Door hinge pin/bushing replacement

[Roger Babich]

Thought I'd pass along info on the repair of my driver's door hinge pin bushings. I've had our '92 XLT 4x4 with 150,000 on it for a few months now and the driver's door didn't close as easy as all the others. Lifting the end of the door up and down showed the lower hinge pin bushings were shot. Replacing the bushings is about a 45 min job. The bushings I used are a bronze flanged bearing 5/16" shaft ID x 7/16" OD x 1/2" thick. These can be obtained from McMaster Carr - part no. 6338K452 for $.52 ea. Two are required for each hinge assembly. McMaster Carr catalogs are only given out to business accounts, but a friend of mine gives me his old ones. They will take phone orders, credit cards and UPS them to you. The shipping will probably cost more than the bushings. I used a 5/16" x 3" bolt with a nylon locknut that I had lying around for the "pin". If I ever have to replace the bushings again I won't have to remove the assembly, just the bolt. Removing the lower hinge assembly can be done while leaving the top hinge in place. Mark the position of the lower hinge on the door jamb with a pencil or chalk. Remove the kick panel and the rubber body gasket seal under it. A ground strap might have to be removed, too. There is a nut inside the chamber for one of the four hinge assembly attaching points. The other bolt on the body side of the hinge assembly can be taken out with the door wide open, but a universal 1/2" socket on a long extension was the only thing I could get on the darn thing. Not a universal joint with a 1/2"socket, but one of those "universal sockets" that I have always thought would be kind of neat to have - borrowed my neighbor's. Wrap the extension with duct tape or slip a thin hose over it to protect the paint. The door side bolts can come out next. Now the fun part, the hinge will come out, but only 1 way. Lift the door up as high as you can and work the hinge around until it comes out - it will. Once it is out, drill out the old pin, pound out the old bushings and put it back together with the new bushings/bolt. Watch which way the flanged ends of the bushings go. I cut 1/2" off the stud that made removing the hinge such a pain. Put it all back together and adjust the door. I ordered some other hardware so the shipping was minimal - cost to repair $1.12. The door now closes nice and smooth.

Roger Babich
'92 Explorer XLT 4x4