03 Outback needs door adjustment

Wow things are so tough you can't afford the penny :>)

Change the hinges.

Asbjjørn

I don't know if the hinges on the 03s are the same as the 95s, but when I put on a new door for my 95(first one rusted out at the bottom.) I adjusted it by checking the gap at the back of the door, then going for vertical alignment at the strike plate by keeping either the top bolt tight and loosening the other three, then jacking the back of the door up or down, then tightening, or by leaving the bottom bolt tight and rotating around that one.

In your case, I'd suggest just leaving the top bolt tight, loosening the other three, jacking the back of the door up a little, then tighten the extreme bottom bolt, then checking for alignment and tweaking from there. Hopefully the hinges do slide around on the body. My Miata had pins that prevented that. I assume the pins are for crash safety, and thus the 03 might have them whereas the 95 did not. Worth checking into though.

Really not a bad procedure if you think through it as you go.

Bill

My sons Forester is too far away at the moment, so I do not know the details for that, but om my Mazdas and Toyotas I have replaced the hinges when the pin and bushing got so worn that the door dropped too much. I also on one occation long ago replaced a hinge pin by pressing in a home made oversized one. You will need to hang the door (by the window frame) from some sort of adjustable suspension point when you remove the hinges.

Asbjørn

I once fixed a similar problem on a 1966 Plymouth by opening the door wide, putting a jack under the door, and *gently* lifting the door, not enough to raise the car, just enough to bend the hinges a little.