Installing Doors?
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 124
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Installing Doors?
I am ready to put on my doors. Any advice on the proper order. Do I put the hinges on the cab first then connect to the door?
Should I install the glass before I hand the doors or would it be easier to do it after the doors are hung?
Is it easier to put the weather stripping around the door before it is installed or after?
Should I install the glass before I hand the doors or would it be easier to do it after the doors are hung?
Is it easier to put the weather stripping around the door before it is installed or after?
Senior User
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 167
Likes: 2
Originally Posted by Ira Brown
I am ready to put on my doors. Any advice on the proper order. Do I put the hinges on the cab first then connect to the door?
Should I install the glass before I hand the doors or would it be easier to do it after the doors are hung?
Is it easier to put the weather stripping around the door before it is installed or after?
Should I install the glass before I hand the doors or would it be easier to do it after the doors are hung?
Is it easier to put the weather stripping around the door before it is installed or after?
Cargo Master
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 2,575
Likes: 36
From: Greenville, SC
Install the hinges on the door, not too tight. I recommend first putting the doors on without the weather stripping and get things lined up real well. New weather stripping is fat and gets in the way when you are trying to get the gaps correct. It also relies on the door to shape it. You need the latches installed also before the weather stripping.
Ira this is a two man job, or one man and a boy job. Take your time, it took us a couple hours per door to get things just right. Tighten the hinges to the door real well and make sure you have good clearance everywhere. Mark the hinge to cab location and remove the door from the truck and install the weather stripping. Then reinstall. Getting the doors correct is extremely important, because the entire front clip's alignment depends on the doors.
I would definitely install the glass later, it only makes the door heavier.
I also recommend using tape to protect the door edges and the cab. see photo below. Don't leave the tape on too long (i.e. a week) and if it is cold, use a hair dryer to warm it up when you take it off so the tape doesn't pull the paint off. This picture also shows the fit up of the fender, that was done after the door, not before.
Ira this is a two man job, or one man and a boy job. Take your time, it took us a couple hours per door to get things just right. Tighten the hinges to the door real well and make sure you have good clearance everywhere. Mark the hinge to cab location and remove the door from the truck and install the weather stripping. Then reinstall. Getting the doors correct is extremely important, because the entire front clip's alignment depends on the doors.
I would definitely install the glass later, it only makes the door heavier.
I also recommend using tape to protect the door edges and the cab. see photo below. Don't leave the tape on too long (i.e. a week) and if it is cold, use a hair dryer to warm it up when you take it off so the tape doesn't pull the paint off. This picture also shows the fit up of the fender, that was done after the door, not before.
Senior User
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 463
Likes: 0
I did it the hard way....by myself. I had the hinges installed on the cab, no windows, no seals. I put a towel on my floor jack, placed the door on the jackstand/towel, found it's balance point so I wasn't fighting it, and very carefully move the door onto the hinges. I installed the door hingebolts and tightened a few, removed the floor jack, and started adjusting. Again,,,this is the hard way, it took a lot of time, and I would recommend 2 people.
For those who have a manual......isn't there something in there about putting the door on the hnges closing it and holding it in position and then installing the door hinge bolts from inside the cab?
For those who have a manual......isn't there something in there about putting the door on the hnges closing it and holding it in position and then installing the door hinge bolts from inside the cab?
Posting Guru
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 1,734
Likes: 2
From: Kansas City area
If you didn't index the doors before removing them and assuming they fit good originally, then I would index them after you get them in the proper location. This is easily done by drilling two 1/8" holes at each hinge connection location. Then when you remove the doors to add the weatherstripping or glass or for whatever the reason you can re-install in the exact location by putting short 1/8" rods in the index holes and everything lines up. I usually do this when the doors are in primer and then when in final paint there is much less chance for messing up the new paint.
Posting Guru
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 1,276
Likes: 0
From: Westminster,Md
If your working by yourself, I found an engine hoist works ok to get them up in the air, use a strap slung thru window opening, nothing beats two people,.
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Postmaster
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 4,190
Likes: 2
From: Riverside, So Cal
Walston's method for initial fitting is right on. Get the gaps correct without windows in the doors or weatherstrip. Once you have the fit exactly right, index the doors as Leckart said. Then you can remove the doors to install glass and weatherstrip and they will index exactly back where they were.
Here's how I indexed my 56 doors: https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...&albumid=27817
I have had my doors on and off many times. I got really tired of adjusting them, especially working alone. Do the indexing once and you'll never have to adjust them again. The initial adjustment is preferrably a two-man job. Reinstalling them, after indexing, is an easy one-man job.
Good luck.
Here's how I indexed my 56 doors: https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...&albumid=27817
I have had my doors on and off many times. I got really tired of adjusting them, especially working alone. Do the indexing once and you'll never have to adjust them again. The initial adjustment is preferrably a two-man job. Reinstalling them, after indexing, is an easy one-man job.
Good luck.
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Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 1,847
Likes: 37
From: Eastern shore,Salisbur,MD
Randy Jack,
Nice pictures on the door project. I know when I get that far, I will be in contact with you. Right now the thought of the unknown is dark. One of the doors hit the fender as it opens, I"ll have a lot of work to do
Jim G
Nice pictures on the door project. I know when I get that far, I will be in contact with you. Right now the thought of the unknown is dark. One of the doors hit the fender as it opens, I"ll have a lot of work to do
Jim G
Cargo Master
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 2,575
Likes: 36
From: Greenville, SC
Originally Posted by Randy Jack
Walston's method for initial fitting is right on. Get the gaps correct without windows in the doors or weatherstrip. Once you have the fit exactly right, index the doors as Leckart said. Then you can remove the doors to install glass and weatherstrip and they will index exactly back where they were.
Here's how I indexed my 56 doors: https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...&albumid=27817
I have had my doors on and off many times. I got really tired of adjusting them, especially working alone. Do the indexing once and you'll never have to adjust them again. The initial adjustment is preferrably a two-man job. Reinstalling them, after indexing, is an easy one-man job.
Good luck.
Here's how I indexed my 56 doors: https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...&albumid=27817
I have had my doors on and off many times. I got really tired of adjusting them, especially working alone. Do the indexing once and you'll never have to adjust them again. The initial adjustment is preferrably a two-man job. Reinstalling them, after indexing, is an easy one-man job.
Good luck.
