2005…E2.
Had to remove the drivers side hard door cause the latching mechanism broke. Fixed that and reinstalled the door. Now having trouble with alignment when closing. When i initially aligned it all was great…then sagged. Took a good hard look and there is a lot of play directly at the hinge pin. When open I can move the door up/down good couple inches or more.
Question….has anybody found a replacement pin that solves this problem. I guess I coukd mic the inside diameter and look for a substitute.
Or maybe just crank the door hinge up enough to compensate.
Thanks
Is the pin hole worn out? (more of an oval/slot, or just a hole a couple sizes too big?)
Is it possible there used to be a bushing in there that fell out or recently broke to bits (if plastic) ?
There are bushing kits available for older cars. It sounds like this would be a good use for a nice bronze insert.
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Man that’s a great idea…thanks
I have this same problem. What do you mean by a bronze insert, AssyRequired?
First you need to inspect is what is actually wearing out.
The pin? Or the hole the pin passes through? Maybe both?
The first 30 seconds of this vid might give you a better picture of what to look for. It clearly shows a worn out plastic bushing in a chevy. True- we don’t have bushings, but it shows how to replace or install a set if your door hinge is wallered out. You will need to drill the hole in the door bracket larger to accept a bushing. (Make sure you have enough room). A step drill would probably be good for this if you find a bushing the correct size.
Looking at mine, It looks like there is barely enough room in there for a bushing. It would need to be installed from the outsides(top and bottom) unless you take the time to cut down the hinge on the car a bit(more work). It would be nice to have the hinge riding on the bushing.
On my car the body side is pretty much a solid chunk of steel with a hole drilled all the way through and it suppose it could be loose, but probably because somebody drilled it out?
Since the door is only supported by one hinge it is fairly critical that tolerances are very close. Any slight wiggle at the hinge will mean an inch out at the latch.
Here is a bronze bushing for the concept.
Adjusting classic gem doors is an art. You have to account that the “Latch is fixed” and for the most part dose not move. But as assembly required mentioned “pin slop” so here is what I do.
Loosen the bolts on the hinge to where the door is adjustable meaning the door dosent drop under its own weight and you can pull up or down on it to adjust its height. It’s tricky to get it just right.
Once you have the door close it to just where the latch comes in contact with the latch. This will show you how far UP or down you need to go. Adjust the doo so the latch is dead center in the striker. Then gently open the door so as not to loose your alignment and crank down on the door bolts. Remember you door can be adjusted in 2 locations #1 the Hinge #2 the door
Thanks for the suggestions. The pin and the hinge part attached to the body are very robust…hard to see them distorting. Took a look at the hinge parts on several other hard doors and they looked pretty weak….so went home a took a peak at my top/botton hinge p,ages attached to the door and they were not what I’d seen on other doors….but very robust. Hard to see them failing. Then lifted the door vertically and saw mo hinge movement which leads me to believe it’s just the nature of the beast or something is happening inside the door panel. I’ll remove the panel in the am and post my findings
Here are some pictures the second one shows the robust hinge and pin. The white is attached to the body and the black is the main door hinge. The black shaft going to the right is the support that goes to the door. The door support and the black door hinge are two separate pieces attached with 2 bolts thru the hinge into the door support. Sort of can see it in the top photo. Anyway…these bolts are rusted and the attachment is not 100% immovable. There in lies the door vertical movement…….i think.
You can see where the two black pieces attach directly on the right edge of the main black hinge puece
Funny story. Admired the hard doors, and bought two new in box ones at auction. Turned out both were left side! Wonder who got the two rights?
Ha! That IS funny.
You probably waited 6 mos before opening the boxes and noticing the error too.