DeRocha's Door Hinge Pin Replacement w/pics

[Israel]

Thanks for all the pictures and tips DeRocha. I am doing
My driver door pins next week.!!

 

[sewebber]

removing the entire front door

I need to remove the entire right front door, not just the hinge pin. I cannot figure out the wiring. It passes into the right footwell but is behind electronics and other items. Are the wires unplugged from the door or from the body, and if so where?

 

[DeRocha]

I need to remove the entire right front door, not just the hinge pin. I cannot figure out the wiring. It passes into the right footwell but is behind electronics and other items. Are the wires unplugged from the door or from the body, and if so where?

Take a peek at the Inner Door panel repair for some relevant info and pictures like the one below. I'm not 100% sure (more like 90%) that the door wiring harness has NO quick disconnects. You'd need to feed the door wiring out of the door and leave it dangling where the rubber grommet is.

 

[C2H5OH]

Can I just replace the rear hinges? Are there nuts inside the beams that will fall down?

 

[FirstExplorer]

I wish I could buy you a case of your favorite brewskis. Your write-up on this fix is spot-on! My son and i just finished replacing the hinge pins on the drivers door that was sagging and hard to close. We followed your instructions exactly and now it closes like new.

Instead of a dremel tool to score and grind the bolt heads, we used a pneumatic rotary tool. We also replaced the striker on the latch side....they canalso get kind of loose.

2 hours from start to finish.

Thanks!

 

[cobo351]

As many others have said, very nice write-up!

Thank You to everyone thats shared info on this repair!

Cory

 

[alpine]

Who would of thought a post as old as this one would still be helping explorer owners. Thanks DeRocha

 

[DeRocha]

You're very Welcome Alpine, Hopefully it made the job a little easier..

 

[zippy]

I have been messing with my door today, trying to get it to line up properly and then I found this thread. I will have to wait until it's light out and not raining to check and see if my pins look worn, but it wouldn't surprise me. If they need to be replaced - thanks in advance for the writeup

That said, I don't think it will solve one issue that I am having trouble with: adjusting the door position front to back. The spacing on my drivers door is a little off. The gap on the front side of the door - between door and front quarter panel - is only about 1/8 inch. But the gap on the other side, between front and back doors, is about 3/8 inches. The adjustment bolts that connect the hinges to the door seem to allow for adjusting the top and bottom of the door in/out, but nothing that I can find lets the door slide left/right. It's a 96 (not the correct sub-forum, I know). I tried loosening the hinge where it mounts to the body, but that doesn't seem to offer any adjustment. I suppose I could put some washers between the door and hinges to shim it a bit, but it seems like there should be an adjustment technique that I haven't figured out??

Incidentally, all of my problems seemed to start one day a number of years ago when a gust of wind ripped the door out of my hand and hyper-extended the hinges. The body where the top hinge mounts actually has a bit of a stress fracture from this incident. This may be one of those situations where close-enough is as good as I will get.

 

[FirstExplorer]

Incidentally, all of my problems seemed to start one day a number of years ago when a gust of wind ripped the door out of my hand and hyper-extended the hinges. The body where the top hinge mounts actually has a bit of a stress fracture from this incident. This may be one of those situations where close-enough is as good as I will get.

I have seen this happen many times in Fords, where the door hyper-extends. The hinges are probably sprung and need to be replaced.

 

[FixingDaily]

Glad this thread is "Sticky" posted. Can't wait to give it a try. Been dealing with the saggy door for about 3 years now, but its gotten bad enough I finally came to the forum for advise.

 

[FixingDaily]

DeRocha,

Many thanks for the great write-up!!! Did the job this afternoon. Not sure if the part numbers changed, but I used the Dorman kit 703-270. I found it on Ebay from autopartsexpress for $5.99 and free shipping. This kit came with two assemblies to do both the upper and lower hinges.

Lessons learned:

1. $13.00 air hammer from Harbor Freight was ineffective.
2. 1st pin was very difficult to get out. Changed my technique on the lower pin and popped it out in about 5 minutes (neither of the pins showed any signs of rust). On the 2nd pin I used a Dremell tool and an abrasive metal grinding bit. I ground as much of the top of the pin as i could then used a flat file to bring it all the way to smooth with hinge metal. I then used a long punch and standard hammer. 6-8 blows knocked the pin out of the upper part. I was able to remove the inner hinge piece and then easily knock the pin out the rest of the way.

After getting the new pins installed, door feels like new now!!!

Again, many Thanks on your original write-up, especially supporting the door from overhead.

 

[Seabiscuit68]

It looks like its my turn to use your excellent instructions and do this job. Mine is so bad that lifting and slamming is almost not an option anymore. I've already replaced the inner door pull which eventually gave out from all the stress so this is a good time to fix it right. I should mention that I found an excellent brand new replacement for the door pull on ebay for about $5 with perfect color and fit. Anyway, I don't have air tools or a tree branch or a rafter or an 8 ft ladder but I do have a dremel, plus I'm persistent and not easily intimidated. Before I tackle this I have two questions. is there any advice on what metal grinding bit would work in my dremel? Cone? Ball? Other? Also I was wondering couldn't the pin be driven upwards instead, avoiding grinding the head off?
I'll figure out some way to stabilize the door. Wish me luck.

 

[FixingDaily]

It looks like its my turn to use your excellent instructions and do this job. Mine is so bad that lifting and slamming is almost not an option anymore. I've already replaced the inner door pull which eventually gave out from all the stress so this is a good time to fix it right. I should mention that I found an excellent brand new replacement for the door pull on ebay for about $5 with perfect color and fit. Anyway, I don't have air tools or a tree branch or a rafter or an 8 ft ladder but I do have a dremel, plus I'm persistent and not easily intimidated. Before I tackle this I have two questions. is there any advice on what metal grinding bit would work in my dremel? Cone? Ball? Other? Also I was wondering couldn't the pin be driven upwards instead, avoiding grinding the head off?
I'll figure out some way to stabilize the door. Wish me luck.

SB,

I used a variety of grinding bits through the process.

The original hinge pin ends seem to have been formed in place (i.e. they do not use a c-clip to hold them in place). You have to grind off one end or the other of each pin, the tops being the easiest to get to.

In regards to stabilizing the door, I used a stud finder to find a suitable stud in my garage ceiling and then drilled in and attached a hook. You will absolutely need to support the door in some way and this job is much easier if you can use a jack on the bottom and some kind of support at the top. Also have a rag handy to put between the door and the front fender so that the door doesn't slip and scratch the fender.

Good Luck.

John

 

[Seabiscuit68]

SB,

I used a variety of grinding bits through the process.

The original hinge pin ends seem to have been formed in place (i.e. they do not use a c-clip to hold them in place). You have to grind off one end or the other of each pin, the tops being the easiest to get to.

In regards to stabilizing the door, I used a stud finder to find a suitable stud in my garage ceiling and then drilled in and attached a hook. You will absolutely need to support the door in some way and this job is much easier if you can use a jack on the bottom and some kind of support at the top. Also have a rag handy to put between the door and the front fender so that the door doesn't slip and scratch the fender.

Good Luck.

John

Thanks for the input. I did it this morning in a little over two hours. It would have been a lot less if I had the OP's nifty tools. I used a pair of 38438s @ $9.99 ea and a pack of grinding bits from Harbor Freight @ $3.99 although I only used one, the gray cone. Everything went fine except I hit the dome light switch with the hammer and broke it off. Sheesh. I found the button and glued it back on so the dome light goes off again. My door is now aligned perfectly and closes like new again. Much thanks to DeRocha for this post.

 

[mr cribb]

I did my door pins today.

The top is usually the culprit, but my bottom pin was the troublemaker for me.

 

[SquireWhipple]

I'm needing to replace the drivers door upper hinge pin and saw DeRocha's Door Hinge Pin Replacement w/pics. This post made me realize the need to better support the door from flopping loose as the old pin is removed. I have some nice ratchet straps that should work well.

 

[SquireWhipple]

I also did the bottom pin first. Now I need to do the top one. DeRocha's Door Hinge Pin Replacement w/pics. This post made me realize the need to better support the door from flopping loose as the old pin is removed. I have some nice ratchet straps that should work well.

 

[mr cribb]

A pair of jack stands helps the bottom and I used my huge city trash can as the rest of the support

 

[SquireWhipple]

I recently replaced my front breaks with standard rotors and premium pads. I have truly noticed a benefit from the premium pads. Smother, surer more power and control with these, and they claim to improve even rotor wear. Should I post this as a new thread?