I'm wondering if anyone has seen, has any experience with and can offer a remedy for this problem... Yup,,, concerned here. Drivers door sags a good bit. I can lift on the opened door a little and it aligned and closes like normal, for a while. In short time, back to sagging. Has never gotten close to not closing and i dont have to lift it to close... But Im knowing it will only get worse

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much...



This is the bottom LH drivers side door hinge...

 

JJJ,

this is kind of common, I have it too. Net net, someone on this site posted that they fixed it by removing the wheel well liner, giving access to ( a bolt?) To tighten and fix things. Ive been meaning to tackle this too, just haven't had the time.

I recommend you ignore the www posts that direct you to jack it up under the door to bend things back. I've read stories about it causing problems.

John

 

Hmm. On mine it seems (if ya look closely at the pic) the area around the hinge has kinda cracked, split or,,,, torn. Do you think the bolt remedy previously touched on is the direction for this as well? Same thing?

 

oh sorry i answered too fast, didnt look at the photo. John

 

It's alllllll good, J... Really. I appreciate the care and reply! No doubt.

 

I think that has gone well beyond an adjustment issue and the door frame needs welding repairs to replace the missing metal (arrowed in red). There's probably nothing in the door frame supporting the inner hinge bolt.

The bottom corner (circled) also looks suspicious. It may just be the photo but it could have had a previous repair. The only way to find out is remove the door card to be able to see from inside the frame.




Graham

 

Remove the door and weld and reinforce it properly.

 

Thank you Graham and T!

So here come the questions... What is the easiest way to remove the door without upsetting its placement and alignment? Is there a way? Can I simply support the door and remove that hinge pin? Is it as simple as that OR,,, (I hope not) do I have to start messing around with the hinges themselves and their attach points?

 

Any suggestions on removing the door from this XK8 would be very helpful... Thanks

 

I have not worked that area much, but as there is a big wiring bundle to deal with, you will have to start by removing the door panel, then unplug everything around. Be triple sure you pay attention to the window mechanism as it could easily cause injury if activated while your fingers are in the way (so, battery off). Once off, the door panel will likely show the other side of the hinge studs for proper removal. On the face of it, be wary of removing the hinge bolts, i.e. be sure to support the door somehow so it does not rest on just one hinge/bolt and bend even more, or worse.

I suppose the alternative is to remove the plastic wheel well liner and get to the other hinge bolts from the body side (pretty sure about the lower side, unsure about the top side). This would be a situation where you are somehow leaving the wiring in place, and have the welding repair done as is with the door loose. This likely would have to involve one of those pro body shop door holding jack/dolly.

Best of luck, keep us posted.

 

NOTICE THE PLUG. SOMETHING LIKE THIS...?
Hey Mertz, Thank you...
Quick question... I've looked at the hinge area but all from the outside only. I have not opened the door panel/card in a while and when I did I was not looking at the hinge - at all.

In the picture, the fasteners for the hinge on the door side are rounded. I have to imagine that there are a way to loosen inside the door? I also don't know what the bolts look like on the body side of the hinge... I will have a look see.

What I was hoping to be able to do is (and I think my electrics into the door can be disConned by simply uncoupling a large plug between the door and body) undo that center pin/the hinge pin, and remove the door that way. In your experience,,, will the door come away from the body by removal of that vertical hinge pin in the photo above?

 

JTIS doesn't include the procedure for door removal and neither does the Repair Manual. This illustration from JEPC shows how the hinges and check arm are attached: The visible rounded fixings in your photo are part of the hinge.






Biggest issue, as already discussed above is disconnection of audio, window and door module harness. Also be VERY careful if working inside the door without the battery disconnected. The X of the window regulator will win any battle against fingers!

Graham

 

thanks graham... my questions are two... should disconnection of electrics be as easy as disconnecting the plug (as in image in previous post)? and, more importantly, in your experience, can I remove that vertical pin that connects the hinges to remove the door entirely...? in that, leaving the hinge bodies in place and not disturbing the aligment of the hinge and door... i really do hope so...

 

JayJayJay,

It looks like your ideas are much better. If the wiring bundle just unplugs, then that is the way to go. One would assume a plug there would help Jaguar at the time of manufacture, but what do I know.

For the hinge, removing the pin seems like a good plan. Be sure to know where the window should be before unplugging everything (up or down). It looks like you will have to remove the door panel to reach these studs anyway...

 

It's a Jaguar - naturally it won't be easy.

As I recall, the speaker has to be removed to get to the door module so you certainly aren't going to be able to disconnect everything simply by removing the door card. However, other than being a tight working space, there shouldn't be anything difficult or requiring special tools. Taking photos as the dismantling progresses will help the rebuild, especially if you need to disturb the window lift mechanism.

I'd look to remove the hinge pins rather than remove the hinges if there's clearance but I haven't done a door since my XJ6 so don't know if this is possible on the XK8.

Graham

 

I've been thinking better about it. One part is that. I'm pretty sure I have seen the large single plug set up,,, at least on my car, for the door electrics... And two,,, to do the repair,,, I will have to remove the hinge on the door side no matter what, for the welding. It will have to be part of this no matter what.

I have a welder - that's not a problem... As for the part of the job thats mine, well, I'm not looking forward to removing the door, at all. Never mind rehanging it... Shoot!

Thanks for all the answers and suggestions....

 

Hi. I have 'been there done that' so to speak. What usually happens is that the door sags due to its weight and someone leaning on it. Then someone suggests putting a block of wood and jacking the door back into position. DONT. Thats what causes your problems.

I will say no more except read this https://www.jaguarforum.com/showthre...=1#post1106512 it does continue for a few pages as the job progresses you will just have to skim through the following pages but it does give you the solution to your problems. Enjoy

and https://www.jaguarforum.com/showthre...=1#post1110437

 

Skerd.....

Thanks frank... I looked thru the thread the best I could. Lots there! Lots...

Looks like my fears have been realized. Just to confirm,,, its possible - in your experience - to remove the door entirely by simply removing the two vertical pins? I'll be doing this myself. Dealing with the two pins seems like the easiest as a one man job... Then I can get it over to my welder. All of this will have to be down the line...

I've been most worried about re-aligning the door after taking off the hinge. No matter what I guess that is what is going to have to happen. At least the one lower hinge on the door side O things

Not liking this,,, at all.

 

Ohhh I wish it was that easy. Id have done it myself. Two things. The electrical plug, that simply unscrews and separates. However you also have the retaining bolt, between the two pins. You have to remove the wheel. The wheel liner. Then go between the car body and that outer panel. Find the back of the nut. Put a spanner on it. At the same time put a spanner on the visible side. Then turn a nut you cannot get to that is probably stuck very fast. Apart from that easy peasy!