Straightening steel reinforcing panel....

[vi11ain]

Well, I had a nasty surprise when I returned to my car after work last week - a big white paint mark in the middle of the drivers door and I'm sure the car wasn't parked as straight as I left it!

I was relieved to see that the white mark appeared to just be paint from the other vehicle and there were no splits in the panel (bravo for fibreglass!), but less so when the door caught on the A-pillar cover when I opened it! More worryingly I found that the window only wound down four or five inches....

Well, I've just been playing around with the door adjustments in the garage this morning and the door is now opening and closing correctly (it seemed to have been shoved "in" a bit by the impact). However, now I've removed the trim panel to investigate the window mechanism and it seems that the reinforcing panel that runs the length of the door has been bent inwards by about 12mm or so, preventing the window from going past it.

So, does anyone have any suggestions as to how to bend the panel back? Fortunately the impact was right in the middle of the door, opposite the inner access hole. At present I'm thinking that it may be worth trying to build some sort of beam arrangement from angle iron which will attach to each end of the panel, then use a large bolt or jack to push out the middle. I'd prefer to not have to take the door off the car and dismantle it - most solutions I can think of involve removing the door skin....

Right now I wish I knew who drove into my pride and joy without leaving a note - I'd remove their skin!

[Specky]

Right now I wish I knew who drove into my pride and joy without leaving a note - I'd remove their skin!

There's not much you can do...That a serious piece of metal inside...(The doors weigh a ton)

It's either remove the outer Skin or cut a big hole and dress the damage, then refit the skin/repair the skin...(A big ass job)

Get another door... £50 should get you a good one...and transfer the bits across...

I do wonder if it's possible make a metal jig up..... This would react against the inside of the door when using an airbag, this would push it back into shape...

and finally what colour is you door?

TTFN

[Specky]

Can you get a scissor jack inside?

TTFN

[vi11ain]

The car (and hence the door!) is Steel Blue, which is basically a blue/grey metallic. Amazingly the paint appears to be undamaged, although I still have to clean off the other vehicles paint to be sure.

By removing the inner access panels I can access each end of the steel panel and the middle where I need to push. I think that I can get a 5mm plate behind the panel at each end, then bolt a biece of chunky angle or I section to them (with suitable bracketry welded on) - that will give me something to push against with a scissor jack or large bolt in the middle....

Replacing the door is an option, but I'll still need to get it sprayed (most likely anyway) and transferring all the parts over etc is a bit of a pain - possibly more so that making my "door straightening jig".... If it works as planned I'll probably only remove the glass to do the job, just in case!

I took a look at the service guide but there's nothing about removing the door skin etc for this sort of repair - I guess the "factory option" would be a new door.

[Specky]

I go and have a look at door I've got lying around and see if I can cone up with another idea...


TTFN

[vi11ain]

Most appreciated! All suggestions welcome!

[Specky]

I've had a look and Bugger...

That's gonna be hard to straighten...

You're idea may work, but that's a thick bit of metal, It may just spring back

TTFN

[dapinky]

I'd be tempted to consider an insurance claim (depending on your policy and excess amounts to pay )

No -one likes to have to do it that way, but my concern is that the steel bar through the door is a BIG bit of metal, and is part of the crash structure of the car. If it has been bent that much, just think how much force has also been applied to the door lock one end, and the hinges/hinge plates the other.

Having said that, If the rest of the car is satisfactory (having been properly assessed), then a door swap is quite straightforward (if time consuming), mainly due to the paint blending with it being metallic, and getting the windows adjusted.....

.... i did mine due to rusted out door beam, and it wasn't a major job - but took a while!


I would think that there may be a way to jack out the bend in the beam, by using a proper body jacking system (or making up your own with a hydraulic bottle jack and suitable bits of scaffold bar and/or 4 x 2 wood) - the only way to decide is to remove the inner trim panel and have a look where the top of the bend radius is. If you're lucky (comparatively!) it will be somewhere you can get direct access to, either through a hole already there, or by making a hole in the inner 'skin' of the door.
The problem will be finding somewhere to brace it against the other side, and I'd be tempted to use a garage wall!

(big bit of wood through the passenger window to just shy of the door, then a bottle jack, then a short piece of scaffold bar through the inner door skin against the damage.....

...by sitting in the drivers' seat you should be able to arrange all the bits in a straight line (maybe with an assistant), and opperate the jack untill the beam gets back to where it should be (or at least, out of the way of the window!)....

...a scissor jack may also work, but you will get better results from a hydraulic bottle jack or proper body re-alignment jacks.

[vi11ain]

Interesting, although I don't really want to put the straighening forces through the door lock and hinges if at all possible. The door is all correctly aligned now and works just like it used to (shutlines etc match the passenger door). My guess is that if I can push the panel back about 20mm it'll spring back to it's original correct position when I release the pressure. I've taken a look at the panel and it seems to consist of a flat 2mm piece of steel bonded to another 2mm piece with two channels pressed into it to provide beam strength. Should be possible to bend it back, so long as I can get a good hold on each end...

I'm thinking of a big piece of angle iron, I section RSJ or even a big piece of timber to take the load of the jack, with parts that bolt to steel plates put on the other side of the panel at each end. A bottle jack in the middle will provide the pushing force (they're surprisingly cheap!).

I'm just relieved at this stage that the numpty managed to drive into the centre of the door, right where the access panel is, so getting to the "top" of the bend is easy. Also stunned that the exterior of the door seems to show so little sign of trouble - and that they didn't knock my mirror off or anything else like that!

An insurance claim would cost quite a lot when you add up the excess and likely increase in premium (NCB is protected, but I'm sure there'd be a magical increase nothetheless!). A few years ago it saved me money to pay for a new bumper etc when some uninsured tw@t drove into the back of me while I was stopped at a red traffic light - unless the claim is big, it's not really worth using the insurance.

For your viewing pleasure, here's what the inside looks like right now - it shows the lack of clearance between the window lifter and the steel panel.

tn_IMG_2794.JPG

[esprit888]

Ouch is right! It would take quite a hit to bend that sucker. Having had some experience with this on an Esprit if you dont have strees cracks radiating from the point of impact you will, sooner or later

Interesting, although I don't really want to put the straighening forces through the door lock and hinges if at all possible. The door is all correctly aligned now and works just like it used to (shutlines etc match the passenger door). My guess is that if I can push the panel back about 20mm it'll spring back to it's original correct position when I release the pressure. I've taken a look at the panel and it seems to consist of a flat 2mm piece of steel bonded to another 2mm piece with two channels pressed into it to provide beam strength. Should be possible to bend it back, so long as I can get a good hold on each end...

I'm thinking of a big piece of angle iron, I section RSJ or even a big piece of timber to take the load of the jack, with parts that bolt to steel plates put on the other side of the panel at each end. A bottle jack in the middle will provide the pushing force (they're surprisingly cheap!).

I'm just relieved at this stage that the numpty managed to drive into the centre of the door, right where the access panel is, so getting to the "top" of the bend is easy. Also stunned that the exterior of the door seems to show so little sign of trouble - and that they didn't knock my mirror off or anything else like that!

An insurance claim would cost quite a lot when you add up the excess and likely increase in premium (NCB is protected, but I'm sure there'd be a magical increase nothetheless!). A few years ago it saved me money to pay for a new bumper etc when some uninsured tw@t drove into the back of me while I was stopped at a red traffic light - unless the claim is big, it's not really worth using the insurance.

For your viewing pleasure, here's what the inside looks like right now - it shows the lack of clearance between the window lifter and the steel panel.

tn_IMG_2794.JPG

[vi11ain]

Can someone measure how far the steel panel should be from the inner door panel where the window lifting mechanism is please? It'll be interesting to see just how far it's been bent.....

Photos of the same area would be welcome too!

[Specky]

I can measure,

I can't photo, lost another bloomin camera somewhere

TTFN

[Specky]

I've just measured a few doors...(Four)

I haven't any workings in them thou...

The measurements were taken in the centre apperture....

On the forward vertical aspect of the inner skin...

Inner steel face.... to the inside of the outer skin....32mm...34mm..32mm...29mm

Inner steel face...to the outside of the inside skin...72mm...74mm..70mm..71mm

TTFN

[Mike_H]

Hi villain

I just happen to have my door stripped down so here is a picture of the inside with the sizes from the protection bar to the window lift runner bar and also to the door skin.

Hope it helps.

Mike.

[vi11ain]

Thanks guys - that's really useful!

For interests sake, here's a similar photo of my poor old door beam....

I'll be sure to keep you updated on how I solve this problem

Ben

tn_IMG_2795.JPG