the door side.

jerry

 

Did the fit change when you replaced the seals, sometimes they take a while to settle in after they have been replaced. John

 

the driver side door never closed all the way before I put new weather stripping. I have been trying to eliminate different things. I have found that if i use a prybar on the door on the door handle side and push toward the front i get a better fit all around. Also the door striker shows sign of wear.And the door dosnt latch. You can pull it out about a inch. But it remains latched.

jerry

 

also would it help to put washers under door hinge where they bolt to the body. it seems like that adjusts the front to back alignment of the door.

jerry

 

Jerry,
heres what i would do....

remove both the new door seal and the striker and/ or latch, so the door isn't fighting them till `you get the alignment solved.
Then, take a good look at what the door needs to align properly in its opening, often its a simple fix, sometimes its something more hard to spot like a bad body mount rubber for instance.

What i am trying to explain is that you need to look and think about what the problem might be BEFORE elongating holes or worse still hitting things with a big hammer.
A little patience will find the answer.
Let us know how you go...... John

 

This sounds to me like you have either a mis-adjusted striker, or a worn latch where it won't work on the second strike. I'm guessing it's the latter. I have one like that on my truck that will need rebuilding or replacing. Adding new rubber will only make matters worse until you fix the real problem.

 

I had issues with door fitment on driver side; hinges were sprung and needed adjustment. Prior to paint, and without striker and latch in place I needed to realign the door, using a modified method for door aligment from the manual. It involves using a "wedge" while closing the door to re-align the hinge. Not for the weak of heart but it did work for me. The gap around the doors is now even. Do you have a body shop friend that could look at it for you ?


Tom

 

Good advice here...this is also a great time to check for play in the hinges.

 

I agree with exhausting all other things before elongating holes. I am going to loosen bottom hinge that bolts to the body and push inboard and tighten. this may givet it closer to the body. The door striker is worn down may need replacing. Trying everything one step at a time. cant throw a lot of money at my truck now.

Jerry

 

How are your body mounts ?

 

You know i dont know the condition of body mounts. I do know the striker latch on driver door is pretty bad. I took off the striker and measured opening. And found the opening was excessive. It wont hold the door closed. Also the curved bottom of the door seems to be excessive in that corner. I will check the body mounts maybe that might also be causing the door to be out of wack.

jerry

 

One of the reasons that panels don't align is because someone decided to "improve" on Ford's designs by making modifications i.e. enlarging holes, bending things out of spec. If those mods were necessary, Ford would have made them at the factory. Everything aligned at one time, if it no longer does, find out why, don't start making modifications!
First, go to your control panel: click on user cp in the blue band at the top of the page. Click edit your details fill all the fields that ask for your truck year and model and city details. Next click edit signature and put in a line that includes year and model of your truck and city where you live. Now that info will appear in every post you make and we won't have to try to divine which truck you are looking for info about.
Next learn where and how to use the search feature. In the center of that same blue band click on search and then choose advanced search in the drop down menu. put in all the details of the info you are looking for and select this forum as where to search. We are friendly and like to help, but most of the basic questions have been answered dozens of times, and it possibly may be a quicker way to get the info you need and in greater detail.
Now for your questions: Before attempting to align things you need to start with a solid square platform. Jack up your truck and place 4 heavy duty jackstands under the frame at the 4 corners. Let it down onto the stands then use a level under the center of the frame rails to shim the stands until the frame is level front to back on both sides. Now lay a straight bar across the frame horns in the front and with the level check that the frame is level side to side. Take as much time as necessary to level the frame front to back and side to side as accurately as possible each and every time you need to adjust any body panel. Next verify that the front cab mounts are solid and not rusted around them (they are the brackets and bolts at the bottom of the front door pillars. Go underneath and check the rear cab mounts and make sure they are not cracked or rusted thru. Now order new front and rear cab mount rubber bushings from Mid Fifty Mid Fifty F-100 Parts - Home
Once you have the new bushing assemblies on hand and have repaired any body rot around the mounts. unbolt the front mounts and jack up the front of the cab high enough to put in the new bushings. Leave them a little loose, and jack up the rear of the cab enough to change the rear mount/bushings. Now tighten the 4 mounts. Do not tighten so hard as to crush the new rubbers flat. Hopefully your cab has not received any heavy collision damage or a large amount of body rust repair (or needs it), so we can go on to adjust the doors. Remove the striker and any dovetails on the door edge, and order replacements for any worn parts. Lift up on the end of the door while it is open to check for hinge pin wear. If the pins are worn replace the pins or the hinges before attempting to align them. Close the door and check the fit in the opening. If it does not fit evenly all around, loosen the hinge bolts in the door. and block up the door until the gap is equal all the way around. When it is, tighten the hinge bolts from inside the cab. Open and close the door to check the fit. When you are satisfied, reinstall the dovetails and latches, adjusting as necessary until the door latches properly. The latch and dovetail should not force the door up or down while latching.
Do an advance search on my user name and hood hinges, I have posted numerous times how to verify the hinges are working properly and how to adjust them.

 

That worked for me as well. You slam the door against a rubber mallet at different points around the door to "shape" the door. When I first saw it in the shop manual, I had to laugh, but it worked.

 

If the latch and/or striker is worn to the point of no longer functioning, all the slamming and bending in the world isn't going to help. As mentioned, find the real problem and correct it before taking more drastic measures.

 

I think all would agree to check the alignment of the door in the opening first without the striker in place. Does it "fit" with equal spacing around the perimeter in the frame opening ?

If it doesn't them it might be that the hinges are "sprung". In my case the driver door sagged because the lower hinge was sprung out, not allowing door to seat properly. A visual on the two hinges from the outside might show one hinge not lining up properly.

Hope this helps; elongating hole in hinge would be my last resort. IMHO

Tom