Sagging Doors

[tparker]

My Doors are sagging. I tried to adjust but I think the pins and/or hinges are worn. Has anyone tried those bushing kits? How do they work, do they involve drilling the hinges? Anyone recommend them or discourage them?

Thanks
Tom

[Cuda Cody]

I love good rebuilt door hinges.  They will help and well worth the time.  I like the kit Year One sells.  It's the only one that I've found that uses the over sized pins.   

[tparker]

Awesome. Thanks. I hate to drill but I guess they are already worn out. I'll go with this option. There is nothing smoother than a door that opens and closes effortlessly.

[anlauto]

You can buy reproduction door hinges or send yours to RestoRick for rebuilding if you don't want to tackle it yourself.

[70/6chall]

I have the original door hinges on my car, A '70 Challenger, and at least I don't have to lift the door to close it. The doors just don't sag, they open and then close with a solid thunk! Except if the window is half way down, the window will rattle. Go figure. Thanks,   Al

[Mopar5]

I just want to add don't be so quick to assume your hinges are the culprit I bought all new door hinges and ended up using my old ones .E body door adjustment take patience after much tinkering I was able to line mine up very nicely with the originals it's really easy and your first instinct is to blame the hinges especially if it's the first time you try to line up doors reproduction hinges are pretty good but not as nice or smooth in closing as the originals

[RUNCHARGER]

If you can rock the door up and down they're worn. Hinge pins are about the first thing you do on restoring a car IMO. You have to have your doors aligned perfectly when replacing sheetmetal and you can't align them with worn out hinge pins.

[tparker]

Thanks all. I order the set from Year One. There is a lot of slop in the hinges currently. I can wiggle them pretty good by hand. Hopefully I can get them installed in about a week... however long it takes for shipping 

[kawahonda]

Concourse correct, you should have had MoparLeo rebuild yours...

He does phenomenal work. Typically only the drivers door needs to be done.

That’s the route I took. My exact hinges came back, primed, and ready for paint. No bushings present, nothing obvious looks “repaired”. He sources the right pins for the worn opening and doesn’t drill out to hold a larger ferrule like other repair kits call for...which makes it NON repairable from that point on. You may want to consider this option if you can still send yours back...

I’m sure more here know about MoparLeo...

https://www.forebodiesonly.com/forum/threads/moparleos-e-body-remanufactured-door-hinges.11422/

[tparker]

Thanks kawahonda,

The car is far from stock and far from staying oem. I've replaced lots of sheet metal to include the roof and trunk along with other bits. Rebuilt the seats and rest of interior, had the dash redone,wheels are painted (by last owner but I dig it and may keep it), and I swapped out the 318 for a 340 with a 727 along with front disc brakes and soon the rear. So I'm not too concerned with some mods. The bushings don't bother me. I would prefer not to drill it, but they are severely worn. Since I'm on a budget and the entire car needed to be rebuilt from scratch, I have to save money where I can. $30 for a kit can mean I put money else where.

If I have any issue I'll keep him in mind. Not sure if it is the same guy, but I meet a guy that did door hinges at a show out in california. Real nice guy. Would love to support him though. But priorities....

[tparker]

Im about ready to tackle the door hinges, but have a question. The kit came with 4 inserts and no instructions. The top hinges have 3 pieces and the bottom has two pieces. Is there a specific part of the hinge they go on?

My initial thought was to put them on the outer most hinge, but it looks like that is not the one that is worn. I'll have to inspect them more carefully this weekend to determine where the wear is.

[tparker]

I'm about to redo the hinges and thought I'd ask one more time. It seems most info on rebuilding hinges show putting the bushings on the outer hinge. The part connected to the door, not the body. Is this ALWAYS the case? does the inner hinge(the one that bolts to the car body) never need bushings? Or does it depend?

Thanks
Tom

[tparker]

So, doing the hinges went bad. There was no instructions, but the website for year one says drill 25/64 and ream 13/32. non of the bushings would go in, to tight. They deformed and bent. I checked another entry for the single bushings and they said the outside diameter was .410. That isn't the same nor does there seem to be a drill bit that size. The next size up from 13/32 is bigger than .410. Argh.

[kawahonda]

I don't want to sound like an 'I told you so" response, but MoparLeo is the ONLY person I would ever do hinges with....

[tparker]

I measured the brass bushings and they appear to be .419-.420 OD. There were no directions just the parts, but as stated above, the web site mentions a 13/32 reamer which is .4062. The bushings weren't having any of the .0128 difference shenanigans. LOL. They just deformed when pressed in.

Another page on the site listing just the bushings list them as .410 OD which is .0038 difference from the reamer size. Probably OK. I may try a 10.4mm reamer (0.4134) which is .0056. maybe I can squeeze that in. The next size Reamer is 27/64 (0.4219), .019 too big. argh.

LOL. And to make matters worse, my door hinge backing plate is stripping out so I have to attempt to make one. It all seemed easier in my head. LOL