328 door sag repair?

my car had 21000 miles drivers and passenger were sagging...couldn't see it but could feel slight play..when lift door from outside closed better...anyway had ferrari shop The Healey Werks in Iowa do both my doors now top and bottom hinge pins replaced...now the doors shut awesome!!! hinges are about 1/3 or 1/2 size of porshce 911 hinges and no grease zerks so they wear out pretty fast (the pins get play) even with 21000 miles....had a porsche 911 with 130000 miles doors shut like new lol...anyway don't have anybody do this repair very tricky..need a door carrier...once it's fixed it's awesome...I fixed it asap so you don't damage door/paint but most importan the interior door leather will rip thru screws you know from you having to slam...now doors shut like a porsche with new pins!!!!!! Brian

 

Actually, the 'repair" is to put a scissor jack under the door and bend the whole panel back "up" unitl it hangs and shuts properly....not a large deal!!

They won't let you watch, it's Top Secret!!!

 

do a search, there are a few good writeups on how to fix this, it involves putting shims in the lower door connection. This is a project on my to-do list.

 

The hinge pins themselves can certainly wear over time from the load also.......

I was just trying to make him feel better, it's not a huge deal, in the scheme of things!!

 

Of all the people who have replaced hinge pins, a small number have claimed that my pins were so loose I can push them out with my fingers. Those are the lucky ones. The majority ended up removing the door with the hinges in place, drilling, tapping, gouging, punching. and swearing all the way to the end.

I did it once, I won't touch it again. I will just roll a jack underneath the door and jack it up.

 

Make sure you put a block of wood between the jack and the door. I used a 2x4.

 

Oak or pine?

 

Jebuschrist, I thought you guys were kidding about jacking the door back into place!! I have been doing some searches and it appears that is the way some folks repair the sag. I never would have ever attempted it for fear the door hinges would snap off or something.

I was referring to post #7 in this thread for shimming the bottom hingle....: http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=29773&highlight=308+door+hinge+shim

 

#1 308 & 328 do have grease fittings on the door hinges.

#2 Most of the time the sag is not due to worn hinges or pins. It is due to people putting their weight on the door to lower or raise themselves in and out of the car.

#3 Because of the cause of the sag shimming is dumb. It does not address where the distortion has happened. Since about 3 months after the first 308 was made the standard repair has to bend to door back into place. I personally just grab and lift it but I am a little bigger than some so they use a floor jack.

 

I bought hinge pins awhile ago to fix door, figured at least some of the sag wear. I've got 48k miles so more opening and closings gone on then lower mileage cars. Is it conceivable the pins are worn at this mileage on a 21 y.o. Car? Sounds like maybe not but curious what others that have changed the pins have experienced. My old 911 with 100k never had such a problem but it was a coupe, I assume that plays a role too?

Jeff

 

I used a Jack, door sag problem fixed. That was the easiest fix I have done on my Ferrari to date! Thanks for the tip

 

I have two saggy doors. I have searched the forums for solutions and found this thread. Can someone confirm that this is not BS? And if so, can you describe exactly what to do with the scissor jack to fix the issue? How high to jack it, etc.?

 

Mine was sagging a little bit where you have to slightly lift the door shut it perfect but, when I replace the door pin with a brand new ones, it did not make that much different. I guess the floor jack idea is the solution.

 

I'm glad you're posting in the 308 section again Brian!

 

Rifledriver above is a Ferrari tech with many years of experience. Reread his most recent entry, he's been doing this for many years.

If your hinge pin is not badly worn out, there is a bend, as noted mostly from people leaning on the doors. Proper fix is to bend back.

As stressful as it may be.

 

His post was from 2 years ago.

 

Ahh, got it.

 

Its in the ferrari 308 GT4 technical service bulliten. My door will barely open, about the only thing wrong with my car and been for years too scared to do this, has anyone been successful???
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I wouldn't mind seeing some pictures of jack placement and procedures for doing this "fix". I have a very slightly sagging drivers door and wouldn't mind giving it a shot.

 

I found it impossible to get the screws out and had to drill them I think it has more to do with the lateral load of the door on the hinge. TR has replacement hinges with the fittings, my originals were not and they were not worn. The passenger side door is perfect. may try again with the jack.....

 

Just curious on others symptoms. Mines shuts perfectly just hard to open from outside or inside after it sits a while....

 

Rob,
Unfortunately the english verbage on this bulletin is incomplete. Looking at the diagram, however, it appears that it is just a matter of installing a shim at the lower hinge to raise the rear of the door. I had mine loosened a while back, and I also had to drill a couple of the allen bolts out to do it (replacements readily available at your favorite hardware store).
The alignment seems perfect. I also had my door latch out to get the key lock portion working. So all is great, except, sometimes it has a tendency to stick and requires a light tug to open it.....

 

I'd love some real instruction on this. Barring that, how about confirming that this seems right:

1) place scissor jack under trailing edge of slightly open door, with wood or other soft material in between.

2) jack it up until it starts to scare me.

3) lower and see if it helped.

4) repeat, going slightly farther each time until corrected.

Is that about right? If not, please edit.

Thanks.

 

Yes thats exactly what I did last week. I thought about adding a shim to the lower hinge but the screws would not even start to come undone so gave up on that and the jack method worked fine.