I have a 97 f 350, anyone know how to remove or change the door hinges?

 

You having door alignment issues? I did about 6 months ago and had to repair the hinge pins. If you want to remove the hinges, I believe most of the bolts are fairly easy to get to, but you might need to hammer out the hinge pin on one or more of the hinges to get access to the brackets. Before you do so, make sure you support the door, the thing is heavy and would not feel good if it fell on your foot!

If you're having alignment problems, I can tell you how I repaired mine.

 

Thanks, yes, the door is off alignment. It drops when opened. I was told the bushings need replaced, but have no clue how to do it. Any ideas?

 

Yes, I had the exact the same problem, every time I closed the door I'd have to lift up on it before the latch would match the post. Firstly, it is a huge help to have a second person with you when you do this; I found it fairly difficult and extremely annoying to muscle around the door while trying to line everything up properly. I went to NAPA and bought two Ford door hinge replacement kits, which each included one hinge pin, two new bushings, and a small retaining ring. It was very cheap, less than five bucks a piece if I remember correctly. I'm sure there are multiple ways to do this, many better than mine, but here's what I did.

I opened the door up as wide as it would go, and supported the bottom of the door with a chair, stacked up 2x4's, and some chunks of insulation foam, so that when the pins are out the door didn't immediately crash to the floor. Next, I took a small angle grinder and very carefully ground off the top of the pins, one at a time, removing the head of the pin that would permit the pin from being pushed out from the top. I was very careful to remove just the metal of the head of the pin, and not the metal from the bracket. Next, take a screwdriver and a hammer, and bang out the pin and the old bushings. The old bushings are probably going to be tricky, but with a flathead I was eventually able to get it out. You might be able to get a corner of the screwdriver in between the bushing and the hole in the bracket; if you can, try to collapse the bushing inward, preferably from the worn/weak side of the bushing. The bushing and the pin are dissimilar metals, so they don't gaul, and the bushing is the softer one, so enough banging on it will eventually break it and it'll fall out. Next, press in the new bushings, realign the door (this is where you could use an extra hand), and drop in the new pins. Click on the retaining rings to the bottom of the hinge pins.

The door should line up pretty well now, but if one of your pins had completely worn through a bushing, and into the hole in the bracket, you are most likely going to need to adjust the bracket/post placement. This is when it really helps to have some body shop experience. I had none. So, for me, it was a matter of guess and check. Loosen one bracket, move it, check the alignment. Adjust. Repeat. Until it got close enough. I'm sure there are other guys on this forum who have much more experience and tips for body work.

Welcome to FTE by the way!

 

Go to a Napa store. They carry hinge pin replacements under the name of "HELP" They only cost a couple three bucks and come complete with new bushings.

Rog