How to fix a sagging door?

STRANGETDI

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 20, 2001
Location
East Hampton, CT
TDI
2013 Audi A3 S-Line Premium Plus Quattro - APR Stage II
I think this has been asked before but I can't seem to find it at the moment.

I have a 1999 2-door golf and my doors seem to be starting to sag a little. Is there any way to fix this?

Also it seems that it takes two pulls to open my door now. Is there an adjustment that needs to be made to make it work right again?
 

oldpoopie

Vendor
Joined
May 14, 2001
Location
Portland Oregon
TDI
2001 golf gl, 2006 jetta, 1981 ALH swapped rabbit pickup, 1998 beetle
I looked at my doors to fix sagging. Seems the hinges bolt to the body with bolts from both directions... That means that in order to re-align the hinge, the dash needs to be removed in order to get to the upper inside bolts...... :(
That is my speculation only though. Anyone actually ever do this?
 

ToolNut

Veteran Member
Joined
May 2, 2004
Location
Boylston, MA, USA
TDI
'02 Jetta GLS, '11 SportWagen
We went to the local VW dealership (Patrick Motors in Auburn, MA) to have them correct the same problem on our 2001 2-door Golf. When we got the car back, there were all sorts of vice-grip markings on the hinges, but no real change in the door alignment. So much for precision workmanship.

We then went to a reputable auto body shop, and they said the best way is just to open the door and use a small bottle jack and a block of wood (to protect the paint finish) to gently lift the open door at the end furthest from the hinges. Lower the jack, try the door and lift again as needed. It's all about leverage. You're just reversing the process that caused the sagging in the first place. Also make sure the oval plastic sleeve isn't missing from its slot in the door sill/rocker panel.

Paul
 

professor

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 8, 2001
Location
Edina, Mn USA
I do it slightly differently. First check that the door fits with equal gap when closed. Next, if it drops when opening, put a block of wood under the open end of the door, and an longer 2x4 sitting on the sill, and lift against the block. This is how the factories do it, they never unbolt.
 

STRANGETDI

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 20, 2001
Location
East Hampton, CT
TDI
2013 Audi A3 S-Line Premium Plus Quattro - APR Stage II
professor said:
I do it slightly differently. First check that the door fits with equal gap when closed. Next, if it drops when opening, put a block of wood under the open end of the door, and an longer 2x4 sitting on the sill, and lift against the block. This is how the factories do it, they never unbolt.
I got around to it and this took care of it. 2X4 works! Just don't do it too much or else your door wont shut.
 

jeffgraham

Member
Joined
Aug 13, 2003
Location
Delaware, OH
TDI
Jetta, 2001, galactic blue
Looks like this answers my problem on how to fix my door, but unfortunately I let it go too long so now I have a 3"x3" piece of paint chipped off my door. Went to dealership to get paint, but they only have touch-up pens.

Where can I get a small spray can of 2001 galactic blue (besides mixing myself).
 

NB_TDi

Vendor
Joined
Mar 16, 2008
Location
NB, Canada █♣█
TDI
2014 Jetta SE
My mk3 does this. I kinda just live with it. But I did look into it. The hinges are mounted from the inside out so I'm not sure.....
 

Growler

Got Soot Vendor
Joined
Nov 24, 2003
Location
Millersport, Ohio
TDI
Schmutz, 2015 Golf Sportwagen DSG & Schnurren, 2001 Golf GL 2 door 5M
jeffgraham said:
Looks like this answers my problem on how to fix my door, but unfortunately I let it go too long so now I have a 3"x3" piece of paint chipped off my door. Went to dealership to get paint, but they only have touch-up pens.
Where can I get a small spray can of 2001 galactic blue (besides mixing myself).
is your color a more purple blue or a more black blue?

the more purple blue is called Indigo Blue and is the color I have.

the more black blue is called Galactic Blue

and there is a 3rd color in the 2001 Jettas thats a little bit different than both and is called Atlantic Blue.

if you have your paint color code, you can get a spray can mixed up from www.paintscratch.com
 

unL33T

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 23, 2006
Location
Eden Mills, ON, Canada
TDI
'01 Jetta GLS TDI
Well I just tried the jack method to fix this and just horribly bent the metal on the bottom of the door and a big chunk of paint (about 3" long by 1.5" high) is about to fall off.

Not sure what I did wrong but I definitely should've been more observant and stopped before I messed it up so bad. Maybe I didn't use a large enough piece of wood to distribute the load... *shrug*

Time to call a body shop I suppose.:mad:
 
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