Sagging doors / worn hinges

[scottydl]

My 1995 Suburban's two passengers side doors sag slightly, enough that the doors "catch" and are hard to open from the inside. Gotta lift UP while opening which is hard for kids to do, and a pain to explain to everyone who rides with me. I've had the pins/bushing checked by a couple mechanics and was told that they are fine and the problem is the hinges themselves being bent or worn.

From a body perspective, what's the process for having these hinges rebuilt? How much labor involved, how much should I expect to pay a body shop? Can I order any parts in advance to make it easier/cheaper? I'm assuming this isn't really a DIY project for someone (like me) with no body experience...

 

[RawbDidIt]

My 1995 Suburban's two passengers side doors sag slightly, enough that the doors "catch" and are hard to open from the inside. Gotta lift UP while opening which is hard for kids to do, and a pain to explain to everyone who rides with me. I've had the pins/bushing checked by a couple mechanics and was told that they are fine and the problem is the hinges themselves being bent or worn.

From a body perspective, what's the process for having these hinges rebuilt? How much labor involved, how much should I expect to pay a body shop? Can I order any parts in advance to make it easier/cheaper? I'm assuming this isn't really a DIY project for someone (like me) with no body experience...

If you just need to replace the hinges, here you go. I'd make sure the door itself was true but here's the parts. You should just need a friend and some basic tools to get it done.

https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/chevrolet,1997,k1500+pickup,5.7l+v8,1051175,body,door+hinge,1377

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

 

[letitsnow]

Sometimes you need to bend the hinges by putting a jack under the bottom of the door, and lifting up. Care needs to be taken to keep from wrecking stuff though.

 

[TD Henley]

Try shimeze! Just google it or lokk it up on you tube. It really works!

 

[wiscomick]

Had a 95 S10 that did this same thing, due to the fact that the jackass PO let the bushings go for so long that the new bushings didn't even stay in the holes.

Removed the doors, ran a bead of weld around all the bushing holes that were hogged, re-drilled and put in new hardware. Good as new.

Might be your issue, might not. Worth checking out.

 

[kennythewelder]

Its most likely the bushings that need to be replaced. They are brass and ware out in time. The hinges are welded onto the A piller. The only way to replace them is to cut them off and reweld new one in place. Once you replace the brass bushings, it the fitment is still low, then you can jack up the door with a floor jack, and a 2 x 4. There are videos on you tube

 

[454cid]

Its most likely the bushings that need to be replaced. They are brass and ware out in time. The hinges are welded onto the A piller. The only way to replace them is to cut them off and reweld new one in place. Once you replace the brass bushings, it the fitment is still low, then you can jack up the door with a floor jack, and a 2 x 4. There are videos on you tube

The ones I've seen bolt into place... you've got to drill the holes, Though. I don't know why GM thought welding them was a good idea.

 

[kennythewelder]

The ones I've seen bolt into place... you've got to drill the holes, Though. I don't know why GM though welding them was a good idea.

Yes, the replacement hinges bolt in place, but the OE hinges are welded to the A piller. In older trucks, that have bolted hinges, there is a thicker threaded plate or nuts behind the A piller for the bolts to thread into. If you just drill holes in the A piller and bolt to that, then all you have is the thickness of the A piller alone to hold the weight of the door. This is why GM welded the hinges. So that they did not need a backer plate with nuts on it. Like I said to start with, the rite fix is to replace the brass bushings, then adjust the door with a floor jack and a 2x4 if needed. If you can lift the end or the door up when it is open, and there is slack, then the bushings are worn.

 

[Darrell]

At minimum if you're lucky it's just the brass bushing that wore thin and chipped away. But 99% of the time, due to the weight of these door the hinge hole itself that the bushing seats into is elongated. Thus no matter how many times you replace that brass bushing it'll be elongated too in just a few weeks and you're right back to where you started.

The last thing I'd do is bend the hinges upward to compensate using a jack and 2x4. You're going to metal stretch those pillars. You're only putting a band-aid on it ...IMHO

But then again I'm **** and rather fix it the right way.

LMC sells a complete hinge replacement kit (with instructions) with everything for around $80 a door. But there's some mechanical skills needed (Don't know your skill level). Removing the door (knocking out the upper and lower pins) and drilling out the 4 spot welds holding the hinges to the pillar. Remove the interior kick panels on the other side because you'll need to access that area to run the thread bolts thru.

The A and B-pillars are strong enough to hold, no backing plate needed. These doors are spot welded onto the pillars with only 4 welds. You're just replacing the spot welds with bolt and nuts.

Keep us posted on your fix
good luck

 

[scottydl]

Unfortunately for me, I don't think bushings are the problem here. Two mechanics have inspected and told me that... not body shop guys, but guys who should know what they're talking about. I've tried myself to lift the door up and down to check for play, and there really isn't any. When I do that, the entire truck moves up and down. The door is only forced level when it is closed and pushed up over the striker.

While I realize bending the hinges is a band-aid of sorts, I'd be willing to try that first if it could be done with screwing anything up worse. I mean, this is maybe a $4500 vehicle and my problems are on the lesser-used passenger side doors. But I would like them to work better than they currently do, hence this discussion! I'm trying to decide how much effort/money is worthwhile here.