Can't Get Doors Off

tonytony9

tonytony9

New member
Hey Forums,

I have been trying everything to get my two front doors of my jeep. It is an 08, and I am not the first owner, so these doors may have never even come off the car in the first place. I have tried this stuff
ImageUploadedByWAYALIFE1403972803.494677.jpg

This worked on my dad's 2013 wrangler. I have sprayed up into this area here cant even tell you how many times.
ImageUploadedByWAYALIFE1403972916.755944.jpg

Put my weight on it, swung the door back and forth, rocked it side to side, literally nothing is working.

Can someone please offer me some advice here!



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HDGasser

HDGasser

New member
I use a 2x4 about 10-12" long and use it to pry up on the bottom of the door sill from the inside.

Place 2x4 between door and floor/rocker
Put your butt against the rocker/sliders
Close the door against you and hang onto the door handle!
Push the wood down and WaaLaa!
 
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wayoflife

wayoflife

Administrator
Staff member
What he said ^^^.

Use a floor jack with a cut down piece of 2x4. Just take your time as when it comes, it may move quickly.
 
mgmavant

mgmavant

Member
Just a quick question that I didn't see you mention - you took the locking nuts off, right - the ones that are at the bottom of the hinge? It kind of looks like they are off, but hard to tell. I have an 08 as well, and after a harsh winter it can be kind of hard to get the doors off for the first time of the season. Be sure the door is open wide enough (like already mentioned) - if it's not open enough they won't come off, and if it's opened too much it will be hard to get them off. I think just short of 90 degrees worked the best for me, and if you use a jack, be sure to get it as close to the hinge as possible. I took my back doors off for the first time last year and it was a pain to get off, but with patients and a little effort they will come off.

You know, now that I think about what I had to do for one of the rear doors - if you just can't get it off, you can take the hinge right off the body of the jeep, and then try a drift-pin or something similar to get the hinge off the door once it's off the Jeep. That worked for me, but it was a pain to do.
 
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tonytony9

tonytony9

New member
mgmavant said:
Just a quick question that I didn't see you mention - you took the locking nuts off, right - the ones that are at the bottom of the hinge? It kind of looks like they are off, but hard to tell. I have an 08 as well, and after a harsh winter it can be kind of hard to get the doors off for the first time of the season. Be sure the door is open wide enough (like already mentioned) - if it's not open enough they won't come off, and if it's opened too much it will be hard to get them off. I think just short of 90 degrees worked the best for me, and if you use a jack, be sure to get it as close to the hinge as possible. I took my back doors off for the first time last year and it was a pain to get off, but with patients and a little effort they will come off.

You know, now that I think about what I had to do for one of the rear doors - if you just can't get it off, you can take the hinge right off the body of the jeep, and then try a drift-pin or something similar to get the hinge off the door once it's off the Jeep. That worked for me, but it was a pain to do.
Click to expand...

Ya I got those locking nuts off! The hinge idea is a good one I'll keep it in mind, thank you.


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tonytony9

tonytony9

New member
wayoflife said:
What he said ^^^.

Use a floor jack with a cut down piece of 2x4. Just take your time as when it comes, it may move quickly.
Click to expand...

So put the 2x4 under the door close to the hinges and then just use the jack to push up?

I was scared to do that because I thought it may damage the door. But if everyone does it then I'll give it a try.


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lduke12

lduke12

New member
HDGasser said:
I use a 2x4 about 10-12" long and use it to pry up on the bottom of the door sill from the inside.

Place 2x4 between door and floor/rocker
Put your butt against the rocker/sliders
Close the door against you and hang onto the door handle!
Push the wood down and WaaLaa!
Click to expand...

What he said ^^^, i had a very hard time trying to get my doors off my 08 JKU, so i took my floor jack put a 1' long 4x4 on it and set it so the wood was close to the hinge side of the door and slowly press on the jack handle. You have to be careful the first couple times, the first time i did it they were stuck on there so good that it started just lifting the side of the whole jeep then it popped loose and the whole door and pins popped out of the hinges and had to basically catch the door.
 
jmatta33

jmatta33

New member
tonytony9 said:
Ya I got those locking nuts off! The hinge idea is a good one I'll keep it in mind, thank you.


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Click to expand...

I would strongly recommend you do not remove the hinges. the paint will chip like crazy and its a pain to get them to line up properly. Keep in mind, there is NO paint under the hinges so when you put them back on you have to line it up just right or the primer will show. This would be a last resort if it were me. The doors will come off, you just need to get a little creative.
 
Speeddmn

Speeddmn

New member
As mentioned already the advice on the use of a jack is solid. It is what I used the first time when my doors didnt want to budge. I laid a 2x4 flat across the jack so i was evenly distributing the weight/pressure of the jack across the bottom of the door. Go slow and watch as it will slowely seperate. If you have the chance to have someone with you to help it will be easier. Also once the door moved a tad I sprayed some liquid wrench into it again. Also make sure you have the windows down and wire harness disconnect prior.

After the doors were off I used the white lithium grease on the hinge pins prioe to reinstalling them. Havent had an issue since.
 
J

Jiblet

New member
jmatta33 said:
I would strongly recommend you do not remove the hinges. the paint will chip like crazy and its a pain to get them to line up properly. Keep in mind, there is NO paint under the hinges so when you put them back on you have to line it up just right or the primer will show. This would be a last resort if it were me. The doors will come off, you just need to get a little creative.
Click to expand...

Loosening a hinge is best done at the a-pillar where the hing attaches to the body. Not the exterior plate on the door panel.

The doors are adjustable in all three dimensions. If the alignment is off it'll be a bear to remove the door.

Close the door and eyeball the gap around it, as well as how it sits in the plane of the entire side to see if there is an obvious area out of align.

Take a sharpie and mark the original position of the body-hinge(s) on the frame. Then crack loose the three bolts just enough to allow a little movement of the hinge plate. Sometimes releasing the strain lets the door pop right out. If not, re-align the plate to the sharpie markings and try the other hinge. Only loosen one hinge plate at a time.

I had a poorly aligned hinge, but since I adjusted it the doors pop off with no effort.
Delrin bushings make it even easier.
 
redpatchjeff

redpatchjeff

New member
Not the recommended way, but I used a 2x4 and a forklift under the bottom of the door. Any upward hydraulic pressure will work, just make sure you use something to distribute the pressure (like a 2x4) so you don't damage the door. And make sure you're holding onto the door, once it starts moving under pressure it will pop off pretty quick.
 
jeeeep

jeeeep

Hooked
Jiblet said:
Loosening a hinge is best done at the a-pillar where the hing attaches to the body. Not the exterior plate on the door panel.

The doors are adjustable in all three dimensions. If the alignment is off it'll be a bear to remove the door.

Close the door and eyeball the gap around it, as well as how it sits in the plane of the entire side to see if there is an obvious area out of align.

Take a sharpie and mark the original position of the body-hinge(s) on the frame. Then crack loose the three bolts just enough to allow a little movement of the hinge plate. Sometimes releasing the strain lets the door pop right out. If not, re-align the plate to the sharpie markings and try the other hinge. Only loosen one hinge plate at a time.

I had a poorly aligned hinge, but since I adjusted it the doors pop off with no effort.
Delrin bushings make it even easier.
Click to expand...

what size and where did you order your Delrin bushings from? I used them on an Austin Healy I used to have and they lasted... also thinking they may be a better replacement for the shift linkage bushing
 
13_gecko_rubi

13_gecko_rubi

Caught the Bug
Search google for jk delrin bushings. I found several places when i bought mine a few months ago.

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Rccrwlr

Rccrwlr

New member
tonytony9 said:
Hey Forums,

I have been trying everything to get my two front doors of my jeep. It is an 08, and I am not the first owner, so these doors may have never even come off the car in the first place. I have tried this stuff
View attachment 89607

This worked on my dad's 2013 wrangler. I have sprayed up into this area here cant even tell you how many times.
View attachment 89608

Put my weight on it, swung the door back and forth, rocked it side to side, literally nothing is working.

Can someone please offer me some advice here!



Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE mobile app
Click to expand...

So it looks like it's been a few days. Were u able to go naked?


--rccrwlr
 
tonytony9

tonytony9

New member
Rccrwlr said:
So it looks like it's been a few days. Were u able to go naked?


--rccrwlr
Click to expand...

It's been pouring rain all day today and wasn't able to yesterday. Really hoping to try and get them off for Fourth of July.


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dentdude36

dentdude36

New member
i used a motorcycle jack and a 2x4 wraped in a towel doors were off in 10 minutes


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