06 Ranger Door Alignment

[06DangerRanger]

Hey all thanks for the help all my previous question about the door swap but now I have a new issue that doesn't involve wiring whatsoever. I lined up my front door and rear door so everything closes and latches properly. The issue I am having is that my front driverside door is not lining up in the groove between the 2 weatherstripping set ups. This causes air to come into my door which after 40km/h becomes really annoying. I tried re-adjusting the door but no luck. I check on the passenger side door and it's fine. My driver door on the other hand it seems like the seal on the door isn't even touching the seal on the cab. Could this require a new hinge kit or am I just aligning it wrong. My rangers an 06 the donor doors came off of an 08. Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[franklin2]

I am trying to think of something you could put on the door gaskets so you could tell where they are touching the truck and where they are not. Thin smear of grease or vaseline? Butter? Something that would transfer onto the truck. It may give you a clue to what area is the problem.

 

[06DangerRanger]

I can see which area is the problem just there is no way of realigning it. The rear doors are slotted to align the front are just straight through holes.

 

[franklin2]

Do you need the rubber on the door to be slightly bigger to seal better? Sounds a little hokey, but I have done this trick on several vehicles. I find a piece of electrical wire, and stuff it in the crack behind the door seal. This pushes the seal out just enough for it to seal better and the wire seems happy just to stay in there out of sight.

 

[Slug]

It sounds as if you may not have those doors aligned correctly. There is a huge amount of adjustment to both doors between the hinges, catches, etc. You DO have to fiddle with it, and you can't be in a hurry; and it may be easier to get one door correctly closing before you do the other. Check your hinges for looseness on the front door especially. If they're saggy, you will need to replace them. Find them off the passenger side of a donor truck, as they will have almost no wear and are interchangeable.
Start with the front door. Get a sharpie and trace around the hinges where they are presently. That way, when you loosen the hinges slightly so you can move the door up, down, in at the bottom, etc, you'll see WHERE you've moved it and how far. Do that until the door closes and latches. Move the catches on the sill and the header both if you have to, but try to get the door square in the opening first. This will try your patience. It will be a trial-and-error exercise
Do the same with the rear door, sharpie and all! If it's like mine, you'll find it has less adjustment than the front, but it IS a smaller door.
I had to spend a fair amount of time on my truck doing the same thing, including changing hinges which was a huge pain, because it was a tired mess when I bought it. Don't be timid about loosening hinge bolts and moving stuff around until it's right. Success to ya'

 

[06DangerRanger]

See I originally marked where the old doors sat for the new doors and lined up everything as it should In my case actually my rear doors have way more adjustment then the front. The issue I think I am having is due to a faulty door hinge pins as I have about 1/2" of wiggle room up and down on the front door. Everything latches but i noticed when I close the front door it rises up a bit to latch which I suspect is due to the hinge pin being loose. I appreciate the response and will keep you updated when I finally get them correct. The door seals all around except the top I noticed on the door there is a part where it bulges out almost like a ridge that is suppose to sit in between two seals on the cab but it is sitting against it which I think is due to the sag. Once I redo the pins I will let you know if it fixes it. If not I'll post a detailed pic of where it is not sealing! Thanks everyone

 

[Slug]

BTW, if your weatherstrips are in good shape, and your cab hasn't been hit, and your doors are true, you really shouldn't hafta do anything funny with the rubber seals. It's all in how you move the doors

 

[Slug]

You did the right thing by marking the old ones. The new doors will not necessarily go exactly in those marks, but that'll get you close. Yes, sounds like new hinges are in your future