[DML] Re: Door STRUT problems

["Michael D. Myjak" <mmyjak@xxxx>]

David,

The doors will not stay open without the torsion bar. Interestingly enough, the
doors will not stay open without the gas strut either. (There's some really
interesting physics/engineering involved in those cold rolled bars!) Long story
short, the strut acts more like a shock absorber, preventing the door from
"flying off" the car when you open it. It also acts to slow down the action when
you close the door too. In either case, the gas strut does not have the guts to
carry the weight of the door (not by a long shot!).

As I recall, it takes approx. 600 ft-lbs of torque to set the torsion bar
correctly. (When you're ratchet broke... you didn't clip the rear window, by
chance, did you?) It takes a good 1/2 pull bar (not a ratchet) and a long 18"
extension _and_ a jig to do this adjustment properly. The way I've set mine, er,
the way I USED to set mine, I built a jig from a 4x4 about 5-6 feet long. I
routed a 1/2" deep 1/2" wide dado in the top, opposite the torsion bar(s) and two
notches underneath to ride the stainless rails above the rear windows. This jig
is there to help steady the pull bar and extension you'll use to connect to and
set the torsion bar. Use a couple of quick grip clamps and attach the 4x4 jig
to the car. You and a buddy then work together in setting the bar and locking it
into position. One guy mans the pull bar, the other tests the door bounce (or
rebound). If you're the guy with the pull bar, consider investing in a good
3-4' piece of iron pipe. Use this as an extension to your pull bar. When your
buddy lets the door go (from the normally closed position) it should bounce once
(maybe twice... at most!) and come to rest in the full upright position. Then
set the lock on the torsion bar... and you are done.

Again... the gas strut must be in position when you set this adjustment. Its a
dynamic system. And be VERY careful about the socket attaching to the torsion
bar. If it lets loose, under that kind of pressure, there's a good chance you'll
be needing the replace the rear window. So take your time. Be careful. Do it
right and you'll never have to adjust it again.

Michael
dearly departed 4875



Delorean17@xxxx wrote:

> Hello,
> today I received new door struts for my car. I think they must have sat
> and lost all of their gas because the original struts that have been on the
> car since 1981 held the door open half way. The new pair I got would not
> keep the door at all. The door would even latch when you let it go. I
> didnt buy them from a shop like I wish I would have. Are PJ's struts the
> best?
>
> since my louver was off I decided to tighten the torsion bar just a
> little bit but the door still would not stay in the raised position. The
> torsion bar is still out of the car until I get the proper struts. The door
> will not close properly now that there is no torsion bar in it. the front of
> the door latches way before the rear one so the door wont latch properly. Is
> that normal? I ended up putting the old strut on that would at least hold it
> up somewhat. when retorqueing the torsion bar my wrench broke in half. I
> guess you have to use 1/2 inch when doing that. what type of wrench would
> you reccomend? If anyone on the list lives in Michigan that has done this
> before please contact me.
>
> Thanks,
> david
> #2496