Door Handle and Door Pin Replacement

[Baighn92]

A question?
What holds the roller assembly/pin in place in the replacement unit?
I'd like to machine some pins up with a thread on the top so they're easily removable in the future for bush replacement.
Also...do you have a link to the supplier of the roller/pin assembly. I have one that's severly bent.


Oh..and Ginger...are you 'Kawamatt'?

Howard

There is a cheesy little "e"-clip that comes with the roller. It is really dinky, but in reality, the new roller pin is quite a interference fit going in that it is highly unlikely it will wiggle out over time.

 

[chasinbass]

IMHO the pins and bushings available at any GM dealership are much better quality then the Dorman stuff.

I agree the dorman bushings didn’t even last six months and they cracked and are loose . Going for OEM this time.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[HotWheelsBurban]

The bushings keep you from wearing out the holes in the hinges themselves. If you were to use a bolt an no bushing then the hinge would take all the wear an the next time they needed replacing you'd have to replace both hinges on the door an the truck which are welded to the body.

The little clip just keeps the pin from working out as you open an shut the door over time. The pin isn't just going to fall out on it's own as it's a press fit...

On the back doors (not the barn doors, the ones behind the front doors) there's not a coil spring, but the clip needs to be used on the lower pin because it goes in upside down. Upper pin doesn't need one, it's just dropped in the hinge. Well, tapped in, it's kinda a press fit. Had to change the driver's side back door on my Burb a couple years ago when someone rammed their Malibu into it in a parking lot. In Texas, parking lots are no-fault insurance zones, so good thing I still had the wrecked Burb, they were the same color. Had to swap the door panel though, old truck had tan interior, new one has gray.

 

[TechNova]

after reading thru this, it is a good thread. I have done many of these doors since the trucks were new when I worked in a shop. These doors were no different than other GM doors of the era and before. Farmers driving around in the first catch of the latch and Topkick drivers using the door to pull themselves up were the biggest problems. But that was no different than the square body. The welded hinges were a bit of a problem. I have done two doors in the last month and have 4 more coming up.

- the OEM bushing definitely last longer but are expensive. A casual use truck might get by with Dorman for a long time.
- Henry's Automotive Fasteners/Raybuck also carries bushings, not sure who makes them.

- You can replace bushings without disassembling anything on the door. I have a special jack for holding doors by myself but you can use a padded floor jack and a friend. There's not a lot of slack in the wires but enough.

- If you are hammering or pressing bushings you risk cracking them, they are brittle. I tap them in with a wooden hammer handle. If they fall in, your hinge hole is worn, they make oversize bushing in the aftermarket, they have a splined OD.
Normally on a good hinge hole the GM bushing will be a little too tight.
A few swipes with a rat tail file gets a good fit. It looks to me like the hinge holes are
punched not drilled at the factory so they hole is not real clean, necessitating the file. A power tool is too much to fast.

- the flange of the bushing is important, the weight of the door rides on it. Don't use a bushing that is cracked or missing some of the flange

- It's ten years since the original post, we should be using plastic trim tools on interior pieces instead of metal screwdrivers.

- The pins will walk out even of they are facing down. Use a friction clip or an E clip if using OEM pins with a groove. A small weld bead touched up with paint also works. A file belt tool or die grinder takes the bead off again if needed.

_ the pins only go in one way, there is a large diameter near the head and smaller diameter at the end. Bushings have to match. Pay attention when you take it apart or copy the other side.

- Using the doors without the springs is a pain if you actually use your truck. Your shins will thank you for installing the springs when you are parked uphill getting out the groceries. The car at WalMart will thank you when you let go of your door in the parking lot. Your hinges will thank you when it's windy and you let go of the door.

- white lithium is a friend of the bushings, roller and roller bar.

- I got by once with 4 small real strong magnets holding the striker nut plate while I swapped strikers. I pulled out hard while I
unscrewed the striker to keep the plate from spinning . the magnets held until I carefully screwed in another striker. I prepped the new striker by making sure the threads were perfect and lubed it. It may not work every time, but you have nothing to lose if you try it.

- If the doors doesn't fit right after new pins and bushings, you are going to have to tweak it. a padded floor jack can take a door up. A strong, tall , heavy person can tweak it by lifting or pushing down on the end of the door. I have a toll made for
adjusting welded hinges that hooks in the latch and goes over the striker as a lever bar.

- The striker does not adjust the door, it merely holds it closed. The door has to fit the opening. If the striker is out, adjust the door perfectly to the opening and then fit the striker to it. If the door doesn't fit closed the striker is off. You can tell a lot by what the door does immediately after disengaging the striker. The door should not move up or down. Misadjusted doors or strikers will wear the hinges faster.

 

[Reega]

after reading thru this, it is a good thread. I have done many of these doors since the trucks were new when I worked in a shop. These doors were no different than other GM doors of the era and before. Farmers driving around in the first catch of the latch and Topkick drivers using the door to pull themselves up were the biggest problems. But that was no different than the square body. The welded hinges were a bit of a problem. I have done two doors in the last month and have 4 more coming up.

- the OEM bushing definitely last longer but are expensive. A casual use truck might get by with Dorman for a long time.
- Henry's Automotive Fasteners/Raybuck also carries bushings, not sure who makes them.

- You can replace bushings without disassembling anything on the door. I have a special jack for holding doors by myself but you can use a padded floor jack and a friend. There's not a lot of slack in the wires but enough.

- If you are hammering or pressing bushings you risk cracking them, they are brittle. I tap them in with a wooden hammer handle. If they fall in, your hinge hole is worn, they make oversize bushing in the aftermarket, they have a splined OD.
Normally on a good hinge hole the GM bushing will be a little too tight.
A few swipes with a rat tail file gets a good fit. It looks to me like the hinge holes are
punched not drilled at the factory so they hole is not real clean, necessitating the file. A power tool is too much to fast.

- the flange of the bushing is important, the weight of the door rides on it. Don't use a bushing that is cracked or missing some of the flange

- It's ten years since the original post, we should be using plastic trim tools on interior pieces instead of metal screwdrivers.

- The pins will walk out even of they are facing down. Use a friction clip or an E clip if using OEM pins with a groove. A small weld bead touched up with paint also works. A file belt tool or die grinder takes the bead off again if needed.

_ the pins only go in one way, there is a large diameter near the head and smaller diameter at the end. Bushings have to match. Pay attention when you take it apart or copy the other side.

- Using the doors without the springs is a pain if you actually use your truck. Your shins will thank you for installing the springs when you are parked uphill getting out the groceries. The car at WalMart will thank you when you let go of your door in the parking lot. Your hinges will thank you when it's windy and you let go of the door.

- white lithium is a friend of the bushings, roller and roller bar.

- I got by once with 4 small real strong magnets holding the striker nut plate while I swapped strikers. I pulled out hard while I
unscrewed the striker to keep the plate from spinning . the magnets held until I carefully screwed in another striker. I prepped the new striker by making sure the threads were perfect and lubed it. It may not work every time, but you have nothing to lose if you try it.

- If the doors doesn't fit right after new pins and bushings, you are going to have to tweak it. a padded floor jack can take a door up. A strong, tall , heavy person can tweak it by lifting or pushing down on the end of the door. I have a toll made for
adjusting welded hinges that hooks in the latch and goes over the striker as a lever bar.

- The striker does not adjust the door, it merely holds it closed. The door has to fit the opening. If the striker is out, adjust the door perfectly to the opening and then fit the striker to it. If the door doesn't fit closed the striker is off. You can tell a lot by what the door does immediately after disengaging the striker. The door should not move up or down. Misadjusted doors or strikers will wear the hinges faster.

Hey TechNova, how have you fixed “egging out” of the bottom body attached hinge that doesn’t have a bushing? My thought was to drill it out larger to fit a bushing, but as of now that where all of the play in my door is.

 

[Reega]

Hey TechNova, how have you fixed “egging out” of the bottom body attached hinge that doesn’t have a bushing? My thought was to drill it out larger to fit a bushing, but as of now that where all of the play in my door is.

Sorry I meant door side bottom hinge egged out

 

[Patricksterino5]

Hello Gentleman- New-ish Newbie here with an exterior handle question. I've seen conflicting information on whether these handles are interchangeable, specifically between the 88-94 and 95-98 years, on numerous sites selling these exterior handles. Can anyone give me some clarification on this, and if there are differences what I might run into (I found a pair for the 88-94 k1500 and I have a 1998)? Thanks!

 

[df2x4]

Hello Gentleman- New-ish Newbie here with an exterior handle question. I've seen conflicting information on whether these handles are interchangeable, specifically between the 88-94 and 95-98 years, on numerous sites selling these exterior handles. Can anyone give me some clarification on this, and if there are differences what I might run into (I found a pair for the 88-94 k1500 and I have a 1998)? Thanks!

The '88-'94 exterior handles will "fit" the opening in some newer doors, but they're not correct in a couple ways. @someotherguy explained it pretty well in a thread I posted a while back.

If you meant the exterior door handles, yeah, the 88-94 will fit most 95 doors and some 96, etc. but the newer the door the less likely they will fit. The lock pawl is also incorrect on the older handles. The newer door shells have a larger opening for the handle and the gap is taken up by a larger plastic 'gasket' of sorts which is attached to the handle. I've had some people argue this with me but I had a bunch handy to compare and took pics.. it was difficult for me to believe and I still don't understand why GM did it.

EDIT - Also as a side note, spend the money and get OEM GM exterior handles. The aftermarket ones are all junk in comparison.

 

[Patricksterino5]

The '88-'94 exterior handles will "fit" the opening in some newer doors, but they're not correct in a couple ways. @someotherguy explained it pretty well in a thread I posted a while back.



EDIT - Also as a side note, spend the money and get OEM GM exterior handles. The aftermarket ones are all junk in comparison.

Thanks df2x4, good information on the differences and your tip- I heard that most aftermarket versions are crap but it's always good to hear it from someone who's familiar with these trucks!

 

[slowburb]

Yeah, believe it or not, it's better to pull decent looking OEM parts from the JY than it is to buy new Dormans or some other Chinese repops.