How exactly have you guys removed your upper hinge pins to replace them, with a rotary tool? If so, what attachment? I can't imagine a cut-off wheel will work very well.

thanks.

 

Just did one last night. The cutoff tool works best, but the pins ate the cut off wheel right up, so make sure to have at least (3) of them for all (4) pins. I only had (1) cutoff wheel, finished it off with a small grinding wheel I had for the dremel.

I don't know how anyone does it on the car with the fenders on. I would recommend taking the door right off before you get at the upper pins. I had my fender off which created a lot of room, but it was still a little tight.

If you do it on the car, an engine hoist is a HUGE help when doing it on your own. It holds the door for you, and if you have a leveler, even better when lining the pin holes back up when reassembling!

 

I agree on removing the door completely to make getting to the hinges very easy. Also, I used a disc grinder to cut the upper hinge bolts. It was quick, but you have to be careful not to remove any hinge material.

 

sweet, thanks for the pointers guys. I finally got to them and it worked out great, other than it takes quite a bit of time. The second door i took the door right off (hanging from a hoist) as suggested which made the grinding etc so much easier.

 

 

I stack four metal cutting blades and use either a Dremel tool or air-operated die grinder with a 1/8" chuck. I'm cheap and use two of the larger diameter fiber-reinforced blades in the center of the blade stack and put the cheapo un-reinforced blades on the outer of the stack. Remove the door trim panel to access the hidden phillips-head screw attaching upper huge triangular chunk of door seal. This will allow you better clearance. You still won't be able to get into the tightest area of the pin you need to gring until the blades have worn down about halfway. One stack of four blades should be enough to do one door.

Lon

 

That's pretty smart with the stacking, i never thought of that! THat is a horribly tight area to work in though and not fun at all, especially if you are tall and have a bad back. I found it really no longer to remove the door while suspended and then do it all from a chair in comfort. Just my experience though.

One thing i should note though, the instructions say the bushings are a slip fit......they are definitely not a slip fit, not even close. Unless all hinges are not equal, they have to be tapped in. NOw i know you are going to say that not all the corrosion was out of the hole but the holes where as silver as bare metal can be and i have pictures to prove it. I sanded and sanded and sanded and sanded for a long long time trying to get a slip fit and it wouldn't come close. I then finally ended up tapping them in using the pin making sure that the pin still moved and all went fine. The second went much quicker knowing that this was ok to do. Just a suggestion but probably a good idea to change the instructions so people don't get hung up on that....like i did and waste so much time worrying that they wouldn't work if they didn't slide in. You don't lose the clearance, just like when you tap the lower pin bushings in (even though they are sloppier, i checked and the clearance didn't really change after hammering them in).

Sweet setup overall though......i love the new feel of the doors! Thanks for a great product

 

The instructions are correct. You are supposed to open up the hole in the hinge until you achieve a slip fit to the bushing. OK, time to share some more tricks. I put each bushing on a pin upside down and hold the pin in a vise. Then I file about a 30 degree small chamfer on the bushing to help get it started in the hole. I use a 90 degree air-operated drill (you can find them used on eBay) commonly used in the aerospace industry. I install a short drill bit, then wrap it with electrical tape. I then put on a sanding drum used on Dremel tools. That is what I use to properly size the hole. If it is not a slip fit the ID will impinge on the pin. It is a very close tolerance fit between the new pin and bushing. Sorry it can be a tedious time consuming job to properly size the hole, but it is important.

Lon