Driver's Side Door Sticking After Jacking on 73 Convertible?

[Jimmy P.]

Hoping I didn't do something wrong while jacking the rear of my convertible up, and putting it on jackstands to do some work underneath the rear of the car. I've done this in the past numerous times since I've had the car, and did not notice any difference in the opening and closing of either door. However, yesterday when I let the car down and tried to open the driver's side door I had a hard time. It felt like it was stuck, and I had to keep trying a couple of times before finally getting it shut. I checked the door hinges by lifting gently and there was very little to no play. The door spring works as it should, although it was replaced at one time by a previous owner. Also, when I was inside the car trying to get out it did the same thing, it felt like it was stuck.
Any help or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
thanks

[Patrick H.]

Re: Driver's Side Door Sticking After Jacking on 73 Convertible?

The body flexes. A lot. So does the frame.
I'm surprised you've never had an issue previously. I have had coupe doors stick, so if it took 40+ years for your 73 to do this you're doing quite well.

You may have to roll it forward and backward to get the suspension to even out, remove any twist on the car, and then work the doors properly the next time you have this happen.

[Edward J.]

Re: Driver's Side Door Sticking After Jacking on 73 Convertible?

Jim. try to loosen the striker and adjust, something must of tweaked, Is the frame and body mounts in good shape? 73 was the first year for the rubber cushions, they age and dry rot also.

[Jimmy P.]

Re: Driver's Side Door Sticking After Jacking on 73 Convertible?

Thanks Patrick and Edward,
My body mounts are in pretty good condition for being original, and the frame is in excellent condition. I checked all that when I first got it home and started working on it. If after taking it out for a little spin to see if things even out as Patrick mentioned I'll take a look at the striker. I never really thought about this when I've been working on it in the past, until this happened I started looking on-line and saw some of the comments about the body flexing. Started to panic! When I let the right side down (really slow) first I heard a "creaking" sound, but I've heard those before. Patrick what do you mean by removing any twist on the car? Do you mean just letting it down like I did, then opening and closing the doors right afterwards?
BTW- The job I was doing, was-- I removed the shocks (non original) to paint them the correct color and reinstalled. Could this have caused the problem?

[Patrick H.]

Re: Driver's Side Door Sticking After Jacking on 73 Convertible?

When you let it down the suspension - and therefore body - isn't in its usual position.
You can roll it several feet forward and back, and it will even out.

[Jimmy P.]

Re: Driver's Side Door Sticking After Jacking on 73 Convertible?

Gotcha!😀
Are there any special precautions to consider when jacking the car in the future? I'm going to jack up the front next to work under it, I've always placed the jack stands right at or near the center of the frame bend where it starts to turn in up front. Thanks again for your help. Everyday is a new learning experience working on these older cars.

[Bill W.]

Re: Driver's Side Door Sticking After Jacking on 73 Convertible?

I only put the jack stands under the lower control arms in the front and only put the jack under the rear end or the front cross member .

[Alan S.]

Re: Driver's Side Door Sticking After Jacking on 73 Convertible?

Hi Jimmy,
You may want to take a look at your Owner's Manual for information on where the suggested jack points for your car are. I believe that information is also in the Chassis Service Manual.
For 71 there are 2 points on each side…. the first 3" forward of the rear end of the rocker trim and the second 5" forward of the gap between the front of the door and the rear of the front fender.
When jacking from the side you have to be VERY careful that part of the jack doesn't contact the rocker trim panel since it extends down slightly below the frame rail.
When I jack my car up it creaks, but not as much as my back!
Regards,
Alan

[Mark E.]

Re: Driver's Side Door Sticking After Jacking on 73 Convertible?

Take Patrick's advice and let the suspension and frame settle before messing with other things too much. Drive it a bit while going over a speed bump or two and see if that makes a difference.

There are several threads here and on CF that go into detail about lift points and procedure. Also refer to the service manual.

[Jimmy P.]

Re: Driver's Side Door Sticking After Jacking on 73 Convertible?

Thanks again guys for all the help,I will read up on all the threads mentioned about lift points and procedures.
Alan my 73 jacking points on the side of the car are exactly the same as your 71. As a matter of fact one of the previous owners had jacking pads (small squares of metal welded in those exact points) and that is where I cautiously always place my jack. Don't think these additions will go over to well during judging though. I was planning on removing them beforehand. Mark I will be taking it out today, for a short drive as you suggest (weather permitting of course) to see if everything settles back into place. Your suggestion reminds me of my recent visit to the Corvette Factory and watching them take the new cars over the speed bumps at the end of the line, for this very reason. Makes sense.

[Kenneth B.]

Re: Driver's Side Door Sticking After Jacking on 73 Convertible?

Take Patrick's advice and let the suspension and frame settle before messing with other things too much. Drive it a bit while going over a speed bump or two and see if that makes a difference.

There are several threads here and on CF that go into detail about lift points and procedure. Also refer to the service manual.

Good advice here. Also Never open the door when the Corvette is jacked up especially a convertible.

[Mark E.]

Re: Driver's Side Door Sticking After Jacking on 73 Convertible?

I only put the jack stands under the lower control arms in the front and only put the jack under the rear end or the front cross member .

Jimmy,

At the risk of reopening this "can of worms" discussion, I'll say I agree that Bill's method minimizes body stress while lifting, even though the differential isn't an official lift point. The idea is to minimize load transfer on the frame. One way to do this is to lift as close to the points where the springs push up on the frame, which is where the chassis is loaded. In the front, the cross-member is good for the jack and the LCAs are good for the stands (another unofficial jack stand location). In the back, the diff is good for the jack since it's near the spring mount, but I still use the normal jack stand locations on the frame in front of the kick-up since there's no other good location back there.

And I avoid jacking up one corner of the car using an official lift point on the frame even though Chevy recommends this procedure while changing a tire. My experience is this causes a lot of frame flex with groans and pops. I don't know if this was the cause, but my car came with a couple of places where the body panel came loose from the underlying structure. I fixed those but don't want to strain those bonds again.

[Jimmy P.]

Re: Driver's Side Door Sticking After Jacking on 73 Convertible?

Ken,
I did just that. I was also repairing the battery box fiberglass and replacing an incorrect negative ground cable with a correct one,. so I had the driver's side door open for all this while the rear was up on Jack stand.

[Jimmy P.]

Re: Driver's Side Door Sticking After Jacking on 73 Convertible?

Thanks Don for the word of advice. The pads will stay.

[Alan S.]

Re: Driver's Side Door Sticking After Jacking on 73 Convertible?

Hi Jimmy,
Sorry, but I think the previous owner inspired frame additions need to go even if they would cause no deduction during Flight Judging.
Regards,
Alan