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Not too long ago I replaced the pins and bushings in my drivers door hinge, but as the story typically goes with cheap Chinese crap, the pins are already rusting and the bushings are corroding away. The drivers door was sagging so bad that it wouldn't shut without lifting up while closing it. So it was time to go bigger and better. I ordered some 3/8" shoulder screws, bronze bushings, and acorn nuts. The plan was to put bushings on both ends of both sides of the hinge (4 per hinge). Unfortunately my math skills are a little rusty and I didn't order enough bushings. So the bottom hinge got 4 new bushings and the top only got 2.
The bushings are .502", so the bottom hinge got drilled out to 1/2". The bushings on the door side of the hinge needed to be cut down since they are longer than the thickness of the hinge. On the top hinge I drilled the door side to 1/2" and the cab side to 3/8" (this will pivot directly on the pin until I order more bushings). Both of the shoulder screws were about 1/4" too long (apparently my measuring skills are a little rusty too) so I had to add a spacer to the bottom side to keep the bushings in place. I didn't want to tighten the nuts too tight, so I put a little Loctite on them and just snugged then up. So far I'm really happy with this and think it will last much longer than the OEM pins and bushings. Time to reorder and do the passenger side.
Here's my parts list from Fastenal. Again, I should have ordered 2 bags of the bushings for total of 10, and the shoulder screws should have been 2-1/2" and 3-1/4".
Bottom door side hinge with bushings installed...
Bushings cut down...
Bolted together with spacer...
Bottom hinge installed...
Top hinge installed (I had a bushing leftover from the parts store kit that I used on the bottom side. I need to replace that and put bushings on the cab side still)...
This is a GREAT idea. The value just doesn't seem to be there for the cheap Chinese junk kits that are available to repair these hinges. I'm betting you didn't spend much more getting those parts than you would have buying the junk at the Autozoo. Great idea. Reps attempted...and denied.
Actually, the Dorman pin/bushing kits are ~$7/pin. So this was cheaper! The other reason I wanted to do this is because the e-clips kept coming off of the stock pins and they would start to come out. That'll never happen with this setup.
Reps sent for the hinge pins. That's a great idea that i would do, but i happen to know that one of my hinge nuts will fall into the cab if i remove the bolt and i spent 3 hours getting it back last time, so it's staying in there forever now. Lol
Reps sent for the hinge pins. That's a great idea that i would do, but i happen to know that one of my hinge nuts will fall into the cab if i remove the bolt and i spent 3 hours getting it back last time, so it's staying in there forever now. Lol
You don't have to unbolt the hinges if you don't want to. I've managed to replace the pins and bushings without loosening the hinges, which usually saves a bunch of time on realigning the door. I don' tknow how it's done in Texas, but if a yankee can do it I'm betting a Texan can. Just sayin'...
Nate, that's true for stock pins, but for these you need to drill the hinges for the much larger bushings. Now I think you could drill these in place, in fact I did drill the top cab side without moving it. I used my engine hoist to lift the door so I could get as much room as possible. It's just easier to drill them in a vise if you can remove them.
Keep forgetting to update this. The drivers door has been closing so nice that I ordered more hardware and fixed the passenger door too. I think this is one of the best mods I've done in a long time! Now I'm looking at the rear doors and thinking they are going to need this upgrade too; except for the drivers, all the other doors still have/had the original pins and bushings.
And just for Travis, I was able to drill the cab side hinges without unbolting them; if you had a right angle chuck, it would be even easier. So don't be afraid of losing that hinge nut/bracket piece.
Hey I just read this from first page to last. Good read. I've been trying to read some of the post from names I see flying around on other post, its kinda like catching up with old friends. On to my next one
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So the bottom hinge got 4 new bushings and the top only got 2.
