The drivers side door on my 89 f250 has started sagging making it difficult to close from the inside. Have to roll down the window, grab the out side handle, pull up like crazy, and slam it.

My buddy who's a farmer and keeps 4 of these things on the road at any given time said they all do it eventually. And the fix is to put a bottle jack under the door and lift until the two wheels are almost off the ground.

I'm hoping there's a way that would be less extreme. The door on this truck hasn't been opened all that many times. It's got just under 22,000 miles on it right now.

Thanks in advance for the help,
Joe

 

door pins will fix it

 

x2

Door pins and their bushings wear out and need replacing

 

I just did mine. Bottle jack and a block of wood. Not quite as extreme as what you said, just loosen the bolts then retighten.

Devin

 

WTH a bottle jack? Are we talking ONLY pushing until you bend something? That's maybe the worst idea I've ever heard. Nor are new pins needed.

What you need to know is that the door bolts on and the bolt holes are not fixed. The hole in the pillar is elongated and the bolts go into a plate on the inside that is loose. Thus all you have to do to realign the door is loosen the bolts and move the door.

The bolts can be hard to get to and are 13mm, there's 3 for each hinge, two forward and one back. For the front two you'll need a swivel socket and go at them from the gap between the door and fender. Ideally you'll want both a 3/8 and 1/4 drive version, you'll want the 3/8 to get it loose and tighten it up but when a lot of torque isn't needed use a 1/4 drive. The rear bolt is best accessed from inside the door with the door partially open with a combination wrench.

Look at the gap between the fender and door and decide which hinge you want to stay put. Loosen all three bolts of the other just enough to lift the door. This is where you might want to use a jack. It can be tricky to lift the door and tighten and/or find that sweet spot where the bolts are loose enough to let you lift the door but tight enough to hold it there. The reason being there's no way to tighten the bolts with the door closed. So you have to close the door to find the right spot, then open it and tighten it. I find a floor jack with rubber pad a good way to do it if you have a smooth floor. Cause the jack can roll to open/close the door.

I have 14 doors, I've done this a few times, lol.


EDIT.. This can get trickier if you need to adjust the lower hinge and the detent spring is still there. Fortunately in this regard by the time the hinge needs adjusting the spring is usually broken.

 

Ummmm, no.

 

I disagree! If you hold the edge of the door and lift, and the door moves more then a tiny bit, the door pins are shot. This is also the case if the door lines up fine when its closed, but as soon as you open it, the door drops down. Obviously there is some flex in the system, but the if the door easily wiggles up and down, take a close look at the hinges and I'll bet you see the pins/bushings are worn out.
Yes you can readjust the hinges, I just had to do that to my '88. But the cab is also falling apart so things weren't fitting right anymore.... Also I can tell the door pins, or their bushings are worn again, I've already replaced them once.

The detent spring on all of my trucks is on the upper hinge..?
And yes its totally in the way of the rear bolt. You can still loosen the front bolts, and if you have a crows foot socket you might be able to loosen it from the front. I think I tried that, but can't remember if it worked or not.

Sucky part is the spring is busted on my '93, and I'd like to fix it. When I fixed that (and the door pins the first time) on my '88, I think I supported the door with a engine hoist and removed the pins to take the door off and access the spring.

 

Of course the door pins are worn, replace them if you like, but it's not needed to get the door to work properly. The door is never lifted up by anything so slop in the pins isn't really a functional issue until they are very worn. That's all I'm saying, it was to counter where you and IDIiot gave the impression that the pins must be replaced, they don't. The 'right' way to fix it sure, the only way no. If loose door pins makes it to the top of your to do list congrats, but it's unlikely to make it to mine.


FWIW I prefer loose pins, I wheel my crew cab, loose pins keep the door from binding when the cab twists.

 

No what???

 

Read the second quote in post #6 and follow the link back.

 

Ummmm, no.

Read the remainder of post #5, then slap your forehead and follow that up with a letter to your English comprehension teacher.

 

In post #5, you asked if we were talking about only jacking the door until you bend something. The answer is no, we weren't talking about that. Post #4 instructed to loosen and tighten the bolts.