MCI MC9 front door adjustment

[BRUISER]

Hey all,

so we took the bus out this past weekend and at one point my wife came and said she could not get into bus.

So I went to open door and could not, I had to lift the door some to get it to open.. after some looking, lifting etc I found that where the top hinge is inside the bus and the bolt that goes threw the large hinge can move.. the hole in the metal plate is wallowed out so the hole is now oval not round and the door can literally tilt some.. if i lift the door up it opens and closes fine.. I found some info on here searching but what I cant find is. Is the hole supposed to be wallowed out oval for adjustment or just a circle?

here is a pic.. I circle the bolt that goes threw the hindge.. and where the top circle in the picture is, is where the metal plate that is welded inside the bus frame goes..

so the real question of all this? Is the hole in the metal that is welded to bus frame supposed to be oval or circle?

Thanks
Ken C

[bevans6]

As I recall it the bolt #25 threads through the cast door arm and lets you set the height of the door.  The nut #29 is on a smaller diameter section of bolt #25 such that when the height is adjusted right that nut is tightened down to clamp onto the sheet metal and hold that bolt tight, then the hinge rotates on the larger threaded section of the bolt.  The hole in the sheet metal is supposed to be a close fit around the bolt, and should not be oval.  The hinge is supposed to rotate on the large threaded bolt, and the bolt is supposed to be very tight in the sheet metal hole and not move at all.

That's how I think it's supposed to work, anyway.  If the words used to describe the parts in this reply offend anyone, suck it up, I could care less.

Brian

[BRUISER]

As I recall it the bolt #25 threads through the cast door arm and lets you set the height of the door.  The nut #29 is on a smaller diameter section of bolt #25 such that when the height is adjusted right that nut is tightened down to clamp onto the sheet metal and hold that bolt tight, then the hinge rotates on the larger threaded section of the bolt.  The hole in the sheet metal is supposed to be a close fit around the bolt, and should not be oval.  The hinge is supposed to rotate on the large threaded bolt, and the bolt is supposed to be very tight in the sheet metal hole and not move at all.

That's how I think it's supposed to work, anyway.  If the words used to describe the parts in this reply offend anyone, suck it up, I could care less.

Brian

hmm from what you said it makes me wonder if bolt #25 is loose and has dropped down some and the smaller section has fallen below the sheet metal hole and since it is smaller then hole is why it looks like it is wallowed out or ovaled..

time to get the flash light out tonight

[bevans6]

The top part of that bolt is shouldered, to be able to clamp onto the sheet metal bracket.  To adjust the door height the nut has to be loosened a bit so the bolt can rotate.  I think it's real common for the bolt to start to seize in the hinge (when was the last time anyone put a grease gun on that nipple to lube it?) and that would force the bolt to start to rotate.  As soon as that happened the nut would start to come loose as well.

Edit - the door is very heavy, around 100 lbs or more, so I would recommend a strategy for bracing or holding the door.  I used a floor jack under the door to hold it up.

Brian