body and interior Door Difficult to Close

[Smallpants]

So I'm enjoying my new '02. The first small annoyance I'd like to get straighten out is the driver's side door which requires an abnormal amount of effort to shut. And when the door is closed it doesn't shut flush.

 

Here's a picture of the door closed and resting clearly proud of where it should be.

 

 

First thing I tried to do was replace the door latch buffer. The old one looked ok but was slightly worn so I replaced it with a new one. This seemed to make zero difference.

 

 

The resistance seems to actually be coming more form where the door is hinged. Now when the door gets to this point in the picture below it's takes a lot off efforts to close it but the resistance is coming from the A Pillar side before the door latch engages. It seems to me the issue is more around the hinges but I might be wrong about that.

 

 

Here's what the panel gap looks like on the A pillar side below. It's wider on top but there's no slop when I try to lift the door to see if there's any play.

 

 

 

Any ideas about how I might get this fixed would be appreciated. Let me know if you need any more specific description or pictures to help diagnose what's going on. 

 

 

 

 

[Simeon]

How are your door seals? You can adjust the door striker position on the B post to close the gap but it is good to at least understand what is causing the resistance in advance. Could your door brake be seized?

 

Make sure that the wedge is aligned to allow the door part to cleanly enter. The latch needs to rotate for two clicks to shut and lock properly. You can adjust it so it is flush but the catch has only rotated one click. This will stop you locking the door and need the striker to be let out slightly. 

[Mike Self]

Some things to do:

 

1.  Lubricate the door hinges.  There's no real path to get oil to the pins themselves, so you have to work at it for awhile

2.  Check the door check strap to make sure it's not broken or jamming.  They're pretty flimsy and are commonly broken.  someone on the board offers a new one that is identical to the old design where it shows but works--and doesn't break.  Or you can buy the redesigned BMW part, which looks different, but also doesn't break.

3.  Lubricate the latch mechanism--the thing that rotates on the door lock.  They get very stiff from a mixture of old grease and dirt and work slowly.  With the door open, rotate the latch until it clicks twice, the push the outside door handle button.  The latch should rotate quickly and snap into its unlocked position.  To lubricate thoroughly, remove the whole lock mechanism from inside the door, clean off with kerosene and re-lubricate.

4.  From your 2nd picture, the wedge (it's above the lock mechanism, held in place with two allen screws) appears to be cocked upward at its inner edge.  Make sure it isn't loose and is correctly positioned to engage its corresponding slot on the catch plate fastened to the door frame.  

 

cheers

mike