It looks like the bushing on my driver's side door is shot.

I looked on the forums here and it appears that what most people do is heat up the roller portion and pop out the upper portion of the roller to install just the bushing and roller.

I ran across this though:

http://www.partsgeek.com/gbproducts/...88&fp=pp&gbm=a

As you can see it's the whole assembly and I'm thinking it would be easier.

I'm looking at the pin on my car though and it looks like the bottom is crimped/riveted/whatever on and I would have to grind it off.


So which is easier and/or would result in a sturdier repair... replacing the entire assembly or just the upper part?

Thanks!

 

Replace upper part only unless entire assembly is bent (collision). Remove hinge half from vehicle. Torch or heat inductor the old one out. Usually the plastic will melt and the roller will come off before the pin comes out. You can then vise grip the pin and hammer on the vise grips while the pin is red to get it out. Use shop press to reinstall. MAKE SURE PLASTIC BUSHING IS FACING DOWN. Parts are available as a kit (pin/roller) from Top Down Solutions, or as two seperate part numers (pin/roller) from local GM dealer.

 

Well that sounds like a boat load of fun. I guess I'll end up wasting a weekend removing the door and re-aligning it.

Thanks for the tips... I'm ordering as we speak.

 

Its not to bad with right tools. No re-alignment will be (should be) needed, door will self-align. Recomend replacing all wear parts while you are at it. I spent a couple of hundred on the parts, dentent roller/roller pin, greasable upper bushings, strikers, and door pins. My doors are now factory fresh with zero sag. I got all my parts through TDS, except the strikers (stainless steel) which I got at Hawks. After 200,000 miles the holes for the pin on my drivers side had enlongated leaving the pin loose. Since the pin is stationary when installed I tack welded the pin in place.

 

Well a lot of my problem comes from the old addage "If you want something done right you better to it yourself."

Somebody backed into my door a few years ago and I had someone replace it for me. I told them to put a new kit on it but it's been a little clunky ever since. The last year or so it's making a horrible screech when I open it and sine I've finally got the time to work on my car I decided to look into it.

It's a shame really.. my car was factory original then.... now it has an aftermarket fender and a 85 door on it.

Well they put on the new door, and a aligned it as asked, so I guess good job. Too bad when they put on the new roller they didn't put a bushing in it!!! It was just packed with grease, no bushing!

So all of my pins and stuff are fairly new, I'm just repairing an improper install before this hack job sheers my pin off.

The door needs maintenance in regards to the powr windows and locks anyway, I'll take a look at all the hardware then and decide if it needs anything else.

Thanks.

 

I have a question along these lines...

The guy that the guy I bought my 88 from really messed things up all the way around on the car. There are a couple bolts missing out of the upper hinges on both doors, for starters (no big deal, I have plenty of extras). The passenger's side door is missing the spring (again, no big deal, I can just pop one of my extras in when I get my hands on the tool). It's the driver's side lower hinge that's REALLY been screwed with... The lever that rides against the roller and pin and holds the one end of the spring is GONE, completely. Am I looking at a new/replacement hinge?

Also, why does it seem that the doors are misaligned at the top of the quarters when they're the factory parts (doors and quarters have the VIN stickers on them and don't appear to have been damaged)? The upper curve, between the window sweep and the handle, doesn't match the quarters on either side ... They're both about a quarter of an inch outward from both quarters.

 

You don't need a special tool to replace door springs, check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMFzPx9t8eg

As for the quarter panels, remember, somebody could have taken them off and mis-aligned them afterwards... it might not be the door.

In regards to the hinges, I would get some from a junk yard and then fix em up with a rebuild kit. Our hinges are so darn expensive that it would probably be worth the extra effort.

 

I replaced the pins and bushings while I had my door off. The zip tie idea looks good but I couldn't get the spring compressed enough to install them. I spent $8 for the right tool at Harbor Freight and had it installed in 30 seconds.....safely.

 

That door roller pin is for a truck. Same one I used to rebuild my lower hinge. You will have to enlarge the holes jn your original to install that pin then cut off the excess length and tack weld or stake the end. Measure the height on your old hinge roller before you take it apart. Replace bushings. Note: make sure you install upper bushing from top and the lower one from the bottom of hinge. (Don't ask how I know this) lol

 

Oh, I know... Which is why my old driver's door (on the 87 I'm junking) sagged so bad. I was going to replace the body side of the hinge until I found the rust spots in the skin, and then I decided to look for another door because replacing both would have cost more than a replacement door from a yard.

I don't see why the FACTORY quarter panels (like I said, VIN stickers match) would have been removed and then reinstalled again... Just makes no sense to me. Especially since all of the FACTORY spot welds are still in place and undamaged. I also don't see why the FACTORY doors are misaligned in this ONE spot as well, the same spot on both sides, when the rest of both doors line up just fine with the fenders and quarters (except for the upper part on both quarters).

 

Well I got it on... only took 5 hours or so.

I did the install with the door still on but when I went to put the new pin in the pressure made the hinges fall out of alignment.

It took FOREVER to get the stupid door back where it needs to be and I manged to chip the corner off of the groundfx panel on the door. Good thing my car is going in for paint anyway... I'll take it off and repair it before hand.

I think this is one of those things that it's better to pay a mechanic to do in hindsight. If nothing goes wrong then it's a bit of work but fairly straight forward. If something DOES go wrong though then you are stuck with a door that you can't shut and therfore can't take to a mechanic to fix.

 

Yes, the hinges are available (new) as halves at a cost around $100 a half. There would be 4 halves per door. I would recomend replacing just the half that is missing the arm. This would be the half that is welded to the door, so it must be scribed and welded back in the exact factory location to maintain door alingment. One might be tempted to replace the entire door shell however, the drivers side contains the vin sticker and must (should) be replaced. The vin stickers cost around $100 to replace.

 

Why would you replace the whole hinge half?

Just the guide lever is missing and those aren't welded on. Now I guarantee you that he's probably going to have to go to a junk yard or check ebay to just get the arm, but it is an insignificant part of the hinge assembly and it would be a whole heck of a lot easier and cheaper to get this replaced than to weld a new hinge half on.

 

Luckily I have spare doors... No money required.

Last I checked, both doors have the VIN stickers. The driver's, however, has the weight and tire loading stickers I've been looking for for the car the other doors came from (and I can read them ).

 

How would you disassemble the guide lever? How would you reassemble the guide lever?

 

Who cares about the in sticker. Why would you spend 100 to replace?

 

Well I guess if you were in a car show or some other nonsense, but in general, nobody cares about the car sticker. If you need the info just yank it off the old door the best you can and save it.

As for the guide arm... they are generally "mushroomed" into place so it would have to be ground off BUT they could be re-attached with the bolt assembly of your choice. Another option would be to apply a torch to get it red hot... crimp it small again, and force it out. I'm pretty sure I've seen a replacement arm kit though, but for the life of me I can't find it anymore. I HATE it when that happens.

 

State Police, DMV, Customs, once its discovered that a VIN number has been removed or they dont match the vehicle will be immediately impounded.

 

Maybe in your state, but not in mine.

The only vin that counts is the one next to the dashboard.

 

Agreed, it must be discovered that it has been removed or does not match, and once that happens the trouble starts. There are currently seven states that will catch it 100% of the time as follows, Colorado, Florida, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Washington, Wyoming. If at any point in time the vehicle is attempted to be registered in any of these (with missing/mismatched VINs) states it will be impounded. If you or the new owner want the vehicle back be prepared for a circus. All over a $100. Additionally, any time a drivers door is replaced at a shop (bussiness) there is a legal obligation to replace the sticker. The shop could also face sanctions from ASE, NATEF, and I-CAR. But I digress.

 

Doesnt happen in wa. Oy tag that matters is that fram and cowl match. All others are fine.

 

Yeah ours is similar here in WV..... the dashboard vin MUST match and as long as they can find another matching vin somewhere else on the car (frame, engine, whatever) it's fine. Even then it's their own discression so long as the dash vin matches.

Those are some crazy laws, you guys should fight to get it appealed. I mean two door cars get their doors swapped constantly due to damage. A lot of states require the frame vin to match as well, which makes sense, but asking that all of the doors match as well is just silly.

 

I knew the anwser to this, I wanted you to think about the logistics of getting a used one. You would have to find a guy with a complete door with a weld on hinge, then ask him to cut out a small piece of the door and sell it to you at a cheap price, greatly reducing the resale value of the entire door shell. Granted the market for a door shell is generally limited to a local market due to shipping costs. But if the man has the tools and ability to remove it what do you think he will want for his time, not to mention the part itself. The same concept would apply to buying the entire lower or half of the hinge assembly as the spot welds would have to be cut. Another option you mentioned was salvage yard, you have to think of the logistics of getting the tools to the yard to remove a welded/riveted part. Its possible, but, how much are several hours of your valuable time worth? Everyones anwser to this will be different, but in the end the hinge arm is a wear part. What I did fail to mention is that welding is not the only replacement option, you could just as easily replace the hinge half with a bolt on hinge half. With cars you have to pay to play. Cheap repairs will make make your car appear as it is, cheaply repaired. Bite the bullet and do the repairs right, and build a true show stopper. Because in the end, isn't that what we are all after?

 

Ahh there's our difference of opinion right there. I have NO interest in a show car. I want my car to look nice and presentable and that's all.

Also we differ in opinion in regards to doing the repair "right". Even if you get a professional to do it, once your take off that old hinge to weld/bolt on a new one the alignment is never going to be factory correct again. Those guys are welded on by robots... you'll never get it that perfect. If the rest of the hinge is still good, to me at least, it makes more sense to try to save that superior, factory hinge. I still think it would be cheaper though... it would take more time and effort sure, but in terms of cash money....

I would actually go with the poster's route and put a whole new door on if that's an option. It's better than having a hand-welded hinge on there or worse, a bolted on one that will sag over time.

I'm not trying to insult anyone or agrue btw... it's just that some people are under the assumption that throwing money at a problem will fix it properly, but I've found this to seldom be the case and actually the opposite to be true... throwing time and hard work at a problem fixes it.