85 Door Hinge Pin & Bushing Replacement

[TimK]

Hello All,

I want to fix a drooping door.  My methodology is to work on it, and if I run into a problem ... read the manual.  So, I thought I could just remove "a clip" on the end of the pin and then hammer it up (like a door in your house).  But "the clip"it doesnt pop off.  It looks like it was deformend in a vice on a bench.  Did the factory build the hinges on a bench, and just crush the end so it wouldnt pop out?

Can i just grind off the "burr" off the pin, hammer it out and replace it with a new one?

I really dont feel like turning this into an event given the weather in the NE and not having it in a heated garage.

Thanks for any info.

Tim

[bake74]

     The pin is suppose to come out if you have the weight off the door.  Question, is your hinge bent ?  Why would you want to take the pin out to fix a droopy door.  Usually you need to adjust the door hinge bolts for droop and shims if the door inside to outside is not even.

[Kris_77stepside]

It could just be the pin bushings are worn out.  They wore out on one of my cars and the door was sagging pretty bad.  Replaced them and it shut like new again.  Maybe post a pic if you can of the "clip" you are talking about.  Usually you just support the door with a jack to take the weight off the pins and pop the pins out.  I don't think I've ever seen any with a "clip" on them. 

[Blazin]

Never seen clips on them. Even with the weight off the door sometimes they take a good whacking with a hammer to get them to move. I have actually had to cut them with a cut off wheel and remove them in pieces before.

[firefighter]

Simply knocking out the pins and replacing them with new bushings and pins sounds pretty easy.
However.......
Because of the contour of the door, the top pin cannot be removed straight out the top like the bottom one can. You may have to use a dremel or cutoff wheel to cut the top pin in half to get it out or unbolt the hinge.
I'm in the process of redoing a truck and temporarily installed on the doors for fitment prior to paint. I wanted to just knock out the pins to remove the doors for paint but realized the top pin won't come out that way. I unbolted the hinge to remove the pins, drilled and tapped holes in one end, and then installed the top hinge pin upside down. The added screw in the threaded hole will keep the pin from ever falling out since it's upside down.

[TimK]

Thanks guys.  I looked at that "clip" for a while .... (I thought it was a c-clip) on the pin.  YEah, it was just a deformation.  So, I took the hinge bolts off the door side and slid the door out about an inch to make some room.  Then to make a very long story short, I got  a hacksaw blade and sawed vertically to cut through the metal (what i thought was the cip) and then used a chisel ... to cut the little pieces out.  Then I hammered the pins out.  Believe me, I'm making a long story short.  It took 3 hrs before to get to the hack saw blade (files were not working).

It was just the bushings.  They were pretty well worn out top and bottom.  If I had to give advice i would say, get a helper to hold and stabilize the door.  Tape the edge of the door so you dont scratch up the paint.  Take the bolts off the door side of the hinge to make room for the hammer blows.  Check the pin closely and see if its deformed.  It its deformed so the pin wont drive through, use a hack saw blade or like Blazin said ... if you have a dremel, just cut them in half and replace them.  Then just hammer them out and use some kind of a driver so you can get a good deal of force on it ... and it will come out pretty easy.  The pin is what knurled on the top so its kind of a press fit.  So, you have to punch it back out. 

In retro, it was well worth the time.  The door is 1000% better.  Its a better truck for a little bit of time and money. 

Thanks guys.

Tim

[bake74]

     Glad to hear you got the door fixed, and sounds like you learned something valuable in the process.