Hey guys,
I did a search on "hinge" on this forum and went through the first 60 or 70 posts. I haven't seen any mention of the problem I found on my 87 TA. The driver side door sags and after careful inspection, it looked like the problem was the bottom hinge. I supported the door on a jack, removed the spring and pulled the pin out. The problem is in the bottom hinge, but the bushings are not worn. The hinge half on the door side is worn, and that side doesn't have bushings. (A little grease about 10-15 years ago probably would have prevented this).
So, now I've got the inner half of the hinge off, the bushings out, but I'm not sure how to fix the other half of the hinge. I'm thinking I'm going to have to drill the worn holes out and put a bushing where there wasn't a bushing before. I haven't taken the door completely off the car, but I may have to in order to get to the hinge to drill it out.
Anybody run into this before? Any suggestions on how to fix it?
Thanks

 

Well, if your talking about the same thing thats wrong with my 'bird, the holes in the bottom hinge that have no bushing are probably stretched. unless you can fab up something to find that gap, you'll need a new hinge.

 

I gonna take a shot at fixing it. I went to NAPA today and got a pin and bushing set ($6). It has 2 bushings for the body half of the hinge (.490 OD) and 2 extra bushings (.420 OD). I also went to Lowes and got a right angle adapter ($20) for a drill, and a 27/64 drill bit ($7), which works out to be .421875 inches. I'm going to try and drill the door half of the hinge and install the .420 bushings. Question is, can I get it drilled straight enough for everything to line up? We'll see....

I'm not sure which direction to install the addition bushings, though. I may need to grind down some of their height. I'll let you know how it all works out.

 

If you are good with a drill u can drill it straight, best bet would be to take the door off so you can get at it as easily as possible

 

If it works, take pictures along the way. You could make a great tech article out of that.

 

Just be careful and take your time, I'm sure you can do it if your patient. Just try not to get frustrated, I can see how that would get frustrating quickly....

 

I just came upstairs from working on the car. Bad news. The right angle drill adaptor is just a little too wide to fit back in the door, and the drill bit is too long. The adaptor hits the top hinge.
#$%@#^&* Seemed like such a good idea.
Oh well, looks like I'll be taking the door off. Even with the door off, I don't think I'll be able to get at the hinge to drill the pin holes out. I'm probably just going to check on getting a new hinge and do the job right.
Any suggestions on where to buy a hinge?
Thanks for the suggestions and encouragement!

 

All I can say is that I give you props for trying a job like this. *** knows after cussing and swearing about a job like this it don't matter who says what...

I recently purchased a complete hinge rebuild kit from Hawks. I am currently in the middle of a restoration, so I dunno how it will turn out just yet. But the kit looks great from what I can see. Thank *** both my doors are off and laying on a bench..

If you want to buy a hinge, then do you have a welder?? If I am not mistaken, it requires welds to put the new one in. If you do decide to go that route, then best of luck to you aligning the new hinge to square your door angles up just right when its done. You can bend it a bit if needed, that's just a part of owning a thirdgen with sagging doors. But if the angle of the hinge weld is wrong you are screwed...

Somebody with more experience would be a plus here. I have never welded in new hinges. But I did have a door on my car that I scrapped because the hinge was replaced, welded wrong and the door just didnt sit right on the car.

Good luck with your project.

 

I may be mistaken, but I've heard the replacement door hinges are bolt on, and the factories are welded. Not sure if this is correct, just what I've heard....

 

The replacements are bolt on. They come with a tapped anchor plate that goes inside the door. That's what the new hinge bolts to. Check out this site: http://andyz28.com/3rdGen/gmmanual.html
I just ordered the Lower Door Hinge Strap (GM part no 12525126) today from fbodymotorsports.com. $56 including shipping and that's just for half a hinge. Fortunately, that's all I need. I pressed new bushings in my body side hinge strap and it's good to go. I called a couple local GM dealers today and they can still order these parts. GM gets $75 for half a hinge, though.
Guess they know they've got you by the goodies when you get to that point.
Man, I dread taking that door off. I replaced a door on another car before. It takes a lot of patience and perserverence to get it back right. Oh well, it's gotta be done.