I bought the TDS hinge kit and I got the upper hinges ground off, but they are impossible to remove after that! I've hit the top one many times with a hammer and a long punch, but it doesnt even budge. Also the bottom pin on the upper hinge looks hard to get out as well, especially from lack of space. Im also having trouble getting the lower hinge pin driven out, but I still have a few things left to try.

 

GameRS,

Have you supported the door to keep the weight off of the hinges? I've done the same repair on an '82 and they were a "Bugger" to bang out. If the ENTIRE head of the old pin is removed and the weight is off the door it shouldn't be that hard. I used a zip wheel (i.e. small grinder) to completely remove the head.....one of those little Dremels with a grinder head would be very good as well.

Kurt

 

JUst did them last night, I cheated, took the whole door off. I have it on the saw horse. I have a cheap air chisel and used it to knock out the pins after the heads were gone/grind. I used a small drill bit to make a hole in the grouns pins.
Even with the air chisel, the entire pin head had to be ground down before they would pop out.

 

thanks for the quick replys. yes the door is supported from underneath so there is no weight on the upper hinges, and the head is ground off flush with the hinge. I may end up taking the door off too but would rather not. Also, how did you guys get the lower pin out? Thanks alot

 

Lower pin: Remove the clip with prongs that's on the pin(right under the hinge). Wack the pin up with a hammer and a punch. Spray some lube on it. Inspect the roller and pin also, the one that the spring arm rests agains. Mine was shot.
How to install your 3rd Gen Solutions pin kit

 

one more
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/body...hab-resto.html

 

thanks. i guess for the top pins i will end up spraying some wd40 on them and letting it soak for a while, then put some thick foam around the pins with a hole in it for the punch to go through, then really whack at it hard. Before, I was afraid of the punch slipping and damaging the areas around the pin. For the bottom pin, I was thinking of putting a c-clamp on it upside-down and whacking the clamp up so I have a place to hit the hammer on.

 

The lower pins are easy to remove, space is limited so clamp the lower part of the pin with some vise grips and hit away. There is an expanding ring around the lower pin so take it off the pin first.

 

Ok I got the hinges out after I took the whole door off the car. That bottom hinge was in there REAL good and took me a while to drive it out. After that, installing the new hinges was a piece of cake by comparison. Bolting the door back up and aligning it wasn't too bad. I bought the spring remover tool from TDS and it was really helpful, I advise anyone to use it instead of prying the spring out and watching it go flying right up at your face after scratching the paint in several spots! It was a real time saver

Now I can close my door as easily as a 2000+ car, and no more scrapes in the GFX! I took it for a drive and what a difference! The car was so much quieter, I wasn't expecting that. Overall the body just felt a bit more solid, its hard to explain. This can be a hard job depending on your tools and experience, neither of which I had much of, but it does pay off.

 

Great
I just finished also, two fingers shut the door now. No more Butt-Bump neccessary. I had some issues getting the hinges bolted back to the body, bought some new bolts.
Check out my bottom hinges, something look weird

 

I also replaced the rubber boot that channels the wiring harness between the body and door. This item was not available at the dealership, I got one at the junkyard. I found that that hole allowed one of the wire to get cut.

 

wow your old boot was in BAD shape! Mine was still pretty good, but i had to cut 2 wires to remove the door, the others I just disconnected. I resoldered them afterwards. My door wasnt easy to reconnect and line up either. I actually used my snowmobile lift to jack up the end of the door and tighten the bottom hinge bolts. I then moved the lift on wheels with the door resting on it so that the door was all the way open. Then I tightened those down and the door closed pretty well. I think it still needs some adjustment in the striker bolt though.