Plastic door hinge bushings???

[texasld]

Has anyone ever seen plastic door bushings or was the PO a cheapskate? I found these when I was BEATING the pins out of my hinges. No wonder the doors were sagging...



They almost look like an electrical component that I have always known as Red Devels, or MC Flex Bushings. like these



Anyone else seen this?

[leftybass209]

That's definitely a cheap fix! I don't know how many things I had to fix on my truck that were awful attempts at repairs. Some of them look like they took more money and time than just purchasing the correct part would have been.

[88fordf150]

Those aren't worth a turd as door bushings.

[sboris]

Quick fix to sell the truck at one time i bet.. No matter how well you look it over, you cant catch sh t like that!!

[midniteblues]

I'm pretty sure plastic bushings were oe equipment.

[57taskforce]

My dads k20 had a set plastic bushings in one of the doors.

[sboris]

Originally Posted by midniteblues

I'm pretty sure plastic bushings were oe equipment.

Never heard or seen that. Interesting. Not disputing it, but would be curious to see more comments. All ive seen were brass i believe. Maybe the plastic was OE replacements?

[Tx Firefighter]

Back when I was rebuilding hinges for people, I saw about half and half plastic vs bronze on original hinges. The new replacements are bronze.

[sboris]

Well, there ya go. Learn something all the time. I bet those plastic ones come apart easier...
Thx for clariying

[twouvakind]

Originally Posted by midniteblues

I'm pretty sure plastic bushings were oe equipment.

I agree, nylon I suspect

[texasld]

Hmmm.... Who knew! Thanks for the replies guys.

[Front Range]

Photographic evidence.

[midniteblues]

guys i find it odd that plastic/nylon was used also.
but i gotta say this, "most" of the ones i pulled were usually not in too bad of shape after all those years.

also i think perhaps they could get a tighter hinge pressing the pin into the plastic since it will expand or give some.

the bronze/metal type of bushing wont give to much before it will crack or shatter learned this the hard way.

i also had to sleeve a hinge once.the long hole in the hinge was pretty wallowed out so i drilled it oversized round again and i used some tubeing and sliced it lenghtwise until it was tight in the hinge and pin. that hinge worked really well and is still tight today.

[Grumpy old man]

Manestruckparts.com carries the replacement hinge pin with bronze bushings for $3.95 each hinge

[68 TT]

Originally Posted by midniteblues

guys i find it odd that plastic/nylon was used also.
but i gotta say this, "most" of the ones i pulled were usually not in too bad of shape after all those years.
...

i also had to sleeve a hinge once.the long hole in the hinge was pretty wallowed out so i drilled it oversized round again and i used some tubeing and sliced it lenghtwise until it was tight in the hinge and pin. that hinge worked really well and is still tight today.

I know, old thread but I had some relevant info that I thought was worth sharing. My 69 stepside had the plastic bushings. They were hammered beyond belief and it allowed the pins to damage the hinge bodies. I had time to kill in the machine shop at night so I decided to salvage the parts.

I machined the hinge bodies out to the next larger common bushing size and added the needed flange clearance between the hinge halves. They now use common industrial quality bronze bushings. While I was at it I added some clearance notches for grease fittings in the core between the halves where they would be accessible from the door jamb.

I even made some 4340 steel hinge pins while I was at it since my originals were junk.

I also ended up replacing the very worn down detent assembly friction material with a similar rough texture high density industrial plastic we had in the scrap pile. Not sure what it is specifically but it looked much like the original material. Rough black with lighter gray specks of texture. The original is probably a brake lining material with a sky high asbestos content

[greenweenie]

Pulled mine out of my 67 C10 today; starting door refurb. Can't believe how good of shape they were in. No cracks just score marks in the plastic. No slop in the door neither. Surprised me!

[jumpsoffrock]

What is the chosen method of removing the pins from the hinge?

[Accelo]

Every original hinge I have pulled apart had the plastic bushing installed. They seem to last for decades and they cost less than brass or bronze. That’s why you can rest assured GM used them. On the heavier and longer door like on a Camaro they didn't last long.
greenweenie your originals are some of best I have ever observed. Amazing or they have been replaced? However, the pins look 100% original. New bushings and you're golden. I wouldn’t replace the pins on your hinges. Almost all the replacement are designed for multiple years and the replacement pin is too long.

Getting them out is another ordeal. Almost everyone I rebuild needs to be heated to get the pin out. And typically, it's red hot and the plastic bushing melt. They are difficult to get into a press as they will roll without a fixture. Even then it's easy to bend an ear if the pins sticks. A big vise and a 4Lb hammer seem to work the best. I hit the pin a couple times and if it doesn't move, out comes the torch. A small hammer will just pein the end over so best to make it a BFH. I drill a small divot in the top of each hinge half, on the side the pin is flared. This will avoid confusion when resembling the hinge.
Cheers