Hello,

I have a front driver's side door that's been sprung. I had previously removed a broken check arm. I was going to replace the check arm and door hinges as they felt to be also worn.

The other day while in town I locked my keys in the Jeep, which I haven't done in over a decade. While trying to retrieve the keys the door needed to be pried somewhat to produce a gap to unlock the door.

Now the door will only open approx. a ~foot, just enough to barely get inside, while door rubs on the lower part of the fender. I've tried to pry the door up, with no success. Perhaps I need to use a hydraulic jack to force the door in a position that it will open?

At this point I'm uncertain which is the best method to remove the fender and door.

Any known good methods to remove a sprung door that's hitting on the front fender?

I need to take a closer look at the fender's fasteners to determine how to remove the front fender. There appears to be several fender screws that are only accessible with the door fully opened. Once the fender is removed the check arm and hinges can be replaced.

 

Where did you pry?

 

There's two fender screws that can only be accessed with the door fully open. Without loosening them there really isn't a way to move the fender along the door edge. There is two bolts at the bottom of the fender. If the door is rubbing near the bottom edge of the fender then removing them may allow you to move it just enough.

 

Open the door as much as you can.

Use a 2x4 under the door and on top of the rocker panel/door kick to pry the door up.

Worked for me.

 

I just pulled up on the door a little. I think I may be able to pry the door up and bend the hinges and/or hinges slightly using a jack with a 2x4 along the bottom of the door.

I was also thinking if I'm able to position a drill or chisel inside the hinge area, I could then grind or chisel the heads off the two fender screws?

 

I just tried a couple of times using a jack with a 2x4 under the door. Hasn't worked so far. I'm concerned about breaking or damaging the hinges.

I'll try another time when my mind is more into it. I use to work with mild steel and HY-80 from ~1/4" to 3" but not much on auto and uni bodies. Some of the metal is fairly light and may not have much tolerance for bending.

When metal is stressed it becomes brittle and then breaks. An alternative is to heat and then bend the metal. I've done this a few times with non-uni body front ends.

 

After using a large axe as a wedge between the fender and door I was able to increase the space between the fender and door by pushing the axe inwards and prying the fender outwards.

This seems to have solved the door opening problem. The old door check's spring is broken off on one side. The bracket and pin are also worn out.

 

I tried an aftermarkiet Dorman made in china door check, but was unsuccessful, to get it to work in either position. The door simply would not close. It appeared to be defective and not built as well as the oem so I returned it.

After going to the JY I found an oem still in good condition.