Problem with door

Hello,

My driver's door was closing fine yesterday, albeit with a small gap at the top...

I tried to fix this by adjusting the catch on the inside of the door frame...

Now I appear to have buggered it even more, the door closes and locks but there is now a gap all around the door and around 2cm of play when the door is closed. I've tried adjusting the catch to every possible angle and depth but it's still not working.

Any ideas what I can do to fix it?

Thanks :-]

If the hinges have worn and allowed the door to drop, loosen the 4 bolts on the wing then open the door 3 or 4 inch get a mate to lift the door up as high as he can and tighten back up the bolts while he is lifting. Worked for me anyway hope this helps

slim jim said:

If the hinges have worn and allowed the door to drop, loosen the 4 bolts on the wing then open the door 3 or 4 inch get a mate to lift the door up as high as he can and tighten back up the bolts while he is lifting. Worked for me anyway hope this helps

Click to expand...

shirly if all he's done is to have been "adjusting the catch on the inside of the door frame" - isnt it likely that playing with the hinges is just going to make it even less likely for him to find the right position of the slam ?

Hi John,
I think you have tried to pull the door more closed by pulling the catch post in. What happens with defender doors is that the top part of the frame can bend away over time and with corrosion at the centre line of the door where the window frame joints.

Now you have pulled the door closed too much so that the catch cannot achieve closure to the second ratchet setting, hence it's open about two centimetres.

1st loosen the catch again and see if you can get the door to close properly at the centre and lower half of the door. Then put some wood (2x2) in the door gap by the catch post and with the window open bend the window frame in at the top so that it closes properly all the way round. This is how they are fitted at the factory.
take it easy, watch for corrosion problems and you should be able to line it back up again.

Good luck.
Graham

Sean said:

shirly if all he's done is to have been "adjusting the catch on the inside of the door frame" - isnt it likely that playing with the hinges is just going to make it even less likely for him to find the right position of the slam ?

Click to expand...

Spot on Sean! Don't touch the hinges ... yet!

Sean said:

shirly if all he's done is to have been "adjusting the catch on the inside of the door frame" - isnt it likely that playing with the hinges is just going to make it even less likely for him to find the right position of the slam ?

Click to expand...

OK Sean as I said it worked for me and dont call me shiirly

Hi, thanks for the replies so far, what a quick response

I will fix the gap at the top of the door, but once I've managed to get it to it's original state before I attempted to fix it.... (matching up at the bottom and middle).

I've had another go and I really can't get the catch to.... catch the door without a gap and loads of play. Any idea on that one?

jzcktv said:

Hi John,
Now you have pulled the door closed too much so that the catch cannot achieve closure to the second ratchet setting, hence it's open about two centimetres.

Click to expand...

Re-read your reply, this bit in particular... I was unaware there was a second ratchet setting. So the door is now closed properly

Thanks very much.

Great, glad to be of help.