Door Striker Adjustment.. FREEBIE!

Post by **elwesso** » Tue Feb 08, 2005 2:33 pm

Let me preface this thread by: This is what being a Q45 owner is about.. Its about these nit picky things that hardly anyone woudl think of...

Ive always complained how Qs (espeically the 94s, since theyre flaming POS anyway ) have a hollow sounding door closing sound..... I noticed on the 9093 its not as bad.....

Well the other day, I was looking at my RR door, and noticed it didnt align right... it didnt sit flush with the rest of the body..... I was bored, so I decided to adjust the striker.. You have to have this weird phillips head screw head, its really big, but I had one in my toolbox that I got from sears (96 piece craftsman).. its a blunt end...

So anyway, I adjusted this thing back a little bit and VOILA.. The door was flush (obviously) but the way the handle felt when you opened it and the sound it made when it closed was just like new... Solid and completely crisp... So i did it to all the other doors, and I must say, it was excellent.. I now listen to the doors as they close.. it is music to mine ears

All the doors now open with a very firm and crisp feeling, and now close with a reassuring thud!!! Call me crazy, but this was an excellent use of 15 minutes!!!

Post by **tkd_q45** » Tue Feb 08, 2005 5:16 pm

Just curious - we're ALL your doors misaligned? or did you just move the striker back and fouth till you had the desired result?

Post by **JT_MONEY_2004** » Tue Feb 08, 2005 6:08 pm

Cool Wes, my front passenger door is the only door that closes a bit "loose", very irritating, i thought the misalignment was up front where the hinges attach to the car, But good, now i'll try adjusting the striker...is that what it's really called?curious, how did you know which way to move it to, was it just trial and error huh?

Post by **Q45tech** » Wed Feb 09, 2005 2:29 am

All Q front door hinges eventually bend and sag......common expensive [time] replacement item, almost always have to remove fender to get the new ones set correctly........heavy door light hinge.........100k design life.

Post by **Jeff Williams** » Wed Feb 09, 2005 5:40 am

Hey Dennis, If you never open the rear doors, then the strikers should last for Inifnity. Now, just use the remote, to open the windows, and do the "Dukes of Hazzard" entry, and the front door strikers will last forever, as well.

I noticed the rear driver's door on Lola is misaligned completely, both the front hinges and rear striker. It is off about 3/32". I thought it was the driver's door striker, but after further inspection, it is really the rear door. I think I will play this weekend.

I have never really had a "hollow" sound to my doors, that Wes described. I just thought he was more particular than I was. My thing, is that the doors weigh about half of what the I30's do. Well, it could be the stiffness of the hinges on a 2000 car, with 50K compared to a 1994 car, with 200K also.

Thanks for the post, now I have confidence to start adjusting the strikers and hinges on my car.

YouTube · Post by **Jesda** » Wed Feb 09, 2005 5:54 am

Nice find, Wes! (Be sure to link this thread at the site when you get a chance.)

Soon as this cold clears up I'm going to check it out! My driver's door is sagging noticeably when closed. It might even be contributing to wind noise.

Post by **96Qowner** » Wed Feb 09, 2005 8:24 am

Thanks a million, Wes!

This was one of the things that annoy me about my Q. Now I have something to tinker with. Wonderful to hear it eliminated that "bam" sound.

Post by **tkd_q45** » Wed Feb 09, 2005 9:11 am

Isn't some of the hollowness is from lack of noise insluation (dynamat type stuff) on the insides of the rear doors? I had a Miata that after dynamatting the doors sounded/felt much upgraded.

I'll have to try the striker thing as it's free and easy! My W124/400e has a nice solid "click" like feel when you close the doors. My cousin in laws 928 Porsche is even better with a kind of vault like preciseness which really ads to the experience of the car.

Post by **elwesso** » Wed Feb 09, 2005 1:59 pm

tkd_q45 wrote:Just curious - we're ALL your doors misaligned? or did you just move the striker back and fouth till you had the desired result?

Only one door was misaligned, but i got that one perfect and the sound was amazing...

I have this weird fetish for having nice sounding doors when they close.. Theres a 740 at my school, and I turned down the music and opened the windows to hear it... I know, im weird!!!

Obviously wont fix sagging hinges... The key is that you move the striker farther back (closer to the inside of the car) so that the door shuts tighter.....

Post by **louiegz** » Wed Feb 09, 2005 7:54 pm

On the same page in the FSM that Wes's striker photo comes from, BT8 they make some mention that the hinges are adjustable. Would it be adjustable enough to take car of some of the sag?

Post by **elwesso** » Thu Feb 10, 2005 10:14 am

Yes most definitely..... But my doors werent sagging enough to worry about...

The fronts might be hard with the front fenders on...

Post by **driverdriver** » Thu Feb 10, 2005 5:14 pm

I adjusted the striker on My J today, one of the back doors became slightly misaligned with age. IT made a huge difference. The J door striker looks exactly the same as the Q.

YouTube · Post by **Jesda** » Fri Feb 11, 2005 3:07 pm

Just did all four doors. Now theyre properly aligned and the cabin is dead silent on the highway now!

BestFREEBIEEVER!

Post by **driverdriver** » Fri Feb 11, 2005 8:12 pm

Wes, I think you started a movement.

Post by **elwesso** » Sat Feb 12, 2005 3:49 am

I really was surprised that it took off like this... I was expecting a few people to ask the usual "why" questions, but this time everyone tried it and loved it..

Now I just have to adjust my trunk striker.....

I honestly think this is more pleasing than my last freebie, wiht the internal temp sensor......

Post by **ScottJackson** » Sat Feb 12, 2005 5:22 am

I've got the solid door sound fetish too. I didn't have it until I bought my 540. I had a 79 635csi and it has solid doors, but it's old enough that it's not like a vault anymore. I'll have to try this adjusting asap. Then in the spring it'll be time for dynamat and some 80Hz high pass crossovers for the 5.25" woofers that took the place of those lame Bose speakers.

Post by **AZhitman** » Sat Feb 12, 2005 7:04 am

Good work Wes.

Interesting that someone can come up with a cheap or free maintenance / mod project, and NO ONE flames it.

Coincidence - Nope.

Just makes good sense from the start.

Post by **maxnix** » Sat Feb 12, 2005 7:58 am

Always check the condition of the rubber on the door seal first. Degraded, torn, or just plain worn will not let the door seal properly. Replace these items first if they are not in as new condition, then adjust your door if need be.
Modified by maxnix at 12:27 PM 2/12/2005

Post by **AZhitman** » Sat Feb 12, 2005 8:51 am

Yep - and keep a coat of Wurth on them.

Wurth does wonders on rubber seals, will expand them a bit, so don't use on window seals.

Post by **Haitian_King** » Tue Mar 06, 2007 2:47 pm

the rear doors on my '92 Q sag and don't align properly and look like their ajar.

How do i fix this? With the same screw driver in your post Wes??

Post by **Haitian_King** » Fri Aug 17, 2007 7:35 pm

Wow. Seeing how in five months no one answered my post, I did it my damn slef. I am completely satisfied with the doors now. They look OEM, no sagging. I had push in and lift the striker a considerable amount before it closed properly.

Post by **elwesso** » Sat Aug 18, 2007 9:40 am

glad it helped!

Post by **AlabamaDan** » Sat Sep 01, 2007 8:19 pm

I noticed how good the older Q doors sound today when i was looking at one in the boneyard. Sounded just like the commercials with that guy from my avatar after all these years.

Post by **jmorasch** » Sun Sep 09, 2007 4:08 pm

thank GOD for your nit pickiness,I think this bothers me about as much as the scratches on the sunroof?? THANKS FOR THE HELP WES!!

Door Striker Adjustment.. FREEBIE!

Door Striker Adjustment

Re: (JT_MONEY_2004)

Re: (Q45tech)

Re: Door Striker Adjustment (elwesso)

Re: (tkd_q45)

Re: (louiegz)

Re: (driverdriver)

Re: (ScottJackson)

Re: Door Striker Adjustment (elwesso)

Re: Door Striker Adjustment (Haitian_King)

Re: Door Striker Adjustment (Haitian_King)

Re: (AlabamaDan)

Nissan Forums

Infiniti Forums

Datsun Forums

Technical Forums

Classifieds / Marketplace

Nissan Motorsports

General Forums