How to stabilize creaky doors

[GASDAG]

My 02 Jetta Sedan has started to make a lot of terrible noises when going over uneven pavement, bumps in the road, shallow potholes etc. it sounds like the whole driver front door is shifting in place as the body flexes going over uneven pavement. The door is not secure and snug like it should be. Things I have done:

1) Adjusted door strike plate inwards. At first just a little bit of adjustment, then readjusted to be even more inward and the door closes now closer to the body and clutches the striker tighter I would think. The door handle is a bit more difficult to pull now that the door is closing more tightly.

Did not help the creaking noise.

2) applied 3 ply of black electrical tape to the middle of the striker itself. I heard this can also quiet the creaking as this will create a thicker striker to latch on to.
I think it helped somewhat, but did not 100% cure and stop the creaking.

So what else can be done? Do I keep adjusting the strike plate inwards and thickening the striker with more electrical tape until I get to the point that the latch no longer closes around the striker?

Are there any other options for stabilizing a closed door ? Replace the latch inside the door? Anything like thicker foam rubber surrounds weather stripping etc?

Thanks for any input

 

[fossill]

Lube up the hinges and mechanisms with Liquid Wrench penetrating oil.
Works for me when mine does that.

 

[JB05]

I had the same problem with creaking hinges. I did not initially realize that the hinges were the culprit. It's either the torsion bar or the rollers in the hinge that are to blame. PB blaster is what I use periodically. I have a sun roof whose front drains are directly above the hinges, causing them to dry out.

 

[GASDAG]

Interesting ideas about hinges. I have soaked them with spray lithium grease, do so about twice a year. I am sure the noise is coming from the latch/strike plate area though, definitely by the B pillar, not the hinges near the A pillar. Are you saying the hinges could be causing the noise I hear at the strike plate/B pillar?

 

[fossill]

Yup, hit them with penetrating oil of some sort like pb blaster or liquid wrench.
The lithium grease don't cut it.

 

[Ol'Rattler]

Could it be that you just have a rust belt car? some nasty stuff happens to cars were they salt the roads.

 

[eb2143]

I do not think you will be able to secure the door or prevent flex by adjusting the striker plate inward. My car has this same issue. A chassis with 270k, a stiffer than stock suspension, and history of front end damage from collision make for a lot of chassis flex and door rub.

I would check that with the door open, taking the lower edge in your hand and pulling up there isnt noticable door movement; this would indicate worn or loose hinges. Adjusting the striker in to the point that you have to really slam the door for it to latch is probably only going to make the problem worse in terms of the door seals rubbing the paint off the lower edge.

Anyway I agree with previous posters that the noise is usually from the torsion bar and that a penetrating oil like kroil or pb blaster is needed before you apply any grease. If you are positive it is from b pillar, it could very well be the torsion bar for the rear door. If that does not work I would clean and treat all of the rubber seals and the jam surface they seal against, particulary the lower edge. I am not sure what treatment is best for quieting them down. I use a Wurth product for this particular application.

My door was not adjusted correctly from the factory, but this manifested as excessive wind noise and not creaks. I had to take the fender off to adjust the "camber" of the door.

 

[JB05]

Yea, mine sounded like the striker in the pillar, until I tested the hinges by holding the door open while starting and stopping; in a parking lot of course. Leave the strikers alone; I wish I had.

 

[panthers89fan90]

wd-40, pb blaster, silicone protectant, etc. I tried it all. NONE of it ever worked. I sprayed some white lithium grease on there and BAM! No more squeak. Haven't had a squeak in quite awhile now. White lithium grease on those pesky door hinges solved the problem. I recommend it. I use the white lithium grease made by WD-40, but any sprayable kind should work fairly well as long as you know how to spray it.

 

[GASDAG]

I got some PB Blaster but not sure I'm going to need it. My hinges aren't very bad, but I'll give them a good spray just for good measure before the winter.
What did help was putting tape on the front of the striker (the most outward part). Previously I only had tape on the middle part of the striker, not really understanding that the latch will grab the outer most part of the striker. So now the outer most part of the striker has about 4-5 revolutions of electrical tape. The door handle opens in a way I could describe as "crunchy" but it still opens and closes just fine, and now when I drive over all the usual spots that would make my door creak, it is sounding solid as hell with no noises coming from the B-pillar area anymore. Here is a pic.
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