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.