How to align the doors
Difficulty: 1/5
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Introduction

Does your door not seat properly against the frame?  Does the door weatherstripping not seat properly?  The problem could be the natural sagging of the door hinges or pins due to age.  Ruling out any kind of frame damage due to accident damage, the door hinges could just be old.

Parts:

VW OEM door striker pin: VW # 357 837 034 (optional)

large torx bit

Procedure

There are two ways to fix the door hinges: an easy way and a hard way.  The easy way could damage the hinges, so be warned!  The hard way will let them be aligned more precisely but will take longer.

The easy way of adjusting the door hinges is to open the door slightly, place a hydraulic floor jack under the door, and jack it up to bend the hinges.  Place a wood block and protecting cloth to protect the paint on the door bottom edge and to spread out the pressure.  This bends the door hinges and has a medium chance of damaging the door if you apply too much pressure but it works.  

The hard way of adjusting the door hinges is to remove the door hinges from the door, adjust the door with the bolts torqued only lightly, then once in the final position, torque down the door hinge bolts.  You can also replace the door striker pin if it has been worn away from misalignment.

The door is held in place with 2 large torx bolts.  It also has a slider bolt and electrical connection, but these do not affect the alignment of the door.  Loosen the large torx bolts and you can move the door a little bit.  Move as needed.

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