Ok, since the new hinge bolts didnt work, nore did a hinge bending tool i got from TDS work, im gona have to take it to a shop to get the doors fixed right. Has anyone ever had this done to there car and how much would you expect me to have to pay for both doors?

I had to take mine to a body shop to get all of the hinges replaced. It cost me over $700.00 because the hinges were a "special item". I would suggest buying the hinges yourself from somebody like Hawks, and then taking it to a body shop. It will save you a lot of money. They charged me way to much money for those damn hinges.

you think they are exspensive in the US.. you want to be sitting down when you inquire hinges in Canada for these cars. It's a good thing for my sake that my hinges and pins are ok. .. Ya I agree if you can locate the hinges elsewhere go for it.. I wonder how long before places like Classic Industires has them .. I wonder what the $$$ would be like.

"Hinge bolts didnt work"? What hinge bolts?

The new hinge bolts i got from TDS , the bolts that go between the slots for your hinge and your door.

hawks sells new hinges for like 96$ i think.

i was told about 400 for putting new hinges on top and bottom since they have to be welded also or somthing and id also have to supply the hinges they said try a temp fix util that or get a new door

is that per door?

In my experience it is always preferable to repair the existing hinges if at all possible.

The door hinge replacement process is pretty ghastly. The hinges are welded to the door, and the replacements are bolted on with four little 5/16" bolts.

"slots"?

Hinge brackets don't wear out, the pins get bent in most cases. If necessary bend the hinge brackets slightly the way the should have been when new, then get new pins. It isn't a $700 job. Maybe $200 at the most. I wouldn't pay over $50 for someone to do it.

never done a door hinge but whats the big deal....couldnt 1 go to a junkyard and buy some hinges (possibly free hehe) and them slap em on there car .Or is it easier said than done are special tools involved or something

i did this, it didnt work

How didn't it work? Replacing the pins and bending the hinge back into its original position (if it even is bent) is all that there is to a hinge.

Idk. I replaced both top and bottem pins and even tried TDS's ez door tool and still didnt work.

Maybe it would help if you explain what your doors are doing?

I just aligned my passenger door, and replaced the top and bottm pins in the driver door, both doors work like new now.

Try loosening the lower hinge (the side that attaches to car, not the door), jack the door up a tiny bit higher than you want it to rest, then tighten them. I did it, although it may not be the proper way, it worked well.

i tried that. after tightning the bolts back into place and lowering the jack, the door slumped back down into its old (bad) spot.

i got mine from gm. not bad i had to replace 2 pins and 2 hinges. the hinges were not that hard. i did them when i was 18 or 17. u need to drill out the spot welds. then they give you a templet you put on the door. drill out a couple of holes. then bolt your new hinges up to it. it seriously did not even take me 3 hours.

was that the top or bottem hinge though? because the top one is welded on

I could be wrong, I have never really looked at my hinges on my cars. I do know that GM trucks also have bushings...are our 3rd gens the same way? So if you replace the pins, but not the bushings, you might not fix the problem?

No GM's truck hinges are different.

Stalin05 has already repaired the hinges. They no longer have up and down movement. His only remaining problem now is that he removed the door hinges from the frame and now needs to re-align the door. It sounds as if re-aligning the door is beyond his ability and he needs to take it to a Body Shop only to have them do it. Ultimately he's saved a lot of money verses having the shop repair or replace the hinges too.

Lon Salgren
Top-Down Solutions

ya per door,i only asked one shop and i can see this shop from my house window its a real nice body repair shop in middle of no where location so if i went to somwhere else it probally would be cheaper

What most likely happened is the worn out pins actually elongated the holes that the pins and bushings sit in. I replaced the hinges on my drivers door and it took the better part of a saturday. There is a LOT of grinding involved as the hinges are WELDED to the door and the door bolts to the car. I read a post on here about a guy who took the door off and drilled the holes oversized then found a larger pin and bushing set to fit in them. If you buy the hinges new make sure you get all 3 pieces. The lower hinge is 2 spices and the top is one. Let me know if you decide to do this yourself. I can give you some pointers.

Update!

Today i took it to a body shop called "Scottys Auto Body" and they told me it would be around $750-850 PER DOOR!!
After telling the owner a few kind words, I took it to another body shop where the guy told me for $200 he could align both doors and place both my new fenders on. So i took it. Oh and on the one door that I did replace the hinge bolts from TDS, both places told me my door still had play in it. Not saying its anything TDS did, but it still had some play.

75 bux a door. I work at a body shop, whoever told you that its 700 sumthing is smoking crack and using you to support his habbit.

I need to get my driver side door fixed
and my floor board repaired.

Wheres your shop?

So your shop will remove the old door, cut the welds on the door for each hinge , prep and paint the holes to prevent corrosion, color match and paint the new hinges, drill mounting holes for the new hinges, disassemble the door to get the nut inserts in, align the new hinges, re-assemble the door, hang the door back up, and align the door for 75 bucks?

yep, someones on crack.

Whoever is taking a grinder to it is CRAZY.

It's just four spot welds on the hinge... Drill the damn things out. It would be half the time, half the effort.

It doesn't seem all THAT bad.

I hate taking the door apart on these cars more than anything, that would **** me off more than the rest I think... lol

for the next door searcher.
hinges
http://www.paddockparts.com/Paddock/...=false&GiftID=

Or; http://www.paddockparts.com/Paddock/productr.asp?pf%

I dont really understand why the hinges are welded in place anyways. They should have been bolt on to the door and the car itself in my opinion. They just made these door hinges way to difficult knowing that they would go bad because of the size and weight of the monster doors. Has anyone ever changed from the welded to bolts on the door?

They were probably thinking if they welded them in place they would be stronger than being bolted.. And were trying to avert the problem b/c they knew the doors were heavy. That would be my guess.

Spot welded because it is faster and cheaper for the factory. If you remove the hinges there is a tool for removing a spot weld. It has an inner guide and a "saw" to drill around the spot weld. Find it at the local body shop materials store, prob not at autocrap or the like.

Actually they are not "spot" welded, they are MIG welded from inside the door, and the weld is quite heavy. The instructions that come with the replacement hinges instruct you to drill completely through the hinge and door to remove the welds, then backfill the holes with MIG weld and grind them smooth. Then glue a large paper template to the door to be used as a guide in locating the new holes, drill the new holes (and through the new MIG welds) to bolt the hinge onto the door. Their is a mild steel plate that goes inside the door for these bolts to thread into, then reattach the door to the car, and adjust as required, which is a pain.

The original door hinges do not require any adjustment, one bolt hole in each hinge is the exact size of the bolt. I much prefer to restore the original kits mentioned above, and retain my original hinges, which I feel are much stronger than the replacement bolt-on type.

Well think about it for a moment.. What better way for a company to ensure that the car comes back for service later.
Most normal people who would have bought these cars would not have had the skill or knowhow in order to replace the welded on hinges. therefore they would take them to a dealership (most likely) In order to have the hinges replaced. Now... considering a bodyshop wants 1000$ to replace a door.....(it was on a cherokee but those are easier to get than our doors) and paint it.... Imagine what it would cost at a dealership now to get the hinges on the car fixed... I cringe just thinking about it.. Anyone who makes anything, (if they are a large company) makes it to wear the customer will have to return to them at some point so they can soak some more money out of them....

Mine thank *** are not welded onto the car.. So i must have gotten lucky and they were replaced beforehand.
I had an 80' camaro which came from the factory with bolt on hinges. along with a few pre 80's chevy trucks