Talk about a major job. This project took about 3 hours. The part was $56 from Chevrolet. The part comes with the hinge, four bolts, backing plate (that the bolts thread into), very vague directions and a template (that proved to be very effective).

After reading the directions over and over, I decided it would be best to use a 6 inch electric grinder and remove the hinge with out drilling. You see, they tell you to drill through the center of the weld. The problem is that it was welded from the inside of the door, there was no way to get a drill in there. The grinder worked fine. It made a mess but it did the job.

After preparing the surface I used the template, marked the holes, center punched and drilled. I then slipped the backing plate inside the door and tightened the bolts through the hinge(tight).

I'm a mechanic and I never had done one of these before. On a scale of 1 to 10 it is about a 8 difficulty. I would charge about $175 - $200, not including parts.

And yes the door must come off completely.

 

That is the reason I designed a pin & bushing set to replace only the worn out parts and not the entire hinge.

 

Andy, with no disrespect to you and your idea I feel that the factory replacement is the only way to go.

I have seen the pictures of your hinge and I think it is great. In fact I even thought about it as I was using an air hammer to remove my old hinge.
Either way it's sixty bucks for the part. $60 for your pins or $60 for the factory repacement.

It all comes down to not compromising the structural integrity of the vehicle. I trust the General. If they wanted us to just change the pins they would just sell the pins.

You have a great idea and you will sell many of them and you will make a lot of people happy. But to use a band-aid on a wound that needs stiches is the choice people are going to have to make.

 

That is correct, it is a choice everyone will have to make for themselves. I am a fulltime auto tech. But I have no air compressor at home and no garage. I must do all of my work in my driveway. I am sure it is the same for many others.

I have replaced the entire hinge twice. And I won't do it again. It is just too labor intensive for me.

"It all comes down to not compromising the structural integrity of the vehicle. I trust the General. If they wanted us to just change the pins they would just sell the pins. "

That is my whole point. The structural integrity of the vehicle. Why in the world would you replace a hinge that was welded to the door (and they did a good job too)? With one that is bolted to the door. I feel that the original factory hinge that is welded to the door is much stronger than the bolt on replacement. It compromises the structural intagrity. So just replace the worn out part, and retain the original hinge.

Thanx,ANDYZ28

 

Cut the price and you will sell a lot more of them. No disrespect, I know you did a great job on engineering and tooling. The more of them you get out there the better in the long run. I would go for about $40.00. That keeps guys under $100.00 weekend project money and they get to do both doors.

 

Exactly. I'm thinking of buying one for my pass. side but $60! I don't even use that door but it's embarrasing when your girl cant close the door on your car. Sometimes I can't even close it but for $60 it's just not worth it. Now $80 for both sides I would do...

Just sharing my thoughts,
Matt