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Door Hinge Replacement (w/pix)

Matt Bachand

Matt Bachand

Depends on the 6.5
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Worcester, MA
Got tired of my top pin falling out every 5th door close, so with the nice weather I tackled this aggravating issue.

I took pix in case it would help someone else.

As always it seems, I work alone. Here was my method.

I set 2 jackstands underneath and tied a rope to my racks to stop the door from falling out. (Did not cut speaker wires, or need to cut power wires if apply).

While door was out, i cleaned the piss out of the door jam with purple power as it was really easy to get at.
 

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Here is the finished result, if anyone has any bushing orientation questions.

BTW these pins are just the GM fullsize ones off the HELP rack. Come with 2 bushings and a retainer clip per pack.

Now the door closes with little effort as it should.

One more problem fixed.
 

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Looks good Matt. I went to the local GM dealer last summer and got a quote of $115 per door for pins & bushings. Not.
I went and ordered both sides off Egay for a fraction of the price. Problem is they are sitting packaged in my garage. Helps alot I know.
Now with your pics, it has me thinking I should tackle the job.
How long did it take you per door?

Thanks for posting!
 
Did you replace the roller pin also? I have done a bunch. Its very common that they snap the roller part right off. Roller pin is also available at most auto parts.
 
What, no hose clamp mod, lol.

My 92's door has been opened and closed too many times feeding cows, and pins and bushings replaced so many times that I have a hose clamp holding the pin up, lol. Not pretty, but works when your hinges are to worn.
 
LOL, my roller is bent at a 90 degree angle on the roller pin. Its fubar, and it's been like that so long I don't miss it.

Lost the spring a few years ago also.

Took about an hour including cleaning the piss out of everthing.

It sure is nice having a door that closes.
 
midniteplowboyy said:
What, no hose clamp mod, lol.

My 92's door has been opened and closed too many times feeding cows, and pins and bushings replaced so many times that I have a hose clamp holding the pin up, lol. Not pretty, but works when your hinges are to worn.
Click to expand...


Damn, if you posted this idea it would have saved me an hour!!!! I tried little retainer clips to hold that pin in, even gorilla glue at one point! never thought about a hose clamp for the top pin!!!

Either way, she works smooth as glass.

FYI, the pin's and bushing packages are 5.99 at Autozone.
 
ak diesel driver said:
What happened to your little coil spring and wheel? I believe it is the detent to hold the door open.
Click to expand...

Yes this is why i haven't changed the pins on my driver's door yet. they are a bit worn, but not too bad. I've heard you need a spring compressor to put the spring back in, is this true?

If that spring and wheel isn't absolutely needed for anything other than holding the door open, it may get removed as i'm tired of slamming the snot out of the driver's door to get it to close sometimes. Eventually i'm going to break the window from slamming the door. :eek:
 
iamdave0887 said:
Yes this is why i haven't changed the pins on my driver's door yet. they are a bit worn, but not too bad. I've heard you need a spring compressor to put the spring back in, is this true?

If that spring and wheel isn't absolutely needed for anything other than holding the door open, it may get removed as i'm tired of slamming the snot out of the driver's door to get it to close sometimes. Eventually i'm going to break the window from slamming the door. :eek:
Click to expand...

Yes you need a special tool for the spring but it is well worth the small price for it. I did mine back in November when I was at my moms for thanksgiving. I had done the same thing on a S-10 Blazer before with out the tool and while it can be done it takes far to long and is way to aggrivating. Using the compressor the job took about an hour and resulted in a door that closes like new. Nice pics on the post BTW.
 
very nice never thought of jack stands i drilled holes in the rafters in my car port and wired my door up to the car ports roof haha but you way seems way simpler:thumbsup:
 
iamdave0887 said:
Yes this is why i haven't changed the pins on my driver's door yet. they are a bit worn, but not too bad. I've heard you need a spring compressor to put the spring back in, is this true?

If that spring and wheel isn't absolutely needed for anything other than holding the door open, it may get removed as i'm tired of slamming the snot out of the driver's door to get it to close sometimes. Eventually i'm going to break the window from slamming the door. :eek:
Click to expand...


Spring and wheel serves no purpose but to hold the door open. Lose it already if its not serving its purpose, or hindering performance. Weight shed = hp gain!
 
When I got my Suburban the springs were missing. A friend had the compression tool, installed the springs in about 5 minutes. Its a simple little tool, might be able to borrow one from a local repair guy if you get the springs from GM first. Its worth it, I was tired of the door swinging shut on its own.
 
For the spring tool I just looked at a picture of one on the internet and made one out of some junk I had laying around. For the door we used a cherry picker and a strap around the top of the door, worked great.

One Tip is that you don't want to try to hammer those little bushings in, they will crack in nothing flat. What we did was used a 1/4 inch bolt with a combination of washers and a socket to basically press the bushings in. Since the bushing protrudes out the other side a small bit when it is in all of the way we put the socket on the bottom and some washers on the top of the bushing and just tightened the bolt to press it in.
 
fonecop1 said:
For the spring tool I just looked at a picture of one on the internet and made one out of some junk I had laying around. For the door we used a cherry picker and a strap around the top of the door, worked great.

One Tip is that you don't want to try to hammer those little bushings in, they will crack in nothing flat. What we did was used a 1/4 inch bolt with a combination of washers and a socket to basically press the bushings in. Since the bushing protrudes out the other side a small bit when it is in all of the way we put the socket on the bottom and some washers on the top of the bushing and just tightened the bolt to press it in.
Click to expand...

I was able to get them started with my hands, and tapped them in with hammer. (making sure your hitting soft and square).

To seat the retainer clip on top I used a 3/8ths socket on top of the top pin with a soft hammer tap lowered the retainer clip evenly and it kept.
 
I have fought the spring with a long straight screw driver PIA but it works, BUT the tool works the best used it last time I did one.
 
My next project, as in tomorrow, if the weather is dry enough here. When I did the dr door on my 83 P.U. I parked under the walnut tree, used ratchet tie down straps through the open window and a large limb.

I had the dr fender off a couple days ago, replacing a mangled one, and found out the wire loom has disconnects just inside the cab pillar. Wish I had not run out of time then, it would have been so much easier with the fender out of the way.

Some good ideas here, I like the cherry picker, time for me to put mine to use finally.

Matt, thanks for the pics, others, thanks for all the ideas.

Can anybody tell me where I can find pics of the spring tool and where I can find one?

Don
 
I found this picture, a bit different from the one the guy used on my other car, but you get the idea. Its really simple, just kind of a caliper that holds the spring, then you turn a screw to load the spring so it can be popped in place. If you have a local repair guy ask if you can borrow one, its the kind of thing they use once a month so he probably wouldn't mind giving it up for a few days.

doorspring.jpg
 
Thanks Matt, really helpful. I actually just lubed mine last night because it was getting annoying. Its on it's way out, but I'm going to wait until I put my new doors on to fix the hinges. Now if I could only finish painting the doors. Maybe if I was out working on them instead of sitting here on the computer...
 
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