I had to make this adjustment several years ago, and came up with pretty much the same process that you did. But there is a third adjustment point. You adjusted the angle of the door hinge. You adjusted that catch bar inside the door frame. But never the latch at the end of the door itself. That has two bolts as well. And just slightly loosening those lets you rotate the latch mechanism itself. On my car it was the passenger side that had the issue. Making tiny adjustments to all three of those points is what helped me get it all lined up. By the way, nice video. And nice troubleshooting all the way through.
NICE! Had the same problem, the issue is that the bushing is catching the door too hard. We sanded the bushing a bit and it helped. Going to try your trick!
Out of the blue recently my passenger side door manifested the same issue. Knee trick worked for temporary fix. Will try all the adjustments your video detailed for permanent fix as soon as time permits. Thanks for posting the video.
Thank you for this!!!! I recently purchased a ‘98 & I have the same problem 😢 I knew an adjustment needed to be made, but not being mechanically inclined, I wasn’t about to attempt it myself. Assuming I have the proper tools, I can do this 😃
Adjusting the far end of the door near the handle will have your door sitting at a slight angle. No? Try adjusting the height nearer the hinges. It will be line up straighter all the way down.
Had same issue with my Z3 but the problem was the door latch ‘catch’ had broken slightly but enough of it remained for door to close...have a look at the top part of the latch and compare to the other door latch.
Be extremely careful if you decide to follow this video. The first part is fine, adjusting the door catch providing you dont fully remove the bolts. However If you adjust the door alignment via the hinge bolts you run the risk of making everything worse and even destroying the front quarter panel (as the door can catch and bend the panel) Unfortunately videos like this don't mention what can easily go wrong and the consequences if it does. Be warned.
My door catch used to have a plastic grommet that the lock would wrap around. That went missing during the previous owner. It was replaced with many layers of electrical tape. I would like to replace the grommet, but when I backed off the T40 bolts, it feels like there is nothing holding the bolts on the back side from falling into the rocker panel. Do I dare backing the T40 bolts all the way out?
After buying my Z3 last year, I am now facing the same issues! So if I am getting this right, you are saying that in the end you let your hinge screws a hair loose so they can align themselves each time you close the door?
I let them loose enough to allow the door to push itself into "alignment" with the catch when I closed the door. After it aligned, I re-tightened all the hinge nuts. Do not leave the hinge nuts loose.
Interesting. Tighten it at what point? I went through a similar process as this video. Bottom line, if you notice a door is slightly out of alignment, it seems best to me to start there first. Like he said, the door and rear panel weren't flush. Bad idea to ignore that when it's so easy to fix. Then adjust the rest afterwards. I think his troubleshooting was spot on. Only thing he didn't adjust was the actual latch on the door side. There's two screws there as well.
pull the door pat and at the same time push toward an inside (seat) direction, then the door will be open. Usually, it is the sun, the heat that makes this happens. I have my z3 since 2007. this never happened to me when I parked my car in the garage or cold weather. it only happened to me when I parked my car under sun and the sun light directly hit on this dor.
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Well done, no excess fluff like some people add!
Rob isn't known for having any Fluff....
I had to make this adjustment several years ago, and came up with pretty much the same process that you did.
But there is a third adjustment point.
You adjusted the angle of the door hinge. You adjusted that catch bar inside the door frame. But never the latch at the end of the door itself. That has two bolts as well. And just slightly loosening those lets you rotate the latch mechanism itself.
On my car it was the passenger side that had the issue. Making tiny adjustments to all three of those points is what helped me get it all lined up.
By the way, nice video. And nice troubleshooting all the way through.
NICE! Had the same problem, the issue is that the bushing is catching the door too hard. We sanded the bushing a bit and it helped. Going to try your trick!
Out of the blue recently my passenger side door manifested the same issue. Knee trick worked for temporary fix. Will try all the adjustments your video detailed for permanent fix as soon as time permits. Thanks for posting the video.
I’m having the same problem with both of my doors. Thanks for the tips. I’m going to try it out.
Great video! I have the same door problem with my Z3. I have been using the knee method for a few months, until I saw this video.
Thank you for this!!!! I recently purchased a ‘98 & I have the same problem 😢 I knew an adjustment needed to be made, but not being mechanically inclined, I wasn’t about to attempt it myself. Assuming I have the proper tools, I can do this 😃
Great video, really enjoy the terminology used (not a ton of this/that/thing etc.) Solid instruction.
Thank you sir, very helpful!
brilliant video.
Adjusting the far end of the door near the handle will have your door sitting at a slight angle. No? Try adjusting the height nearer the hinges. It will be line up straighter all the way down.
Thanks really helped me
Had same issue with my Z3 but the problem was the door latch ‘catch’ had broken slightly but enough of it remained for door to close...have a look at the top part of the latch and compare to the other door latch.
Be extremely careful if you decide to follow this video. The first part is fine, adjusting the door catch providing you dont fully remove the bolts. However If you adjust the door alignment via the hinge bolts you run the risk of making everything worse and even destroying the front quarter panel (as the door can catch and bend the panel) Unfortunately videos like this don't mention what can easily go wrong and the consequences if it does. Be warned.
1000 bro. 😂
YOu should replace the lil thing with the torx bolts above the vin number. Looks all beat up from you slamming the door with it misaligned.
My door catch used to have a plastic grommet that the lock would wrap around. That went missing during the previous owner. It was replaced with many layers of electrical tape. I would like to replace the grommet, but when I backed off the T40 bolts, it feels like there is nothing holding the bolts on the back side from falling into the rocker panel. Do I dare backing the T40 bolts all the way out?
After buying my Z3 last year, I am now facing the same issues! So if I am getting this right, you are saying that in the end you let your hinge screws a hair loose so they can align themselves each time you close the door?
I let them loose enough to allow the door to push itself into "alignment" with the catch when I closed the door. After it aligned, I re-tightened all the hinge nuts. Do not leave the hinge nuts loose.
You push the latch in then tighten it bro. It’s not to be angled. It pulls out slowly over time
Interesting. Tighten it at what point?
I went through a similar process as this video. Bottom line, if you notice a door is slightly out of alignment, it seems best to me to start there first. Like he said, the door and rear panel weren't flush. Bad idea to ignore that when it's so easy to fix. Then adjust the rest afterwards.
I think his troubleshooting was spot on. Only thing he didn't adjust was the actual latch on the door side. There's two screws there as well.
thanks
pull the door pat and at the same time push toward an inside (seat) direction, then the door will be open. Usually, it is the sun, the heat that makes this happens. I have my z3 since 2007. this never happened to me when I parked my car in the garage or cold weather. it only happened to me when I parked my car under sun and the sun light directly hit on this dor.