Re-alligning sagging doors?

Apologies if re-post. Any good posts or method on getting doors to close easier. Every women ( and many men) never get door shut on first try...to the point i instruct ( the men...to close it..hard) i tried re- snugging hardware but it comes back.

I find myself lifting up and closing to get it on first try and would love to resolve. This seams to be factory issue as truck has 70k and previous owner almost never had passenger. ( Japanese wife, truck was too high for her)

If I just swing them close from full open they will be closed , but ajar. Making alarm go off. Im sure there is simple fix but figured id ask to save time.

Thanks in advance, this is 02 Reg cab fyi.pic of me patrolling power line roads for attention.

 

I'm also interested if there's a solution. My driver's door needs to be slammed to close fully, all the other doors are one-finger.

I bought a door pin/bushing kit from Dorman but I can't feel any play in the doors when lifting up on it when it's open. It's obviously sagging more than 1/4" though.

 

How’s the alignment of the door? Are the gaps equidistant? If it’s misaligned, that can happen.

Lifting of the door? So there’s free play?

 

Loosening and retightening the hinges to the body won't work? Might take a few tries since you'll have to bias the door up a bit to cancel the sag but that should get it vertically (and rearward) aligned.

 

Don't our doors have bushings that give out or wear out? I seem to remember there's not a lot of play in the latch. I've had luck on other trucks with notoriously heavy doors (GMT400, looking at your sorry ass) just shifting the strike down 1/16" - 1/8".

Would be more helpful to be in person and get a good look at where the strike and latch are lining up also.

BITD, in a pinch, we'd open the door at most 90° from the body, no less than a 45° angle from the body, set a 4x4 piece of lumber up under the edge of the door to make sure the metal didn't buckle, then use a floor jack to jack up on the 4x4 at the end below the latch, effectively bending the latch and body upward the tiniest bit to fix alignment. Definite NOT what I would do in our trucks, but in some of the pieces of shit I had in my lifetime, it worked like a champ.

 

Yeah, the hinges have little plastic bushings built into the pins that wear out over time, but I’m not totally convinced that’s my issue.

It seems like OP is in the same boat as me- it doesn’t feel like there’s play in the hinges, but if you apply some upwards pressure while closing, it closes much easier.

Quite frankly, I’m scared to put new pins in the hinges as it requires cutting the old pins and hammering them out with the door in place, or removing the door. Seems like kind of an extensive project.

 

Yes I re tightened the hinges. I prob just need to play with it. They appear to be flush. No gaps or water leaks. Ill work in it some more and report back.

 

This is a big reason why thoughtfully jacking the door up as mentioned is popular. But it will shift the general fitment of the door because it essential bends the hinge parts and/or their mount in the sheet metal, minimally (if you're careful/thoughtful). But because it's doing just that, it can throw other things out of whack.

Am I hearing you correctly, that when the door is closed, everything is lined up?

If yes, do the RC cabs allow you to remove the door strike/loop without needing access to the back side (i.e. you don't need to remove interior plastics to get behind the strike, hold a nut in place, that kind of thing?)

If yes, and you remove the strike - again, I'd check to confirm you don't need to remove interior plastics before you start loosening shit, I know on the AC trucks we need to remove the rear door's interior panel - does the door line up properly without the strike installed?

If not, then the problem is the hinge alignment OR the bushing at the hinge not allowing the door hold the right angle.

 

Five videos that may help, first is adjusting the bolts while putting pressure on the door but not sure if it'll help with our trucks?, and second is the hack I've used on shittier vehicles but put a 4x4 at least 24" long up under the flat under side of the door (not the door skin, third is a hack other people use but I'd never try (appropriately on a GMT800), fourth video is how you typically do it the "right way" on many vehicles, but the 5th is a tool you can readily buy and body shops use. Damn I should start a blog or something:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gu8L9KK8Os

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/WcKtwvB4dUo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNzVbThpEbw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RL3sGHVZykc

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/p20Z6Y32a5I​

 

Ok thank you for tips. Im going to stare at it today and will respond w results.

 

I do have a volunteer FD right up the street. Maybe sign a waiver?

 

For what it's worth my driver door was like this, and I wrongly assumed it was sagging. I grew up in the 70s when all car doors sagged after a few years. It took much more effort and slightly pulling up on. It seemed to help


Mine turned out to be the door latch, which was a relatively easy fix. The door was not sagging at all

I'm most certain the biggest contributing factor was that damn seatbelt not retracting and getting slammed in the door by the latch. I later found out the seatbelt only needed a simple pressure washing to correct

 

This is what im seeing. Maybe a very light sag. Ill play w it this weekend and report back

 

That looks perfectly aligned to me. My guess is the latch is gummed up. It looks gummed up. Maybe hit it with a light oil, like 3-in-1 penetrating oil, or kroil, and work the latch a lot?

 

You should just be a gentleman, and open/close the door for her...

 

In my experience with saggy doors if it was sagging you would see some slight scuffing or wear on the top of the strike plate.

what we do see, however, is the same black gunk that is in your door latch, which supports what @shifty`said

 

Yep; it makes sense. The resistance is the latch not wanting to snap inward, fire off due to buildup. Get it moving freely again.

 

Well that would be a welcomed problem. I will try cleaning them. Looks like they are covered in old greese or something. I will reclean and see if its still leaving that mark on loop. Tia

 

It smells like shit and the stink lingers for days or weeks, but PB Blaster will absolutely melt grease, wet or crusty-dry. I use it overhauling old bearings/races in vintage bikes that haven't had anything in the hubs or on the top or bottom end repacked in their 30-60 year lifetime. I don't know how you could easily get that into the latch and such, but if you do, I'd pack something in there to stop it from dripping into the door. 3-in-1 also does a fair job at it and doesn't smell nearly as bad.

 

Ok thanks, im going to do that tmrw night and let her fumigate over wknd.

 

Get some barrel brushes, toothbrush. Spray it in the latch and vigorously scrub all up in there. Throw the latch several times too.

 

Would you hit w lithium spray " tist tist" or just clean and done?

 

It looks gummy as hell in there. I’d fully clean it out, get as much old grease out as you can. Then roll with it for a few days, assess. If lube is needed, maybe do lithium? You also need to let the PBB finish running off for a few days, it’s fine enough an oil it’ll break down any grease you try to apply while it’s still there. It alone may solve your woes, but again, it has a pungent smell. I would need to spray it side by side with Kroil to see which smells more pleasant. 3-in-1 penetrant is the most pleasant smelling thin oil that’ll cut thru and clean out old grease I’m aware of. There may be other, better tools out there.

Hell, if it were me, I’d probably pull the latch mechanism and run the fker thru a parts wash with how gummed up that one looks but … I dunno. A couple other guys on here have shared their experience with degreasing their overloaded latches. They may be better to listen to.

 

I like liquid wrench better than PB. For me it works slightly better and smells way better too.

 

I've never tried it, but if it dissolves grease similarly, I'd use the hell out of it. My wife complains any time I crack out the PBB for anything. She hates the smell. I'll grab a can of Liquid Wrench next time I see it. Is there a specific type/variety/product in their line that's good for dissolving hard or liquid grease?

 

My 2 cents...CRC Brake Clean

 

That I'm not sure about. I just use their regular penetrating oil.

And silicone spray too iirc.

Website says it cuts through grease.
https://www.liquidwrench.com/product/penetrating-oil/

 

Took off door cards, used sfifty's advice. Prob solved. They were covered in some old wheel bearing grease looking stugg. Added some Amazon sound deadening while I was in there. Just need to do floor when i pull carpet for cleaning ..prob in summertime. I have a huge corner of parts built uo for this thing. Just waiting on old man winter to pass through bc im lazy