How to Align a Car Door that Won't Close Properly

Over time, car doors will tend to rub against the door striker, requiring you to push harder against the door to close it than you did when the car was new. The reason car doors do this is because every time you enter or exit your car, you put pressure on the door's elbow rest. Aligning a car door so that it closes properly usually takes just a few minutes, and requires the use of a length of two-by-four lumber that is approximately three feet long. This is the same process that professional automotive repair technicians use when repairing crash-damaged vehicles. Otherwise, no special tools are required.

Begin by lifting up on the car door to determine if the hinge pins are loose. If they are, they will need to be replaced. This happens when the door hinges are not properly greased and are left to rub for extended periods of time with the car door out of adjustment. If there is no play in the hinges, on the other hand, you can continue the repair with the two-by-four lumber.

Open the car door and look at the lock striker on the car body's door post. This striker is adjustable. If it has come loose, you will be able to see which way it has moved by the scratches on the door post. They will not be large. If you find that the striker has moved, use the lumber to hammer and pry it back into position, and then open and close the door several times to determine if the problem has been repaired. If not, continue to the next step.

In most cases, the door will be hanging slightly low, meaning you'll have to raise it up at the back side of the door. To do this, wedge the two-by-four over the door sill but under the very back of the bottom of the door. Bend at your knees and hold the end of the lumber in both hands. Using gentle upward pressure from your legs, lift up on the door until the side of the car begins to rise up. This is the suspension decompressing slightly. You obviously won't be able to lift the car completely, but you will get a little play out of the suspension. Do not bounce the car, however. When you have lifted the door slightly, remove the lumber and then open and close the door several times to determine its fit. If the door continues to ride up, then continue with the same motion until the door closes properly.

If you apply too much pressure to the door and it rides down on the striker, simply pull down on the door slightly to correct the over adjustment. There is no need during this repair for you to loosen the bolts connecting the door hinges to the door or the body.

"Auto Body Repair Technology"; James Duffy; 2008