Doors wont stay open

[SVFMAN]

I have an '83 chevy silverado stepside.  Its a sunday afternoon, and i am trying to fix all the little problems that come along in a 18 year old vehicle, Anyways, neither of my doors will stay open. I found  what looks to be like a broken rod in the passenger door hinge, it has a hook on one end, and it sits over the top of the top door hinge.  On the bottom it looks like its snapped off. i looked on the driver side door, and there is nothing there.  do i need to replace those?? will that hold my doors open?? and if so, how difficult is it?? do you have to take the door hinges off??any help would be appreciated. Thanks

[mossgold]

Svfman, There are springs that fit into the bracket on the cab of your truck that the notched bracket on the door swings on.  I had to replace one of these myself on my 76 because the door was swinging open too easily and wouldn't stay open because of a snapped spring.  The best thing to do is look around for a junked truck and pry out the springs.  Unfortunately, I know of no other way to replace these except removing the door from the cab.  You then have to insert the spring into one hole of the cab bracket and pry the other end into place.  It's not a big job but requires carefully removing the door.  If your door is sagging or loose on the hiinge, now may be the time to add a couple of shims.
                                                                   Good Luck

[roundedline]

SVFMAN,

The door springs on the upper door hinge are often the cause of your door not staying open.  They are an "S" shaped piece of metal that fastens to the bottom and top of the upper door hinge.  The easiest way to replace these is to insert the lower portion of the spring into the lower mounting hole in the hinge.  Then, take the biggest, longest screwdriver you've got and pry the spring up until you can slip the top of the spring into the upper hole on the door hinge.  I replaced them on my 73 C20 and did not have to remove the door.  It only took about 5 minutes to make the installation.  I hope this helps.

Matt

73-87ChevyTrucks.com

[SVFMAN]

Thanks alot guys, this helps alot.