55.2-59 Hinge rebuild or replace?

[iceman4]

Working on passenger door alignment. Door sags so in process of replacing pins and bushing. The pins and bushings weren't that bad as they were replaced at some point in the past. Most of the slop is where the pin passes through lower hole in the hinge bracket, the hole is ovaled out. I couldn't find any info on the forum as most threads said pin and bushing replacement fixed most of the problem. Looking for opinions, get a replacement aftermarket hinge,{ are they decent quality?] or weld a washer to the lower hinge bracket with the hole drilled to get a snug fit for the pin.

[duramax55]

i would weld on the side that is oblong and redrill

[daveshilling]

I would also fill the hole and redrill it

[Getter-Done]

Fix the old one is my vote.

[dsraven]

clean it well, down to bare steel on both sides of the metal, degrease the hole if needed
weld the hole closed, dont be tempted to quench the weld just let it cool at room temp. then grind it off nice and smooth. then mark your pin hole and drill it with a small bit. recheck if the hole is where it needs to be and if all good, drill the hole to the size needed. if not good weld the hole closed and start over till it's right.
also check the fit of the new pin and bushing, some I have installed were pretty loose and by the time the looseness is expanded out to the end of the door, it seems the door hinge repair didn't really fix anything.
I have an old set of hinges just like that. I took'em apart, blasted them, welded the bad spots, drilled them, installed new bushings and assembled. they were actually loose. the bushings were real sloppy on the pins. these came as a set. they would make good gate hinges maybe. lol. I bought a new aftermrket set. quite a bit tighter than my rebuilt ones. I guess I could have grabbed some bushings that were correct OD but too small ID, installed them and then reamed them to fit the new pins.
nahhh, it's done now and I still have the old set to mess with if I run outta stuff to do.

[_Ogre]

buy new hinges and latches for both sides
door action is one of the most important functions in a vehicle

[leegreen]

If this hinge is from a matching door/hinge/cab combo that had decent gaps I'd rebuild it. getting different hinges bent into alignment can be a pain

[mr48chev]

I'm for the welding and resizing but drill bits and weld sometimes don't get along well.

A chain saw file might be your friend here. I have used chain saw files to clean up holes more than once as they cut metal real well but you can control the cut.

[dsraven]

has anybody ever tried a cobalt drill bit? I have used them before and found they work well. if you gotta drill a weld maybe try that. just another way but more spendy for sure.

[leegreen]

gas weld with a soft filler, like tie wire and hold your breath while you drilled

[dsraven]

waaaay back when I was a kid I used to gas weld body work with plain old unpainted coat hangers. they were coated with a thin layer of something, maybe laqueur, but that seemed to burn off and not affect the weld. it ground easily and seemed to plannish ok. tig rod is better but I couldn't afford much for supplies and coat hangers were just hanging right there.

[dsraven]

how did the bushings fit into the arm part? a set I redid had worn through the bushings and oblonged the bar so new bushings were kinda sloppy. how long does i have to be worn out for that to happen, right. anyway, I drilled it and found some generic bushings at the bearing supply place that had the correct ID.

[dsraven]

what about making a patch panel, cut out the old and weld that in, then drill it for the pin. there could be some concern over getting the hole in the right place but thats already a concern, right? you maybe could just weld it right over the old spot if you have the room. the pin sticks out there some anyway, right?

[leegreen]

Gas welder, coat hangers and carpenters hammer, that is how I got started too.

I suggested tie wire above as I have found recently that coat hangers are not what they used to b I have had some that work harden just straightening them out. They are stiffer wire to reduce the diameter? So I don't turn to them for soft filler anymore. I have a coil of rebar tie wire that is nice and soft. Bailing wire would work to if you got the ungalvanized

I'd file a cross across the hole so you can locate center later and weld it up with whatever process you have. Chuck it up in a drill press and use a sharp bit on low speed with some actual cutting oil and firm pressure. Stop before you even see a wisp of smoke and re-oil.
I use ATF or even engine oil for most drilling but keep a bottle of cutting oil for the tough jobs - it does seem to make a difference.

[iceman4]

Originally Posted by dsraven

clean it well, down to bare steel on both sides of the metal, degrease the hole if needed
weld the hole closed, dont be tempted to quench the weld just let it cool at room temp. then grind it off nice and smooth. then mark your pin hole and drill it with a small bit. recheck if the hole is where it needs to be and if all good, drill the hole to the size needed. if not good weld the hole closed and start over till it's right.
also check the fit of the new pin and bushing, some I have installed were pretty loose and by the time the looseness is expanded out to the end of the door, it seems the door hinge repair didn't really fix anything.
I have an old set of hinges just like that. I took'em apart, blasted them, welded the bad spots, drilled them, installed new bushings and assembled. they were actually loose. the bushings were real sloppy on the pins. these came as a set. they would make good gate hinges maybe. lol. I bought a new aftermrket set. quite a bit tighter than my rebuilt ones. I guess I could have grabbed some bushings that were correct OD but too small ID, installed them and then reamed them to fit the new pins.
nahhh, it's done now and I still have the old set to mess with if I run outta stuff to do.

Thanks for all the the replies. I had the same problems, after installing new pins and bushings the upper hinge was still too loose with the new pins and bushings. The lower hinge pin was tight at the bushings but loose where the pin went through the the bracket. I got the oversized pins and bushings from Classic Ind. They worked well with both hinges.

[iceman4]

I first tried to weld and redrill the worn hole in the hinge bracket. The problem was redrilling the hole. It has to be exactly where the original hole was. Mine was off by a small amount 1/32" which affected the swing of the hinge, I'm sure that difference would have been trouble with the door function.

[dsraven]

one set of hinges I rebuild waaaay back i ended up using a couple of brass valve guides that I had laying around. there seemed to be no bushings around that would work.

[mick53]

I would TIG it and put it in a mill. Maybe even do both and bore both holes at the same time and align with the mounting plate. Even if you had to pay someone. I wouldn't charge more the $20 to do it. That's just me and I'm weird.