[Vwdiesel] Jetta door, window questions

[LBaird119 at aol.com]

> the driver's door sags more than I would expect, I think even more
>  than my other one - it noticeably rubs no the latch post. Can I loosen the
> hinge bolts and try to adjust the door, or do I just live with it?

  Nope, the hinges only adjust in and out.  There's a tad of up and
down but it's linear.  It won't help with sag.  :(  I've aligned a bunch
of doors so here goes.
  First get it all adjusted for in and out and body lines at the front edge.
If you need to loosen the latch pin to do this then do it.  The leading
edge should be just a tad more in than the trailing edge of the fender
IMO.  Watch the front upper area that's on a 45 as it tends to get tight
while you're playing with the rest. This first part is more for the A1's in
the crowd as the A2's rarely get out of line much anyway.  Then you
go for the rear of the door.  Align the body not the latch.  :)  There are
two ways to raise the door.  You can gently push the door against a
socket wedged in between the body and door parts of the lower hinge.
It works great but can change the space between the fender and the
door.  Amazing to see done though!  :)  The other is to use a 2 X 4
held under the main body of the door (not the skin) and jack the door
up with a floor jack.  Hold the door as closed as possible and gradually
use more pressure until the door gets to the right position.  Jack up a
bit then release and check then again but a little more pressure, and
so on.  If the door is askew (bottom out and top in or some variation
then you can take care of the main area with the front hinges in/out
adjustment.  On an A1 you can reef the door a bit if needed.  From the
window up, if it's too far out (generally) or too far in, then you can put
your
knee at window level, roll the window down and torque the top of the door
into place.
  I've done many A1 doors that way including replacing ones that had flown
open way too far and tweaked the hinges.  You have to square those first.
They all shut about like new when I get done.  My Jetta had a bit of driver
door sag and all it needed was a bit of the 2X4 and jack.  Oh yeah, when
the door's a good fit, get the latch pin so the door glides right over it and
so that it latches snugly enough to prevent wind noise but not too tight
as to make it hard to shut or crush the seals.
>
>  Also, most of the window cranks are quite stiff, especially the driver's
> door.

  Not sure here other than pull the regulator and clean and lube the
cables and mechanism.  I have a few doors to do this on.  I've seen
some that just wouldn't work well until a replacement was put in.  Dad's
220 Mercedes rear windows were that way.  They were awful.  One
finally broke.  The replacement was smooth.  :)  Others I've seen like
that were mostly electric and the new ones work many time better than
the originals ever did.
    Loren