Door alignment
Senior Member
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 560
Likes: 131
From: Jersey
I know this thread is old, but I just went through this on mine. The bottom right of my driver's side door was jutted out. So of course I went and played w/ the adjustment bolts for going on 3 weeks trying to get it right. I just ended up making it worse.
So this weekend I loosened it all up and started from scratch, working a little at a time until I got the front door pretty much perfect. The bottom was still out - so after a short wave of aggravation and a daddy soda, it hit me.
Its not the front door at all, its the rear driver's side passenger door ! Specificall the bottom of it.
Loosened THAT nut up, pulled the door out, tightened it up. Damn near perfect. Tinkered a bit w/ the fine tuning of it, torqued the bolt to 35 ft/lbs, good to go now.
Funny how to 'fix' the front I needed to pay attention to the back !! Just in case anybody else needs to futz w/ their door, this might help.
So this weekend I loosened it all up and started from scratch, working a little at a time until I got the front door pretty much perfect. The bottom was still out - so after a short wave of aggravation and a daddy soda, it hit me.
Its not the front door at all, its the rear driver's side passenger door ! Specificall the bottom of it.
Loosened THAT nut up, pulled the door out, tightened it up. Damn near perfect. Tinkered a bit w/ the fine tuning of it, torqued the bolt to 35 ft/lbs, good to go now.
Funny how to 'fix' the front I needed to pay attention to the back !! Just in case anybody else needs to futz w/ their door, this might help.
Fishmonger
Joined: May 2016
Posts: 223
Likes: 33
From: Gig Harbor, Washington
I know this thread is old, but I just went through this on mine. The bottom right of my driver's side door was jutted out. So of course I went and played w/ the adjustment bolts for going on 3 weeks trying to get it right. I just ended up making it worse.
So this weekend I loosened it all up and started from scratch, working a little at a time until I got the front door pretty much perfect. The bottom was still out - so after a short wave of aggravation and a daddy soda, it hit me.
Its not the front door at all, its the rear driver's side passenger door ! Specificall the bottom of it.
Loosened THAT nut up, pulled the door out, tightened it up. Damn near perfect. Tinkered a bit w/ the fine tuning of it, torqued the bolt to 35 ft/lbs, good to go now.
Funny how to 'fix' the front I needed to pay attention to the back !! Just in case anybody else needs to futz w/ their door, this might help.
So this weekend I loosened it all up and started from scratch, working a little at a time until I got the front door pretty much perfect. The bottom was still out - so after a short wave of aggravation and a daddy soda, it hit me.
Its not the front door at all, its the rear driver's side passenger door ! Specificall the bottom of it.
Loosened THAT nut up, pulled the door out, tightened it up. Damn near perfect. Tinkered a bit w/ the fine tuning of it, torqued the bolt to 35 ft/lbs, good to go now.
Funny how to 'fix' the front I needed to pay attention to the back !! Just in case anybody else needs to futz w/ their door, this might help.
Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 1,722
Likes: 412
I know this thread is old, but I just went through this on mine. The bottom right of my driver's side door was jutted out. So of course I went and played w/ the adjustment bolts for going on 3 weeks trying to get it right. I just ended up making it worse.
So this weekend I loosened it all up and started from scratch, working a little at a time until I got the front door pretty much perfect. The bottom was still out - so after a short wave of aggravation and a daddy soda, it hit me.
Its not the front door at all, its the rear driver's side passenger door ! Specificall the bottom of it.
Loosened THAT nut up, pulled the door out, tightened it up. Damn near perfect. Tinkered a bit w/ the fine tuning of it, torqued the bolt to 35 ft/lbs, good to go now.
Funny how to 'fix' the front I needed to pay attention to the back !! Just in case anybody else needs to futz w/ their door, this might help.
So this weekend I loosened it all up and started from scratch, working a little at a time until I got the front door pretty much perfect. The bottom was still out - so after a short wave of aggravation and a daddy soda, it hit me.
Its not the front door at all, its the rear driver's side passenger door ! Specificall the bottom of it.
Loosened THAT nut up, pulled the door out, tightened it up. Damn near perfect. Tinkered a bit w/ the fine tuning of it, torqued the bolt to 35 ft/lbs, good to go now.
Funny how to 'fix' the front I needed to pay attention to the back !! Just in case anybody else needs to futz w/ their door, this might help.
Mgray18
Joined: Jul 2018
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
so I just bought my F150 crew cab used. Near perfect condition, EXCEPT the drivers side door is in maybe 1/8 inch on the back side so when rear door in drivers side is opened it rubs the paint. I'd like to adjust myself but don't wanna make it out of alignment. But I don't wanna pay lot of dough to have fixed. Thought about adjusting the catch but it doesn't appear to have a way. Suggestions? Thanks
5 Year Member
Joined: Nov 2015
Posts: 352
Likes: 62
There is def a way. You don’t mess with the latch mechanism in the door itself, rather the striker on the body side. They are TP40 torx PLUS bolts. I do recommend using the plus vs normal torx as they are in there pretty tight and easy to strip unless you stay dead nuts straight with steady movement with normal torx. Just trace where it sits now to easily put it back to original position if necessary, loosen the bolts, and tap to where you want it. It may seem like it doesn’t want to move tapping on the striker itself, but it is adjustable. For example I gave mine a few good whacks and it didn’t want to budge, but then got a scrap piece of wood, put rag on the truck/striker end to protect paint, and tapped on the wood kinda chisel style at the base of the latch which moved it around and with much less force then when I tried to tap on it directly.
the strikers and the in/out up/down adjustments are very easy and if anything, just a little time consuming with the back and forth adjustments till you get it just where you want. The rotational adjustment is the more involved one, mainly due to access.
the strikers and the in/out up/down adjustments are very easy and if anything, just a little time consuming with the back and forth adjustments till you get it just where you want. The rotational adjustment is the more involved one, mainly due to access.
Junior Member
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
In reply to Watersjp: I had this problem with my 2016 Lariat. The driver's side rear door was always a little hard to close almost like the truck was too air tight. It wasn't bad enough that I had to do something about it, it just required a little extra to close. Then, this past April something changed and the door wouldn't latch without a full on push. I brought it in to the dealer and they changed the latches as part of a recall but that didn't help. The dealer doesn't have a body shop on premises but they do have an association with a local shop. The shop is fully certified on numerous manufactures and even has a guy certified to repair aluminum. Anyway, the shop was great. They just had to make an adjustment to the drivers side doors (front and rear). It took all of an hour to do. I have no issues with the other doors. If your still under warranty, take it in and get it fixed.
Last edited by CGPatsfan; Jul 3, 2018 at 08:57 AM.
Senior Member
Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 1,595
Likes: 375
I took mine in to the dealership body shop and they fixed the poor door alignment on the passenger side. I had to leave the truck for a day.
Downside, now they look great, seemingly perfectly aligned, but the passenger side rear door is hard to close. I think the striker needs adjusting. Probably at my next dealership visit, but again, they'll probably make me leave it for a day *sigh*
Downside, now they look great, seemingly perfectly aligned, but the passenger side rear door is hard to close. I think the striker needs adjusting. Probably at my next dealership visit, but again, they'll probably make me leave it for a day *sigh*