Well my drivers side had been saging for a while but never had the time nor money to fix it. Well today it finally happened the bushing broke. To replace i was told that i had to remove the entire door is this true or can it be done with the door on the car ?

 

The best way of repairing the upper hinge is to remove the door and install the hinge rebuild kit sold by http://www.top-downsolutions.com

I used the grease-able kits and they work great!

 

Is removing the door necessary?

JamesC

 

Top Down Solutions sell a rebuild kit for these cars and I sure you don't need to remove the door. You do need a dremel tool to cut the top of the hinge off though.

http://www.top-downsolutions.com/ind...493dc97815029a

 

I dont thing the hinge is bad. The bushing just kinda bent over and is not meeting with the hinge.

 

That should have been cut off the top of the hinge PIN and not the hinge itself.

 

Repair of the upper hinge requires that you grind off the head of the pressed pin and drive it out. The bushings in the upper hinge must come out. (Otherwise you cannot install the repair kit.) The only way to remove them is to remove the door.

The lower hinge is held in place with a simple pin and brass bushings that are easy to replace.

The upper hinge repair kit also comes with the lower hinge pin and a set of lower hinge bushings.

 

yeah its the upper bushing. So the door will need to be removed? cant i just drop a new bushing and pin in?

 

The upper hinge has a steel collared bushing between the hinge plates that the pressed pin goes through. The bushing becomes worn, cracks or breaks and the hinge becomes sloppy, the door sags and causes wear on the lower hinge assembly. Plus, it contributes to accelerated wear on the body side hinge mounted roller pin.

So, to answer your question, "can I just drop a new bushing and pin in"? GM does not sell a seperate upper bushing and pin or repair kit. Only the hinge assemblies. To repair it correctly, you will need to purchase a repair kit as I mentioned in the very first post. Otherwise, your options are to remove the hinge from the door and body and install the entire hinge assembly that GM sells or cut a donar from junk car. The last option is to jury rig it. Your call.

Good luck.

 

WOW....THATS ALOT CHEAPER THAN HAWKS. Hawks doesnt have a kit but they have all those parts and it would come to like $270 or more I think...didnt add anything but alone the kit for the hinges is $100...so...add another then add bushings and other parts that dont come with it....SWEET TDS IS AWESOME.

 

IIRC, TDS sells AndyZ28's kit. If so, there's no reason to remove the door apparently. Here's his instruction page:

http://www.andyz28.com/3rdGen/installation.html

JamesC

 

Thats a real big help.

 

If you've ever installed the upper hinge repair kit, surely you'll also go to the trouble of installing the lower replacement pin and bushings. They come with the upper hinge repair kit. Gone to all that trouble? The door comes off so easily... Besides, to install the upper repair kit chances are that you'll also need to slightly enlarge the hinge holes for the insertion of the brass collars. Again, it's a whole lot easier to remove the door.

free advice from someone who's done it.

 

That's the beauty of TGO.

JamesC

 

I got off the phone with Top Down Solutions and he said you remove the door but not so far as you have to remove any wiring. Once you you’ve ground off the pins and driven them out you move the door a couple inches (having a jack to hold them up) remove the bushings and reinstall. It's probable hardy than it sounds but not too bad especially if you have someone to give you a hand.

 

The part that is probably going to be the hassle is how do you hold the door up, especially if yours is in good shape to start with.

 

Can someone explain why the TDS kit is $212....my brother thinks thats super expensive....I want someone to either tell him why or just let him know this shyts expensive...Thanks...I H8 having to get into an arguement with him about this so I told him I would ask why. Sorry guys.

Plus I told him some of the parts are better quality than stock...harder, stronger like that.

 

you can get the regular replacement parts cheaper. but this is for a greasable kit also. less wear and will last longer than the originals if kept lubed. plus its someone elses product so he probably doesnt get much of a discount on it. they price has jumped though it used to be like $89 a door or something instead of $106