Door Changing 101

Ok so folks give all their door changing tips.

Look like the bottom hing bolts come off from the inside of the car???
the top they are on the out side.

 

Me too!

I'll be changing the driver door soon, any secrets that could speed the process?

Thanks,
Max

 

If you remove the splash pannel in the wheel well you can easily get to the bolts without having to work around the hinges.

 

Probably gonna end up doing this alone too........

 

TTT

 

I will also be doing this in the near future, so I would like tips as well.

 

I gotta put new pins and bushings in mine. Someone told me that there is a special compressor to put the spring back in. Unless your hinges are really messed up, I think you can just knock them out and not have to mess with unbolting the hinges at all.... Right? Anyone know where I can get the compressor?

 

Top Down Soloutions sells the spring compressor tool. You can also use a piece of wire and a bench vise, but I'd much rather use the correct tool. Makes things a lot easier.

 

Thats how me and my dad did it. It works good but its hard to get the wire back out.

 

To hold the door in place while removing or installing you can hang it with straps between the legs of a ladder.

 

i changed my door not but a month ago, yes 2 inside cab bolts behind starter relay at kick panel access hole

it is possible to pull all the electronics through the hole in the door after it is removed so you will need something to prop the door up to do that, also make sure the door panel/armrest are removed to make it easier

1/2 open ended wrench (longest you can find) will work fine for most of it but will need sockets for the inside bolts

the 2 front bolts 1 top 1 bottom can only be accessed through fender, dont need to pull tire off just lock it to the left(for driver side) and move splash panel out of the way

did i mention to remove door with the window down?


installation, not sure how alot of people feel about it but i shut the door against the locking pin and wedged the front up with a towel between the rocker and the door, installed the front 2 bolts and had them 1/2 turn from tight and then installed 2 interior bolts (yes using superman position on driver seat which was fully reclined, again 1/2 from tight)

(Watch for fender clearance!!!) with door cracked open 45° you can find something the correct height to have door rest on slightly with you not sitting in driver seat. after putting the last bolts in (yes, all 1/2 turn from tight) you need to play with the closing of the door and fender clearance, eyeball the front gap and tighten down top bolt, then play with the back end height by sitting in the car then tightening down the bolts

dont tighten the 2 interior until the door has been aligned properly, should only need to play with the 2 fronts to get it properly aligned, however, might need to tighten down the other 2 top if the front slips

 

So just knocking the pins out of the hinges makes it easier, just gotta deal with the spring.

Should also make them line up perferct???

Should also make it easier doing it on my own, then trying to get bolts in.

I found some nice ones and just need to nail down how Im gonna pull it off before I go buy them.

Sort of need to do it quick so I don't get questioned on what Im spening money on now

 

I dont know if they will line up perfectly, but they will be close.

 

When I remove a door with the hinges assembled, in order to make sure I get them aligned the way they were, is I try to drill a tiny hole through the hinge and through the body or door...whichever side the hinges come off.

havent had to do this to my thirdgen yet... But Ive done it on other cars. Then you just use a pin or nail in the two holes before bolting it down. That will put things back the way they were...then make your final adjustments.

Might be hard or impossible to get the drill in on a thirdgen though. I havent really looked, but it seems pretty tight.

J.

 

I would think the "Drill a hole" Technique could be made to work if you took the fender off first.... Usually the problem with the doors sagging is from the pins and bushings. If you knock the pins out it's pretty straightforward. I've never done it on a thirdgen, but I've done it on a 91 chevy fullsize truck. The doors are really heavy!! LOL If you have two people to help you, it should be really easy, though.

 

Well I tackled this today and it was to easy, didn't pull the fender or anything.
Just used a wrench on 4 out of 6 bolts.

The new door went on real easy and I didn't have to align shiet.
Bolted right up and shut nice.

Now the problem of putting all the guts form my door into this one that is empty.


I called a few places today and they want near $200 to swap the guts for me.

Dunno how I was gonna drill the rivits out that hold the window to the track and getting a good idea of how thing work by peeking though the holes and so I thought about it. Took some time flipping and turning the door seeing what I could inside from different angles.

Then thought, the door isn't any good, Ill just cut the inner skin off that holds all the window parts. And thats what I did. Was sort of easy, cept where it was double thick in some spots. But wow what a differnece it makes. Was able to drill the rivits out that hold the window on easy and I can get a good look at the workings of things before I try to stuff them inside the new door.

Im beat...........

 

3/16 rivits and #8 washers for the back side are all you need to get a firm hold.
No need for a pricy gun to use 1/4 rivits.

 

Well that was almost to easy.

I did take my time but maybe 14 hrs total over 3 days.

First day I yanked the old door, installed the new one, and cut the inner skin holding the window guts out of the old door.

2nd day I looked for any nicks or small rust to take care of, sanded, spray on rust killer, primed, inside soaked down with spray under coating.

3rd day swap in the guts and window and it was over.

Cutting the inner skin off holding the guts made it so easy. Was able to tape track n junk in place, sprayed paint on any bolts that had adjustment slots so in the new door I just look for the black marks n get a good line up and that was about it.

It was all just to easy, door went on with no adjustments, and window was the same.

Gotta do the left one now just for kicks.