I want to repair my driver side door hinge. And I just would like to know what you guys would reccomend getting and the tools I should have handy. I want to get the greaseable door hinge repair kit from TDS but I do not know which tools to get from TDS and if I should get the detent spring and other parts, and what other tools the job requires.

Thanks

You have the advantage of having the door there to see what you need. We don't, so it would be tough for anyone else to guess as to what parts are worn on your door. You also didn't describe what your door is doing. I can tell you what to look at so you can diagnose it yourself. For example, open the door and have someone lift it from the bottom and release it while you inspect the door hinges with a flashlight. If you see movement at the lower hinge replace it. If you see movement at the upper hinge you'll need to repair it with either one of the upper hinge repair kits I sell. While closing the door take a look at the detent bar and roller. If the roller is not rotating evenly or if the bar is jumping or making noise while the door is closing then you'll need the lower detent pin & bushing kit. If your spring is broken, rusted badly or missing then replace it.

As for tools: At the minimum you will need a GM door spring tool. The other tools are nice to have, but you can get by without them. You'll need a strategy to hold the door in place while doing the repair. If you were doing the job on several cars for yourself or friends, then it would be nice to have a door hanging tool. I have one that Harbor Freight has carried from time to time. It has a pin that latches onto the door latch. It also has a screw jack to suport the door from below and an arm that comes over and holds the door at the top between the glass and door outer sweep. I've just added a less expensive version that supports the door using a floor jack. Another couple of ways to do it is by using an engine lift (aka cherry picker) along with a strap. You could also use a floor jack with a towel on the saddle of the jack and a ladder folded into an "A" and put over the opened door. Then fill the space between the door and ladder with towels. If your door is scraping on the doorsill you may need a EZ-Store door alignment tool. Unfortunately you won't know for sure until after you've repaired the door hinges. Here's why; there are two reasons why the bottom of the door will scrape. The hinges are worn or the hinges are bent from the heavy weight of the door cantelevered so far out from the hinge. I've seen both conditions on my customers cars. You'll need a door alignment tool to correct for bent hinges if yours suffers that condition.

Lon Salgren
Top-Down Solutions

lon rocks and keeps are cars a little less getto

make sure you look at the holes where the bushings are

if the bushing is like completly gone you may need a oversized bushing

try to get some good quality pics

and describe what is going on

I was lucky to have put mine in at the body shop my old friend Bill worked at because I need a oversized and of course he busted out the kit.

man do I wish I had all the hardware that a body shop has when I take apart something that is new to me

I just repaired my drivers door hinge bushings with the kit from TDS. I didn't buy any special tools, but the spring compressor would've made prying the spring back in place a little easier.

I also didn't hold the door in place while doing the repairs. I took the door hinge bolts out and pulled out the door wires. Then I pulled the door off and set it down on blankets. This gave me plenty of room to install the new bushings and when I was done, I bolted the improved door back on the car. Everything lined up perfectly and it's like a brand new door.

Well this is what I examined today. I will take pictures tomorrow. My lower detent pin and bushing are garbage, the upper hinge moves side to side as the door is opened and closed, the sill gets scratched, and it makes the infamous door squeak. But the spring looks good.

here are two pictures.
Lower hinge (roller bushing is pretty knarly)


Upper hinge (you can see that the hinge moves side to side from the cracks along the hinge and body)

have someone rock the door up and down

cant really see the bushings in your pics

watch the pin and bushing area

if just the pin moves good

if the bushing rocks back and forth then be prepared to take the hinge out, drill and put some oversized bushings in

or you could weld inside the hole and drill to size

Thanks. I moved the door up and down and the only thing that moves is the pin. And nothing moves on the upper one. So I will replace the pins and bushings on the lower hinge and see what happens from there. Thanks for your help.