Saging Doors...

[JGrefenstette]

who here has replaced their door hinges or found some other way to cure the infamous saging doors. mine sag terrible, i need to fix them.



where is the cheapest place to find good hinges???



is there any other cure besides replacing the hinges???

 

[Tippin Spotted Cow]

I wanna say I've heard something about putting a bushing in there, but I would imagine that it would still require taking them off and putting them back on for that. At that, I think I'd just get new ones. I have to do it on mine too. My drivers door is so bad that you can see all the paint is scraped off on the bottom of the door and on the sill from rubbing when you open or close it. Doesnt look too hard to do. Ive heard the hardest part is lining it back up.

 

[JGrefenstette]

yea i get tired of being blinded by sunlight coming through the gap in the top of my door, and having a nice cold breez wistle through in the winter, lets not talk about rain. and it looks stupid because my red tap trim strip is so far off at the back of the door seam and the back of the cab its rediculous. im ready for some tight doors

 

[Tippin Spotted Cow]

I can close my Ramcharger doors with my pinky. I want my diesel's doors to do that.

 

[tugboatphil]

I got the bushing kit at NAPA. Sorry I don't have the part number. It was hanging on a display rack out in the store. Greenleaf installed them on my last trip up there and Philip adjusted the door with the famous 2x4 trick. The plastic panel next to the door has to be removed.

 

[DodgeWarlock]

I bought a set of pins and bushings from Rock Auto for less than $5. I need to put them in my ramcharger before I start losing paint. Don't know yet if the door has to come off on a 1st gen or not. I did the ones on my 93 suburban without taking the door off or changing any alignment. It was a royal pain, but worth it. What's the 2x4 trick?

 

[PToombs]

The 2x4 is used under the door to raise it and tweak everything.

No the door doesn't have to be removed, an air chisel works good to drive out the pins. Do the bottom first.

Check the end of the door and see if it's cracked near the lower hinge. The door is thin, and known to crack and flex. If you open the door, and it goes POP when it hits the end, it's cracked behind the hinge.

I should get an extra $2 for you guys!

 

[JGrefenstette]

my passenger door pops increadibly LOUD when it extends all the way out. thats the worst door, its sags the lowest, the lock sticks real bad, and now i know that it apparently is craked behind the hinge. i havent gone out to look at it pete, but is it fesable to weld the door back were it cracks or not??? how good does the 2x4 trick work for long term???

 

[PToombs]

If the door is cracked, won't work for more than a few hours. You gotta pull the door, pull the covers. I welded the end, ground it down smooth. Then I cut a plate for the inside of the door, and welded it in there. That's tricky, because it's tight to grind in there. There is a plate that the hinge bolts to. It has to be removed and put back afterwards. IIRC, It has tabs that hold it in place. I may have removed those. Not sure now that was a while ago.

 

[JGrefenstette]

hmmm, will a set of pins and bushings solve the sag for a few years of use, at least??

 

[tugboatphil]

Jimmy, the way I saw the 2x4 trick work was like this:

If you want to bring the top of the door up and/or in, put the board (a foot long will do) along the bottom edge of the door and put the door against it. Once in place, push the door and the board forces the top into place. It takes about 20 seconds.

Try closing the door and look at the gaps to uniformity. Mine were so bad I had to replace the latch post on the door frame. It had a notch worn into it. With the new post and hinge bushings it closes almost like new.

You may have to mess around a few times with the board to get it where you want it. Philip did mine in November and it's still good as new.

And Scott did the top hinge first and then the bottom, without removing the door. He used wood blocks to hold it in place. Oh yeah, he also had another inanimate object he used to hold the door... . me. :-laf:-laf

 

[JGrefenstette]

ah so thats how the 2x4 trick works. i thought you placed it on the top ledge of the rocker pannel with the door above the center of the board, the pryed the whole door skyward... . hmm now i understand. but my doors fit ok top tp bottom. my problem is that there a gap from the mirror to the roof on the a-pillar and the b-pillar seams.



so i think bushings and possibly a new post or two should solve it??



so it sound like the 2x4 is just used to get the top of the door to lay in closer to frame of the door, in toward the cab more...



are the hinges very difficult to do if i have the help of an inanimate object like youself??? :-laf in all tho their not all too difficult right??

 

[tugboatphil]

My hinges didn't appear to give too much resistance. No air tools were required. The 2x4 is used to "center" the door once you get the hinges back together. Scott scribed the hinges prior to taking them loose, but even putting them back within the lines still required some adjustment.

 

[PToombs]

Jimmy! Get off your lazy but and go look for the posts!



You can replace pins and bushings til the poles melt, if you don't fix the door, it don't mean poop! Darn kids anyways!

With the end of the door cracked, it flexes in and out and the door will sag around the hinge area. New pins and such will help, but it will still sag. And if you tweak it with a 2x4, it will flex at the crack, and flex back when you take the board out.

Anything else, son? Do I have to explain the birds and the bees too? Prolly learned all about that from your friends huh? :-laf

 

[JGrefenstette]

hahha, oh Peter... i take it you read my post from the other thread??? :-laf



so what you tellin me is that unless i weld up that crack in the door, nothing is gonna "fix" it cause it will just transfer more of the stress to the crack?? yea i get that.



nah nothin else for now, but you know me, ill give you somthin to explain before you get to bed for the night the birds and the bees, i tell you what... haha i shoulda never told yall my age, then maybe i wouldent get so much crap, just maybe...

 

[Greenleaf]

And Scott did the top hinge first and then the bottom, without removing the door. He used wood blocks to hold it in place. Oh yeah, he also had another inanimate object he used to hold the door... . me. :-laf:-laf

I did the bottom first You were busy drinking coffee and talking to your wife on the phone.

 

[mysteryman]

Problem solved , door hinges, 1st gen

Check out this post, scroll down to the bottom for pictures
https://www.turbodieselregister.com...m-solved-terry-s-super-hinge.html#post1237354

I will be making some more of these in the months to come depending on my health

 

[tugboatphil]

Scott, that's what I said!! Bottom first and then top... . only I said it the other way around. :-laf

 

[Greenleaf]

Now yer sounding like a 7th grader. Two plus two equals twenty-two.



I had to make this "super hinge" for the 92. The OEM pin was worn through the factory holes so I designed the replacement around a greasable 1/2" pin.



I sould have just gone to the salvage yard, but they only seem to have 2001 and newer rigs.



My older truck with much more miles only exhibits slight wear in the door. I installed the NAPA bushing set and it's tighter than a set of banjo strings.

 

[PToombs]

And you just heard from TDR's own, Statler and Waldorf! :-laf :-laf