911 Doors Opening too Far..

[RSM-M491]

My doors seemd to swing wide open, any adjustment or part that I need to replace, or is this normal?!


Thanks!

Rod

[Talewinds]

Pics? How far is too far?
My doors open far enough to pinch the wires running too and from the door.

Maybe mine open too far too???

[RSM-M491]

Here is a pic of the drivers side door. Do those pins look right?!



THanks!

[RSM-M491]

I feel like on newer cars you have 2 spots where the door stops when openeing, but right now the 911 just swings all the way open, in other words nothing in between like modern cars?!


Thanks!

Rod

[Gemballa2006]

Door stays. Pelican sells them

[Swoboda]

I'm still amazed at how wide the 911 doors open.

I never thought they were broken--just that Porsche made it easier to get in and out.

I tend to be more careful opening the door on my Pcar than I do on my Honda due to how far the Pcar's doors open.

[kanadary]

take a look at the door stay on the door side. sometimes that area gets "ripped" from wear to a point where the door will open real wide. there's a kit from pelican that basically sandwiches the parts in question and will allow you to install the new door stay. i did that to mine and it doesn't open as wide and now it does fly open.

[Jdub]

You should feel one bump, then it stops on the rubber backside donuts within your door.

I think the problem was fixed by your year, but door reinforcement kits were used to strengthen the thin inner metal that supported the door stop assembley. Really bad situation if the door swings wide and rips the metal out.

Carefully open the door and ensure it is bumping against a solid stop.

[Talewinds]

To answer your question those pins do look right, they are pressed in with a tool and that's how all of them appear.
Also, that's about how far my doors open also, and mine certainly don't feel like newer cars where there's a detent mid swing for a part-way pen door, it's all or nothing.

[Amanda]

Stupidity admission: I once pulled away w/o noticing my passenger door, which opened freely and really wide like yours, was ajar. I hit the brakes, and the door swung forward, snapping the already compromised door stay, and doing some additional damage to the attached sheet metal.

I replaced the door stay and added the reinforcement kit. The door now "stops" at two different levels of "open-ness", as you'd expect a door should. I'd recommend this for your door. I'm going to do this for my drivers side door sometime soon, and it doesn't open quite as much as yours, yet. Good luck.

[MarkCcars]

It's a known weak spot on our cars.
Either the door stay needs to be replaced ($) or the internal metal it attaches to could have torn (which it often does) and a body shop will need to do some work to the door ($$).

[Talewinds]

Do we have to go into the doors themselves to replace the stays or can it be done from the outside?
(I just did the RS panels and I'd like to not have to go back in there.)

[Amanda]

No, you don't necessarily need to go to a body shop if the internal metal is torn. Mine was ripped fairly good, but the reinforcement kit was enough to fix it. Project 74 of 101 has all you need to know.

[Talewinds]

Hmmm, maybe I should crack that book more often.....

[gtc]

If you do replace the door stays, read up on the updated door stay and what needs to be done when you install it. The new stays have a lot of resistance, and can actually ovalize the hole that the pin sits in. Then your doors make a loud clack-clack when you open and close them. As me how I know.

[86 911 Targa]

Originally Posted by gemballa2006

door stays. Pelican sells them

+1

[Gordo2]

I thought the same when I first bought my 911. Ended up replacing the driver's side door stay.

The door and frame were in good shape - no need for reinforcement in my case.

Post install - the door still opened as wide, but did have a different/better feel to it - a stop/detent point midway open and a stop at full open - which is still very wide in comparison to any other car I've ever driven.

Later I realized/assumed that the door was designed to open pretty wide to allow easier exit. When the door is less than full open, you have to swing your feet pretty far back (while trying not to contact the door panel) to get out.

My guess - your door opens wide which is normal. New door stays will help avoid accidentally swinging it into the car next to you (mid point stop/detent), but probably won't change the total opening distance.

Good luck, Gordo

[RSM-M491]

Thanks for all the info! Sounds like mine are working normal. I do have 2 spots where the door stops, just felt like it opens alot, but apparantely that is normal!

Thanks!

Rod

[tcar]

The door pins are correct.

In fact, that's often a way to tell if the car has been repainted.

Porsche painted the doors before they mounted them on the body with unpainted pins. If the pins are painted, it's a repaint.

By 89, I think, P had fixed the stay issue.

[trojwl]

I had same problem. My Porsche guy welded on the limiter bracket inside the door. If that bracket is not properly anchored, you could really have a real problem if door is swung open too quickly. That heavy door is a lot of force on the hinges if rotated to their limits.