Door Fault

[tycoon90]

I have a friend with a 81 CJ that the doors have both cracked the metal on the inside just above the window cranks. Is this a common problem or know of what may cause it. The hinges look to be straight and the doors don't really have a gap difference around the door frame.

 

[elwood blues]

I have a friend with a 81 CJ that the doors have both cracked the metal on the inside just above the window cranks. Is this a common problem or know of what may cause it. The hinges look to be straight and the doors don't really have a gap difference around the door frame.

Yes that is a very common problem. Becuase the doors don't have an actual latch mechanism, they just slap closed over the tub, there isn't anything on that end of the door to support the weight, that causes the stress crack. The easiest fix is to drill a hole at the end of the crack, to stop the crack from spreading, and then weld the crack closed.

 

[certifiablejeep]

I agree with the supporting of weight issue, but I also read that if you have hard doors on and no top that something with the wind and vibration causes issues... I tried looking for it but can't find it.

I had the same issues with the doors I just replaced, so I just did what was mentioned, I drilled a whole, welded it up and painted them and now they are good to go... for a while I guess.

Craig

 

[hole]

I read a post on another site last year about this common problem. The fix that seemed to be permenant was to take the door and strip glass and weather striping off then drill 6-8 3/8" holes through the top portion of the door where the inside glass wiper / weather strip goes. Then take a piece 1/2" x 1/2" angle iron and put it up inside and weld it to the door at the 3/8" holes. Hope that makes sense, I'll try and find the post from the other site because it had pics.

 

[hole]

Jeep Scrambler Forums & Discussions Here are the pics I was refering to.