How to Repair Beetle Doors

If one of the doors on your Volkswagen Beetle is out of alignment, hanging or sagging, it can damage the car's body as well as the components within the door. You need to fix the door's alignment. If the door's hinges are the problem because they are bent or otherwise damaged, you need to replace them. In either case, door repair is a difficult job that will require at least two people.

Instructions

Preparation

1

Remove the door's inner trim panel. Disconnect the window controls, pry off the door pull handle cover with a small screwdriver, remove the screws behind the pull cover and on the panel's edge, pry it off its clips with a trim stick and disconnect all cables and connectors.

2

Disconnect the hood release handle assembly if you are working on the driver's door. Remove the nuts with a small Torx wrench and detach the cable from the rear of the latch assembly.

3

Disconnect the electrical connectors located near the door jamb and the floorboard, then feed the harness and wire out through the body pillar.

4

Remove the bolt for the door check strap near the top of the door jamb; this task should require a Torx wrench.

5

Mark the door and body surfaces around the hinges with masking tape.

6

Raise a floor jack underneath the door, or have an assistant hold it in place, as you prepare to loosen or remove the hinge bolts.

Adjustment and Replacement

7

Loosen the hinge bolts on the door if you need to adjust the position up/down or in/out. Loosen the bolts on the body side if you need to adjust the door forward/backward. These bolts require a Torx wrench.

8

Remove the bolts on the door side while your assistant holds the door if the door or hinge needs removing, then lift the door away from the body. Remove the body bolts and remove the hinge if needed.

9

Install the new hinge onto the car body using tape marks as a guide and apply the bolts, then connect the door to the hinge. Adjust the position of the door as needed and described in Step 1.

10

Remove the masking tape from the door and car body, then scribe around the hinges' current position as a future guide.

11

Adjust the position of the latch striker on the outer edge of the door frame as needed. Loosen the mounting screws with the Torx wrench and move its position up/down or left/right.

12

Reconnect the door trim panel along with the components you removed earlier.