door hinges
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 16
Likes: 0
From: Napoleon,MO.
Car: 1986Camaro
Engine: carb350
Transmission: 700R4
door hinges
I have an 86 Camaro and of course the door drops when you open it. So I figured I'd give GM a call and get some new ones and much to my surprise the hinges cost more than what I gave for the car!! Upper hinges are $154.48 a side and the lowers,which you have to buy in two pieces, are $99.89 for the door side and $92.18 for the body side. After I heard that I passed out for a while a when I came to GM had hung up so I didn't get to ask any questions(was to scared to call back). I asked the body techs(I work at a collision repair shop) what I could do and they said I could get bigger bushings or weld and redrill the holes. Is this the norm or is GM pulling my leg? Is there any aftermarket out there? Also, where is a good place to get sheetmetal besides GM? I've done paint and body for years and this just took me by surprise. Are these Camaros parts that expensive? I know you have to pay to play but that is BS.
Thanks ahead of time and I hope I have been mislead!
Thanks ahead of time and I hope I have been mislead!
Member
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 125
Likes: 0
From: Spring Valley, NY : Atlanta, GA
Car: 1992 Camaro RS Convertible
Engine: 3.1
Transmission: Auto
surprised nobody replied to this yet... one of the sponsors sells kits that sound like they will fix your problem. The company is Top Down Solutions and they sell both a greasable and none greasable repair kit. This is there "top of the line" kit that will take care of both doors, but you can find nongreasable sets for about 70 a pop i think. Hope this helps
~Marc P
~Marc P
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 5,964
Likes: 37
From: Hacienda Heights, CA
Car: 90 RS 'Vert, 88 IROC-Z, 88 Firebird
Engine: 305 ci tbi, 305 ci tpi, 350 ci tpi
Transmission: WC-T5, WC-T5, 700R4
Axle/Gears: 3.45, 3.27, 3.27
If you'd done a SEARCH you'd find out there are two methods to repair your door hinges.
Hard way (as quoted from Andy Sherrer (aka Andy Z28). He came up with a better way to repair the hinges, which will be described later.
Andy came up with a better repair method and had it fabricated for the rest of us. Here is a description of the second and better hinge repair method using the hinge repair kits that Andy came up with (and I sell).
Here is one of the hinge kits I'm referring to:
As you can see, it cosists of new CNC machined 4140 electroless nickle plated pins and phosphor bronze bushings, mil-spec lock nuts and new lower hinge pins and bushings. There is even a better kit which has hinge pins that are greasable, so you'll know you are getting grease right where it is needed.
Both the TDS 20370 Upper HInge Repair Kit and TDS 201370 Greasable Upper HInge Repair Kit are available on my web site. Since you work at a Body Shop they should have a GM door spring tool. You'll need this tool to re-install the door spring onto the detent bar.
Lon Salgren
Top-Down Solutions
Hard way (as quoted from Andy Sherrer (aka Andy Z28). He came up with a better way to repair the hinges, which will be described later.
Here is the "official" GM solution to the worn out upper door hinge.
1. Completely remove the door from the vehicle.
Scribe the location of the upper hinge where it attaches to the door.
2. Guess at the location of the welds. Then drill them out from the outside of the door with a ½" drill. A slight amount of weld may still retain the hinge to the panel. If so, drive a chisel between the panel and the hinge to separate the hinge from the panel (that's a joke; I have done 2 of these jobs. Of the 8 welds I drilled out, I missed on 7 of them. Slight amount of weld my butt).
3. Once the hinge has been removed. Locate the replacement hinge on the door. Now drill 4 entirely different holes to BOLT the new hinge to the door with a threaded reinforcing plate inside the door (before you bolt the new hinge on you will notice that the area where the hinge attaches to the door now looks like Swiss cheese).
4. The original hinge is attached to the body with 3 bolts, but the replacement hinge has only 2. So you must use a piece of paper and a pencil to poke a hole through the paper to locate the hole and transfer it to the new hinge (I'm not making this stuff up! This is the procedure outlined in 10-5-20 Doors of the GM service manual).
5. Reinstall the door back onto the car. If you have done anything wrong during this elaborate procedure. You'll know it!
1. Completely remove the door from the vehicle.
Scribe the location of the upper hinge where it attaches to the door.
2. Guess at the location of the welds. Then drill them out from the outside of the door with a ½" drill. A slight amount of weld may still retain the hinge to the panel. If so, drive a chisel between the panel and the hinge to separate the hinge from the panel (that's a joke; I have done 2 of these jobs. Of the 8 welds I drilled out, I missed on 7 of them. Slight amount of weld my butt).
3. Once the hinge has been removed. Locate the replacement hinge on the door. Now drill 4 entirely different holes to BOLT the new hinge to the door with a threaded reinforcing plate inside the door (before you bolt the new hinge on you will notice that the area where the hinge attaches to the door now looks like Swiss cheese).
4. The original hinge is attached to the body with 3 bolts, but the replacement hinge has only 2. So you must use a piece of paper and a pencil to poke a hole through the paper to locate the hole and transfer it to the new hinge (I'm not making this stuff up! This is the procedure outlined in 10-5-20 Doors of the GM service manual).
5. Reinstall the door back onto the car. If you have done anything wrong during this elaborate procedure. You'll know it!
1. Support the door somehow (floor jack, engine hoist, sober friends, etc).
2. Using a compact die grinder (i.e. Dremel tool) Grind off the small end of the upper hinge pins where the factory has riveted / swaged them on.
3. Remove the lower hinge spring and hinge pin.
4. Tap out the old upper hinge pins; pull the door "slightly" away from the car body. And remove the old upper hinge bushings (and lower if you want to replace them also.
5. Install my new upper bushings. Move the door carefully back into position and install my upper hinge pins.
6. Reinstall the lower hinge pin and spring.
You're done! I have done this job in as little as 47 minutes, but I tell most people to plan it to take about 2 hours.
2. Using a compact die grinder (i.e. Dremel tool) Grind off the small end of the upper hinge pins where the factory has riveted / swaged them on.
3. Remove the lower hinge spring and hinge pin.
4. Tap out the old upper hinge pins; pull the door "slightly" away from the car body. And remove the old upper hinge bushings (and lower if you want to replace them also.
5. Install my new upper bushings. Move the door carefully back into position and install my upper hinge pins.
6. Reinstall the lower hinge pin and spring.
You're done! I have done this job in as little as 47 minutes, but I tell most people to plan it to take about 2 hours.
As you can see, it cosists of new CNC machined 4140 electroless nickle plated pins and phosphor bronze bushings, mil-spec lock nuts and new lower hinge pins and bushings. There is even a better kit which has hinge pins that are greasable, so you'll know you are getting grease right where it is needed.
Both the TDS 20370 Upper HInge Repair Kit and TDS 201370 Greasable Upper HInge Repair Kit are available on my web site. Since you work at a Body Shop they should have a GM door spring tool. You'll need this tool to re-install the door spring onto the detent bar.
Lon Salgren
Top-Down Solutions
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 5,964
Likes: 37
From: Hacienda Heights, CA
Car: 90 RS 'Vert, 88 IROC-Z, 88 Firebird
Engine: 305 ci tbi, 305 ci tpi, 350 ci tpi
Transmission: WC-T5, WC-T5, 700R4
Axle/Gears: 3.45, 3.27, 3.27
Sorry it took so LONG to reply. All that cutting & pasting takes time. 
Lon
Lon
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Hotrodboba400
Firebirds for Sale
3
Dec 10, 2019 07:07 PM