DeRocha's Door Hinge Pin Replacement w/pics

[DeRocha]

There are lots of threads on fixing a sagging door (some of which are noted below). This info is very informative and the basis for my write up.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=131385
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=87414
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=173707
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=167719
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23287
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=152911
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=92798
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27570

Before I replaced my hinge pins I drove around with a very bad door sag. Because of the need to really slam the door to get it to close I ended up breaking/cracking the driver's side pull handle. Check out my Driver's inner door handle repair thread for info on fixing a cracked door handle pull for a few $ of plastic epoxy and fiberglass cloth.

After reading through all this info I tackled this job without removing the door and without removing the hinge to body bolts. The result is the door is rock solid and closes with one finger.. I no longer have to shut the door with my left hand pushing up on the door while my right hand slams the door shut..

Here is a picture of the equipment used to perform the job.. Missing in the picture is a tie down strap used to support the door... The gray bottle is Anti-Seize used to lubricate the new Pin.

The infamous 38410 door Hinge pin & bushing kit

Firmly supporting the door.. Lots of threads indicate to support the door with a floor jack as pictured below. Unfortunately this isn't enough because once you remove a hinge the door is unstable and wants to flop around.. the solution is to also support the door with a Tie down strap as pictured below. The door glass is all the way down and the strap is wrapped around the top part of the door and to the overhead tree branch... The Jack is bearing 90%+ of the door's weight, while the Strap keeps it rock Steady.. I had ZERO fear of the door flopping around.

Use a permanent marker to outline the door hinge. This will save lots of time and aggravation trying to re-align the door after the bolts are removed.

Remove the two 13MM hinge to door bolts; leave the hinge to body bolts in place as they don't need to be removed for this repair

After the bolts are removed you can swing the hinge inward as pictured below. You can see the lower bushing is very worn on the lower right side. The upper side was even worse. Spay the pin with penetrating oil...

I used the Dremel rotary tool to score the upper OEM pin compression fitting/head . I then used the air hammer (with a chisel bit) to knock the head off Flush with the top of the hinge. I then drove the pin down as pictured below. The air hammer took maybe 10 secs to remove the fitting and under 10 secs to drive the pin down.

The air hammer shank was too big and only drove the pin down as far as pictured below (notice the worn right side of the pin).. I then used a regular drift and hammer to knock it all the way out. If the pin gets hard to drive out knock it side to side or even back up to free it up and continue.

Once the pin comes out you can remove the hinge and examine it up close. I then knocked out the upper and lower bushings.

I installed new bushings by manually tapping new ones in with a hammer. The narrow part of the bushings face inwards (it is the only part visible below); while the flange side (not pictured) face outwards. I then put some anti-seize on the pin and tapped it all the way up until it was completely seated. I then used a flat screwdriver to install the "E" clip. The hinge bolts were installed with attention payed to the alignment marks. I then repeated the entire procedure for the lower hinge. The result is the door is rock solid and closes with one finger.. I no longer have to shut the door with my left hand lifting up on the door while my right hand slams the door shut..

38438 Reference chart
Ford Explorer 1991-2001......Door Pin And Bushing Kit FRONT LOWER, FRONT UPPER
Ford Explorer 2000-2001......Door Pin And Bushing Kit FRONT LOWER, FRONT UPPER
Ford Explorer 2001..............Door Pin And Bushing Kit FRONT LOWER, FRONT UPPER

Ford Ranger 1993................Door Pin And Bushing Kit FRONT UPPER
Ford Ranger 1994-2006........Door Pin And Bushing Kit FRONT LOWER, FRONT UPPER

 

[MountaineerGreen]

Nice write up!

 

[FROADER]

Nice work. This might even qualify you for eliteness! :

 

[zwoobah]

Nice writeup, I will be doing this tonight.
I was at the junkyards in your neighborhood recently. Brockton Auto has half a dozen 1st gens, but as usual they are all stacked on top of other cars or blocked in. Still a lot of good parts though, several of the trucks had barely been touched.

[edit]Got this done last night. My bushings were in much worse shape than yours, two of them were completely worn away on one side. The only other thing I would suggest having on hand is a Torx bit of the appropriate size to adjust the striker pin. Someone had adjusted mine at some point in the truck's life, so even with the new hinges properly aligned I needed to move the striker a bit. This made a big difference in the opening/closing of my driver's door, but also cured a bunch of squeaks, rattles, and wind noise. Very well worth the $8

 

[Jarubell]

I wish I saw this before I bought my upper hinge today!
Damn re-stocking fees!

 

[DeRocha]

Got this done last night. My bushings were in much worse shape than yours, two of them were completely worn away on one side. The only other thing I would suggest having on hand is a Torx bit of the appropriate size to adjust the striker pin. Someone had adjusted mine at some point in the truck's life, so even with the new hinges properly aligned I needed to move the striker a bit. This made a big difference in the opening/closing of my driver's door, but also cured a bunch of squeaks, rattles, and wind noise. Very well worth the $8

Did this thread help, and how did you end up supporting the door? I will be adding some additional info/pics to the above showing final pin install.. My striker pin was never re-adjusted to match the door sag, so when the new pins where install it matched up perfectly..

 

[zwoobah]

Yes, it helped a lot, your instructions were very clear.
I didn't have my floor jack with me, so I supported the door by passing a ratchet strap over a rafter and around the door frame (with the window rolled down). It worked OK, and the ratchet strap allowed me to adjust the door up and down as needed. If you've got a floor jack then use it and the strap together. My door wiggled and made it hard to get the hinges lined up perfectly.

 

[jtison]

Way cool writeup. Thanks!

One thing to add from the service manual -- there are torque specs for the hinge-to-pillar bolts: 18-26 ft lbs.

With that out of the way, the service manual (being written by people with an interest in selling new parts) doesn't tell us how to replace the pin, it just says to replace the hinge assembly. Anybody got an idea of what a new one costs (if you can even find one)?

 

[DeRocha]

One thing to add from the service manual -- there are torque specs for the hinge-to-pillar bolts: 18-26 ft lbs.

With that out of the way, the service manual (being written by people with an interest in selling new parts) doesn't tell us how to replace the pin, it just says to replace the hinge assembly. Anybody got an idea of what a new one costs (if you can even find one)?

Thanks for the torque specs.. Last time I checked the dealer had the hinges for about $25/each..

 

[Riceburner247]

Excellent info, helped a lot with todays install!

I'd just like to add that the Help! part # for a 91-94 4DR explorer is 38438. The 38410 pin as mentioned above will work as well, but they are about an inch longer than they need to be and there are 2 grooves for the E-clip, meaning it can probably be used on different fords. Look for the 38438's first. If the parts store doesn't have them in stock, the 38410's will work just fine.

 

[Anime]

I'm about to do this, and went to AutoZone (since the pins were $12 at Advance, geez) and they had both the 38438 ($8) and 38410 ($5.49). The pins and bushings are different diameters, as stated on the package, so the difference isn't just the length. From the Dorman site, it looks like the 38438 is the correct part for the Explorer, and the 38410 is for the Bronco and F-series pickups.

 

[adb63]

Thanks For The Great Posting

I was sick and tired of lifting up on my door with one hand and trying to close it with the other. I searched and found this post ( My prayers had been answered). This posting was very helpful in replacing my driver side door hinge pin and bushings. It took about 20 minutes to replace and my door is back to closing normal again. If I had not found this post would of had to take it to the dealer and don't know how much they would of charged me. This way it cost me $7.00 bucks and a little sweat.

Thanks again,

Adb63

 

[guevaramax]

!amazing!

Just wanted to say thanks so much for this post! The body shops i've taken it to have only damaged the door more, and told me they'd have to cut the hinges off only to replace them with $150 ones each. The pix are increadible as well! Thanks.

 

[neonarc77]

Does anyone know the diameter/width of the pins? I called Dorman Help and they said the 38438 should fit ALL Explorers.

I'm having trouble locating a Dorman dealer down here and there is a bolt store in town that carries generic hinge pins but I need the diameter.

We couldn't get the measuring tool all the way to the pin since the hinges are in the way.

 

[KanelJayhawk]

I just did this same thing Monday. My driver's side door has been sagging and I noticed the lower pin's bushings were worn badly. I bought the "Help!" pin and bushings and used a flat screw driver, a hack saw, a hammer, a pair of needle nose pliers, and a ratchet.

I held the door by hand to put the screws back in after I got the pin out- 2 hours later. When you don't have money to pay to get things done and don't have much in the way of tools you improvise, take breaks, sweat A LOT, and eventually you get the job done.:

 

[mrphiltx]

I tried mine tonight - got it all setup and suspended.
Then couldn't get the hinge pin out. My air hammer just dented the head, and banged up things around it. (didn't help that my air hammer doesn't work real well). Then I tried hacksawing, and that got me a little past nowhere. I managed to further trash the bottom bushing on the lower hinge, so the door feels worse when you close it now. (at least I can still close it!) I'll have to find some sort of power tool to get that pin out. Oh well.

 

[DeRocha]

I tried mine tonight - got it all setup and suspended.
Then couldn't get the hinge pin out. My air hammer just dented the head, and banged up things around it. (didn't help that my air hammer doesn't work real well). Then I tried hacksawing, and that got me a little past nowhere. I managed to further trash the bottom bushing on the lower hinge, so the door feels worse when you close it now. (at least I can still close it!) I'll have to find some sort of power tool to get that pin out. Oh well.

Did you 1st use a rotary tool or drill to score/weaken the upper pin head? As mentioned above you will need to use a rotary tool, or drill to score and weaken the upper head of the hinge pin. I them used a chisel bit in the air hammer to knock the head off. I then sprayed penetrating oil on the pin and used a smooth tapered bit to drive the pin down.

 

[think_7500]

I used the Dremel rotary tool to score the upper OEM pin compression fitting/head . I then used the air hammer (with a chisel bit) to knock the head off Flush with the top of the hinge. I then drove the pin down as pictured below. The air hammer took maybe 10 secs to remove the fitting and under 10 secs to drive the pin down.

the only substitution i would make on regarding this step if you have it available is instead of using the air hammer (which the bits are too big for the pin hole), I used a tent stake and a hammer to drive the the pin down after i scored the OEM pin/bushing. The stake worked perfectly because it was long enough to clear the top of my door hinge and use the hammer to drive the pin down and this standard tent stake was thinner then the pin.
note: the anti sieze packets front autozone (about $1.50 usually right next to the register) is enough to lubricate both pins if you change both of them out. For me, 1 pin did the trick for me, but for throughoughness, i did both pins, like derocha suggested and the second was icing on the cake well worth the $20.00 total i spent for a new can of penetrating oil, 1 packet of antisieze, and both pins (38438).

 

[JPistheman]

haha. just did this. had been waiting for a week to get my pin and bushings. got it all fitted on, closed the door and noticed that it was alot better but still didnt close. come to find out the bushings up top were shot to. cheers to another week of lifting the door with one hand and closing with another.

 

[X-North]

Where the locking ring goes when you install it ? I will buy one of this pins at my local store but wanna be sure how to install it correctly