V8S door hinge - HELP

[JSG]

I collected my V8S today and on the way home heard a clunk that as it turned out was from the drivers door. As I got to the Oxford ring road I noticed some movement between the windscreen pillar and door frame - when I parked in the drive and went to get out it became obvious that the top hinge had gone badly wrong (I caught the door in time to stop further damage).

Anyway I supported the door, removed the speaker and found a stray bolt with several washers (spacers?) floating about in the bottom of the door.

I've re-read the S bible, the previous threads on S series hinges and printed off the photos posted on Yahoo (thanks Lee). It looks as though the larger central bolt has come loose and dropped out. I haven't looked much further tonight as it was pitch black and the garage isn't wide enough to work on it.

I guess the next step is to remove the door trim (screw by catch and one inside at top of armrest ??) and have a closer look. The question is - is it likely to be a case of just putting the bolt back in or is the nylon sleeve going to cause me a problem ? Do I just feed the bolt back up through the top of the door or is there any special trick I should be aware of ?

Is there an expert (Leebee) around my area (Oxford / Reading) who works weekends ?

Any advice welcome.. I still love it though.

John.

[GBGaffer]

Bad Luck with the door John, I hope you get it resolved quickly. Enjoy the new V8S.

I am off to find out whether a Subaru S/S back box will fit in an 'S' - no I haven't gone mad - just delivering it to its new owner!

All the best

Graham

[pdavison]

John,

Exactly the same thing happened to the passenger door of my S3. I actually still have a new set of bolts that I bought from Lee that weren't used.

The job will either be a case of re-fitting the bolt - or (as was in my case) resetting the nylon in the fibreglass. Even so - the guy who did mine only charged £50.

I know that Lee said that he would be able to do it - probably worth giving him a call.

If you want to buy my spare set of bolts (I presume they're the same as a V8S) drop me an email.

Cheers

Paul

[JSG]

Quick update. I've finally found the right size socket set and got the door cover / trim off.

From other posts it would seem that the next step is to remove the front window channel ?? How is this fitted to the door - is a case of removing the screws on the outside (top of the door) and the one holding the 'quarter light' in place, but how is it fixed at the bottom, I've had a good feel around but can't work out how the bottom fits to the door.

anyone shed any light on this?

Cheers,
John.

[vodkakid]

if you follow the strutt down to the corner of the door you will find a nut that holds the bottom bit in place (you may need a torch)

andy c

[GreenV8S]

quote:
Quick update. I've finally found the right size socket set and got the door cover / trim off.

From other posts it would seem that the next step is to remove the front window channel ?? How is this fitted to the door - is a case of removing the screws on the outside (top of the door) and the one holding the 'quarter light' in place, but how is it fixed at the bottom, I've had a good feel around but can't work out how the bottom fits to the door.

anyone shed any light on this?

Cheers,
John.

You've done the hard bit, taking the trim off! Taking off the front window channel is easy, I expect you've done it by now but if you're still wondering the bottom of it is just bolted through the bottom of the door by the bottom hinge. I seem to remember it was all easily visible with the window up.

Cheers,
Peter Humphries (and a green V8S)

[JSG]

Thanks Andy, Peter,

Yes, I've found that now - I'd read my bible but it didn't mention the bottom nut.

I've got the bolt back in (lubricated) and it looks as though I have been lucky as there seems to have been no damage to anything else (good news).

I have one final question before I put the frame back in tomorrow - how much should I tighten the centre bolt up, does it go tight up against the bush / bracket or will the door not move easily if I over tighten? This prob sounds a daft question but the bolt is fairly stiff going in and there is no play in the door now - closes perfectly.

Thanks again for your help.

Cheers,
John (and a healthier V8S)

[LeeBee]

Is there an expert (Leebee) around my area (Oxford / Reading) who works weekends ?

Yes (for future reference)

Cheers

LeeBee