HELP!!! Doors are falling off!

[KhorneliusPraxx]

I know this is going to sound crazy but here it goes...

I have a 95 grand voyager and a little over a year ago our drivers side door hinges started tearing away from the car (The metal that the hinges are connected to started tearing). When I questioned a body shop about fixing it, the price was more than the car was worth so I opted not to fix it. It has slowly gotten worse over time. This really sucks because the van runs perfectly. We came to the conclusion that it was a fluke thing and that we were just going to have to drive it until the door fall off. Now I'm not so sure it is a fluke. Since then not only has the passenger side started the same but recently a co-worker came in questioning us about a friends delima. He told us what he thought was an unbelievable story about his friends 95 Grand Voyager. It was the same as my story.

HAVE ANY OF YOU HEARD OF SUCH A THING?
If it actually has happened to more than one 95 Grand Voyager, is it a coincidence?

If anyone has any advice, please contact me.

[ssixs]

I have never heard of this, weird! Anyhow, If it is a problem of the hinge tearing away from the door frame, I would look for someone who runs a small welding business. A know a few guys who have welding equipment at home and occasionally take on small welding jobs at home and do small unique jobs like this. I have called on these guys a couple times and saved a ton of money. Good luck.

[mrlong]

Both my doors have come apart at the seams. They've both been welded before I got the car and the drivers side's welds didn't hold. Looked at a van at the wreckers and same story. $500 to fix one door and paint it at the body shop. I've heard it's a common problem.

[RM-TECH]

Originally Posted by mrlong

Both my doors have come apart at the seams. They've both been welded before I got the car and the drivers side's welds didn't hold. Looked at a van at the wreckers and same story. $500 to fix one door and paint it at the body shop. I've heard it's a common problem.

I had the same problem with the pass side door on my '93 G Voyager LE. In my opinion, it is amanufacturing defect. The spot welds that secured the inner and outer door panels failed and the outer door skin alone was not strong enough to support the weight of the door. The door skin around where the hinge attached flexed with the door opening and closing and ,eventually developed a crack. An interim weld repair of the crack effected without removing the door did not hold up. The only solution would have been to remove the door and re-weld all the internal attachments including the rolled edge seams, and eventually re-painting the door (and in my case removing the all the fake "wood" and replacing it on at least that side of the car, you can't match the fade on that vinyl stuff!). Get a used door, if possible inspect it while it is still attached to the car. Open the door and have someone else lift up on the end while you look for any signs of movement or displacement in the hinge area.

RM-TECH

[kd6aaj]

My 95 Grand Caravan has the same problem.
I mig welded the left door. Right door is ok.
Now the Left door cracked again.

I plan on tacking a narrow reinforcement strip over it next time I weld it.

There appears to be just enough room for a 1/4 inch wide strip of metal to be welded over the crack.

The sheet metal is just so thin, it cracks and it is hard to weld without melting a hole in it.

[1thunder]

i agree it is a problem but if you remove the door it can be welded or add a thin plate with the holes for the hinge bolts