Door hinge options

[jess t]

What is the best route to take when replacing doors? The hinges appear to be welded on. Do you have to drill and tap the doors and body? TIA
jess in ky

 

[kennythewelder]

Pull the hinge pins.

 

[jess t]

How do you adjust the door gaps?

 

[kennythewelder]

Well, you really dont. If the door is sagging where is meets the jam, then replacing the pins and and bushings will fix that. Its the bushings that ware out. There are a ton of videos on youtube about this. Also when I replaced mine, I realized that the ballance point for the door is at the top corner above the mirror. You need an engine hoist, overhead crane, or a tree that you can hang a come-a-long from to support the door, and a strap, or even a larger rope to tie the door and lifting device together, so you can pull the pins, and replace the bushings. The bushings and pins only go in, in one direction, so take pics of what is there and how they go before you remove them. Same is true from the bushings. They only go in one way. They are not interchangable. There are videos on youtube of some people balancing the door on a floor jack. Do NOT do this. These doors are around 80 LBS. They are heavy, and if they get away from the person tring to hold them, at best, you will have a mess, and someone could get hurt. Before replacing mine, I had to slam my door to get it to close, and it still had a drop to it between the door and cab. I also broke a few interior door handles tring to get the door to unlatch from the inside. After replacing pins and bushings, I can close my door with one finger. There is no drag or sag at all. It opens very easy from the inside when the handle is pulled. It is what it was when the truck was new. I ordered my set online from e-bay. Dont remember a brand name but the add said it has a 10 year warranty. I first got a set of dorman henge pins and bushings. They failed in about 3 months. The pins I have now, have been in there for well over a year and they still work as good as the day I put them in. I did not remove any of the wiring. I only had to pop the boot out of place giving plenty of slack and room to work. Also you will need a door spring compressor tool. It was about $8.00 at my local auto parts store.

 

[jess t]

Thanks "kennythewelder" for the info

 

[Wh4t3v3rs]

If your door still sags after following Mr. Kennythewelder directions, you can stop by your local body shop and they have an attachment that latches in the door, and they can physically align the hinges. It just takes a little tweaking is all! Don't wanna get crazy on it!!

 

[98c1500onAIR]

Well, you really dont. If the door is sagging where is meets the jam, then replacing the pins and and bushings will fix that. Its the bushings that ware out. There are a ton of videos on youtube about this. Also when I replaced mine, I realized that the ballance point for the door is at the top corner above the mirror. You need an engine hoist, overhead crane, or a tree that you can hang a come-a-long from to support the door, and a strap, or even a larger rope to tie the door and lifting device together, so you can pull the pins, and replace the bushings. The bushings and pins only go in, in one direction, so take pics of what is there and how they go before you remove them. Same is true from the bushings. They only go in one way. They are not interchangable. There are videos on youtube of some people balancing the door on a floor jack. Do NOT do this. These doors are around 80 LBS. They are heavy, and if they get away from the person tring to hold them, at best, you will have a mess, and someone could get hurt. Before replacing mine, I had to slam my door to get it to close, and it still had a drop to it between the door and cab. I also broke a few interior door handles tring to get the door to unlatch from the inside. After replacing pins and bushings, I can close my door with one finger. There is no drag or sag at all. It opens very easy from the inside when the handle is pulled. It is what it was when the truck was new. I ordered my set online from e-bay. Dont remember a brand name but the add said it has a 10 year warranty. I first got a set of dorman henge pins and bushings. They failed in about 3 months. The pins I have now, have been in there for well over a year and they still work as good as the day I put them in. I did not remove any of the wiring. I only had to pop the boot out of place giving plenty of slack and room to work. Also you will need a door spring compressor tool. It was about $8.00 at my local auto parts store.

Your post just saved me hours of aggravation, I know it, I just ordered the 9 dollar tool, never even would of thought about it till i was trying to swap the door, I got a new door from Holley.com and got it painted and i got new pins and bushings for the hinges, hopefully it lines up good since there is no adjustment.