Isata 5 Front Cargo Door Installed Too Low

[wbhartmanii]

Hi all - new here! I've got a new to me '21 Isata 5 Xplorer. I LOVE IT and can't wait to get out with it!

I noticed from some internet digging that the previous owner had issues with the front, pax cargo bay collecting water while driving. He added mud flaps to cut down on front tire spray. Also someone suggested adding some sealant along the seam where the white interior plastic meets the door. He did the mud flaps, but I don't see any sealant. I assume he just stopped using that cargo bay, or put Rubbermaid bins in it because its definitely not water or even dust proof.

We took it for our shakedown run on a wet road day and, yeah, LOTS of water collected in that bay...probably an good inch during a 3hr drive.

I was just looking at it and I'm now noticing that while some water may be coming up from below and might need some sealant, the entire door seems to have been installed too low at the factory!

All the other cargo doors have about a 1/4" to 1/2" gap at the top, but the leaking cargo door is over 1"!

Thanks to the road grit that got inside, I can now see on the door that there are drips of water coming from the peak of the weather seal and it seems to not be making contact over about a 6" area.

Can the door be adjusted up vertically? Or the seal lowered?

Here's the catch with moving the door though...they aligned the body panel going around the main door with the panel that is too low So moving the door up 3/4" is going to leave an aesthetic mismatch. But I guess I'd rather have that than my gear constantly swimming in an inch of salt water...plus salt water dust could work its way towards my electrical bay which is open to this compartment on the other side..

Anyone deal with this? I'm open to whatever would help seal that off. Should I be talking with Dynamax? Obviously its a Day-0 issue...but now I'm the 2nd owner...so am I just SOL for finding the issue too late?

[wbhartmanii]

Courtesy photo flip...

[bclemens]

If you look back at the picture you posted showing the hinges, there are some slotted holes, so should be pretty simple to adjust.

It looks like they were matching it up to the H-panel at the end of the door, because that looks perfectly aligned. Maybe should have split the difference. It might only take 3/8" of upward adjustment to get it back to sealing properly. At max, you need 1/2".

There are lots of gaps, trim pieces, etc on those lines. If you adjust it the least amount it would be pretty tough to notice the paint lines being off.

[wbhartmanii]

I thought of that, but I think its 1 sotted hole with 2 round anchor holes. Taking out the 2 outer screws and loosening the middle would be pretty easy to get it to slide up.. I'd just worry a little bit about adjusting enough that I don't weaken the hinge attachment with 2 new holes in the door that are too close to the old holes.

[bclemens]

Personally, I would drill new holes to make sure they are far enough apart. The door is not that heavy and it's a steel frame it is screwing into.