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How could I make my door close lightly?

Posted: August 30th, 2008, 1:29 am
by Mazdaspeed96743
Hey guys, My drivers side door on my MX-3 does not close well. I have to almost slam the thing to get it shut. If I close the passengers side door with light pressure it closes with a light door shut sound with no problem. My drivers side door with the same pressure only gets caught in the saftey locks (half closed).. Okay I hope this made sense but basically I want to find a way to make my door close better with less force.. Not sure what to do..

Re: How could I make my door close lightly?

Posted: August 30th, 2008, 2:00 am
by solo_ryder
This is a common issue with ALL mx3's that I have encountered. And that is that the drivers side door sags leading it to not close properly. For example, if you slowly move the door until it is almost closed, you will feel the door "catch" on the locking hinge that is attached to the car body. This is because over time the door sags downward.

To fix this, open the door and look inside at the door jam beside the dash. You will notice there are two hinges with two 12mm bolts on each. Take a long socket wrench and loosen the bolts up. The door can no be adjusted, Move the door up abit and tighten on bolt from each hinge. Close the door lightly to see if it lines up straight. If it does, then simply tighten all the bolts. If it does not line up try again..

Another reason for a door not closing right is that the rubber seal around the doors can become loose and/or damaged. This can cause a uneven seal on the door causing it not to close right. If this occurs then simply go to the wreckers or the dealership to seek a replacement.

Hope this helps.

Re: How could I make my door close lightly?

Posted: August 30th, 2008, 2:13 am
by Mazdaspeed96743
Oops, noticed that this is in the wrong section, I meant to put this in the general MX-3 section. oh well, But thanks very much solo, your awesome.. Never thought of the door bolts i'll go check that then and see how it do.

Re: How could I make my door close lightly?

Posted: August 30th, 2008, 1:02 pm
by mitmaks
you need to replace your door hinge bushings

Re: How could I make my door close lightly?

Posted: September 22nd, 2008, 1:18 am
by Mazdaspeed96743
solo_ryder wrote:This is a common issue with ALL mx3's that I have encountered. And that is that the drivers side door sags leading it to not close properly. For example, if you slowly move the door until it is almost closed, you will feel the door "catch" on the locking hinge that is attached to the car body. This is because over time the door sags downward.

To fix this, open the door and look inside at the door jam beside the dash. You will notice there are two hinges with two 12mm bolts on each. Take a long socket wrench and loosen the bolts up. The door can no be adjusted, Move the door up abit and tighten on bolt from each hinge. Close the door lightly to see if it lines up straight. If it does, then simply tighten all the bolts. If it does not line up try again..

Another reason for a door not closing right is that the rubber seal around the doors can become loose and/or damaged. This can cause a uneven seal on the door causing it not to close right. If this occurs then simply go to the wreckers or the dealership to seek a replacement.

Hope this helps.
Okay I need help. Which bolts are you talking about? The ones closer to the dash or the one closer to the door? I seen the middle things and the door hinges one on the top, one on the bottome. There is four bolts holding them together. Do you have to remove the fender to get at the bolts?. So what I do is loosen all of the bolts, hold the door up and tighten back all of them?. Tried to fool around with my door today, couldn't get to the other bolts so I tried taking off the fender but its attached to the door.

Re: How could I make my door close lightly?

Posted: September 22nd, 2008, 8:47 am
by Ryan
Might help to lube all the latches and hinges as well?

Re: How could I make my door close lightly?

Posted: September 24th, 2008, 2:10 am
by Mazdaspeed96743
Oh okay I got it now thanks, I found out a fast and easy way to get it with a gear wrench since the work area is very tight. And I guess i'll use Lithium grease for the door hinges.