Door pin and bushing repair How-To!

Well, since no one has done a how-to on this subject, I figured I would since we always see this question...The following pictures were taken while we we're working on Grappler's 95 2 door Blazer (www.vettel.org/andy). We completed both his doors and my front passenger side door. (www.pghconsulting.net/teal). All told we averaged 15-20 minutes per door for this repair. The bushings on all 3 doors were cracked and at the beggining of being egged.

Should your hinge pin holes be egged (taking on an egged shape) You have the option of either replacing the hinges (a nightmare) or filling in the holes with weld, grind down, then redrill (about 20 mins worth of work) Fortunatly for us we didn't have to do either... But we will both need to keep an eye on these hinges for a few years.

Tools needed:

BF Hammer
Punch (improvise)
Masking tape
Lithium grease
Door Spring tool (or improvise, though the tool makes life a happy place)
Another set of hands (invite friend)
Bucket (or similar)
Large flat head screwdriver or a cold-chisel
Hinge pins and bushings (Make sure you get the right ones! 1st gen and second gen pins and bushings are quite different!)
Soft bristle brush


So we start by taping up the inside and outside of the door to prevent damage to the paint.

http://www.pghconsulting.net/teal/dpin/dpin-0.jpg
http://www.pghconsulting.net/teal/dpin/dpin0.jpg

Next we remove the door spring with our handy dandy doorspring tool...

http://www.pghconsulting.net/teal/dpin/dpin2.jpg
http://www.pghconsulting.net/teal/dpin/dpin3.jpg

Now the door needs to be supported. Here's where the bucket came in handy as well as the extra set of hands. These doors are heavy and awkward, so having a buddy (in my case grappler) balance the door makes life a lot easier. Optionally if you can build yourself a proper door hanger, a buddy won't be needed for anything except passing you a smoke or tool...

http://www.pghconsulting.net/teal/dpin/dpin1.jpg


Now for the fun part...Most people think it's simple to knock pins out. It's not. First you need to make sure you don't whack the windshield, secondly, they can be in there pretty tight. Grappler's were pretty much rusted to hell and it really took a lot of persuasion...Here you can see me with a 2 long 1/4" ratchet extentions. I find this better than a punch because the hole in the base gets a nice lock on the top of the pin. This will prevent it from shifting as your whacking it and you won't put any dents/dings into your body.. Also not you may have a little ring on top of the old pins. Don't worry about it, they can't be reused. As you punch the old pin out, it will fall off.

http://www.pghconsulting.net/teal/dpin/dpin4.jpg

Next seperate the door from the body..Do this slowly to prevent paint/metal damage to your truck. Here we see Grappler after he seperated the door..


http://www.pghconsulting.net/teal/dpin/dpin6.jpg


Next we take our large flathead screwdriver and put it against the bottom of the old bushing and whack it with the hammer. Depending how tight your old bushings are, they can either immediately fall out, or you will have to chip away at them until they fall out. If they fall out without anyforce, take a good look at the bushing hole to check for egging. Once the bushings are knocked out, you will be left with this..(Now is a good time to take a brush and maybe soap and water and clean any debri in the holes and surrounding dirt off the door jam and hinges

http://www.pghconsulting.net/teal/dpin/dpin5.jpg



Now for the installation of the new bushings. Here we see one of Grappler's old Pins and the new GM OEM bushings and pins that we are going to install. As you can see the old pin which was factory was pretty pooched...

Note: These bushings are different sizes! The top bushing (or bottom depending which side you're working on) Is larger than the bottom. This is to accomodate the expanded top part of the pin. DO NOT MIX THESE UP!

http://www.pghconsulting.net/teal/dpin/dpin7.jpg

Now you can if you want tap in your new bushings with a hammer. The problem with this is that you run the risk of damaging the bushing, especially if it's an OEM bushing and not a splined aftermarket. So what would would any self respecting S/T tinkerer like myself do? Improvise! I created a nice press out of some stuff in my garage.

The press consisted of a 2-1/2" bolt that would fit through both bushings, a washer, a socket, and a 13mm nut..

http://www.pghconsulting.net/teal/dpin/dpin.jpg

Here you see it seated ready to crank down. This made life a lot easier and take about 10 seconds to do. Simply tighten it down until the top of the bushing meets the hinge.

http://www.pghconsulting.net/teal/dpin/dpin9.jpg

Done:

http://www.pghconsulting.net/teal/dpin/dpin10.jpg

When you get all 4 bushings done, simply load the door back onto the hinges, and slide the pins in. Once they are slid in, take your punch (or in my case the extension) and hammer the pins all the way in.. You will have some clips with the new pins, these need to go on! Simply press them on top of the pins down to the hinge metal. Reinstall your tension spring and check the door for looseness by lifting it up and down. You should have no play what so ever. Check your door that it closes right. Spray the entire area including the spring with lithium grease. You may hear some creaking but it goes away after a bit once the grease has worked itself in. Enjoy

Here is the completed hinges with new bushings, pins, and clip...

http://www.pghconsulting.net/teal/dpin/dpin11.jpg

Good job. If you don't want to fuss with the spring compressor with the spring in the door, just take a long screw driver or pry bar and pop it out. It's not going to fly all over the place, it'll just drop. Much easier to then install the spring compressor onto the spring out side of the vehicle.

As a caution, when seating the spring into the spring compressor and compressing the spring, it is a good idea to wear a glove on the hand that is holding the spring compressor tool. Just one time of having the spring slip out of the compressor while tightening with no glove and you've got an instant blood blister;)

I'd also like to stress that in the photos above, rlith is using painter tape, great idea for those without a door jack. Do NOT use any other tape other than painters tape. If your paint is susceptible to the GM paint delamination, regular masking tape or duck tape will pull it off the primer below.

rlith, the bolt and washer assembly for installing the bushings is an excellent idea. I just use a flat end of a pry bar and tap the pry bar handle with a hammer, but I've probably installed a thousand sets of door bushings, or more. Your way would definitely be fool proof, good job.

Thanks for the time in posting the HOW-TO, i was totally lost on making that bushing press without seeing the picture, now i thing i have a better idea. Thank yous again, you just saved me $200.00 in labor and a probably a giant headache!

Rlith, Great posting!!!!!!!! This should be a sticky...........

Very Very Good Post as Usual rlith, You da man. You make this shit look so easy.

I went out to buy the door pins and bushings today for my 2000 Bravada here are the part numbers

Door pins GM#15653790
Bushings- smaller diameter GM#16632193
- larger diameter GM#16632192

My questions is which of the size bushing goes where or should i even use two different sized bushings, the GM part guy was too busy to help so i fiqure better off trying here
thanks

The bigger bushings are used for the head of the door pins(top of the pin is thicker), The pointy part of the door pin will take the smaller bushing. DON'T HAMMER THE BUSHINGS IN OR THEY WILL CRUMBLE. Make a homemade tool like rlith did,Thats what I did and they went in like butter. I bought the GM door spring compresser back in June at napa auto for $20.00, I have changed out 6 sets of door pins already since having the tool(friends and family). Be sure to coat the pins and bushings in grease before you install them, and I suggest you grease the door pins at every oil change, they will last a long time. Good luck

:2cents:

thanks for clearing that up Dino, for a moment i thought i got conned at the GM dealers. haha

thanks for clearing that up Dino, for a moment i thought i got conned at the GM dealers. haha


If you look at the picture of the pins above and the inclusive note, it states the bushings are different sizes and why...:)

Great how-to. Nice to have pics. I do have one question. After putting in the new hinges I have been unable to seat them all the way, there is still a little bit of spline showing on each hinge. Is this a problem?I hit them as hard as I could muster given the ackward angles. The door operates fine and the retainers fit on properly at the other end. Thanks to whomever may respond.

The door pin should be flush with the bushing. Use a socket extension on top of the pin and tap it in a little bit farther if you can.

The door pin should be flush with the bushing. Use a socket extension on top of the pin and tap it in a little bit farther if you can.

Thanks for the quick reply. I tried again, this time I used a mini-sledge and a 1/2 inch extension bar with a little sandpaper on the end to keep it from slipping. It would be hard to imagine being able to hit it any harder and still no movement. I've attached a pic. Any other ideas/suggestions?

[img=http://img365.imageshack.us/img365/181/1040419large7gw.th.jpg] (http://img365.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1040419large7gw.jpg)

Thanks for the quick reply. I tried again, this time I used a mini-sledge and a 1/2 inch extension bar with a little sandpaper on the end to keep it from slipping. It would be hard to imagine being able to hit it any harder and still no movement. I've attached a pic. Any other ideas/suggestions?

[img=http://img365.imageshack.us/img365/181/1040419large7gw.th.jpg] (http://img365.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1040419large7gw.jpg)

Is this picture upside down or is the hinge pin in upside down. I'm getting ready to tackle this project this weekend and I was under the impression that the head of the pin is on the bottom side of the hinge....make sense?

I tried to change mine out with a friends help. Very hard. Of course I am mechanically challenged. Very good read and sounds very helpful.

Is this picture upside down or is the hinge pin in upside down. I'm getting ready to tackle this project this weekend and I was under the impression that the head of the pin is on the bottom side of the hinge....make sense?

That is the lower pin. The upper pin head is on the bottom side, the lower as shown - at least on my truck (it's a C1500). Good luck. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to do. I expected it to be my lengthy project. However, the front shock replacement was much more challenging. That's typical for me! lol Good luck.

Is this picture upside down or is the hinge pin in upside down. I'm getting ready to tackle this project this weekend and I was under the impression that the head of the pin is on the bottom side of the hinge....make sense?

The top pin goes in from the bottom, the bottom pin goes in from the top.

Just finished the job.
My pins took a little more persuation to remove.
The top pin came out half way but a piece of the bushing remained snug around the pin. No way it would slide through the bottom hole. I used a dremmel to cut the bushing off ... no problem.
The bottom pin was a lot more work.
It wouldn't budge no matter how much banging I did.
I was worried I might break a weld on the hinge I was banging so hard.
I ended up cutting the pin in half.
The bottom half I just banged out and the top half I ended up grinding the head off and banging out from above downwards.

A tip though which really worked well was to use a nylon tiedown strap and ratchet. I opened the window and looped the strap from the top of the window to my garage door rail.
Supporting the door from above is way better than balancing on a pail as in the photos and also this way the whole procedure can be done with 1 person.
Also, I found removing the spring with a tool way better than a pry bar (I tried this in the past).
Removal takes about 2 mins and is easy, and I don't have a ratcheting box wrench. (which would have made the procedure easier still)

Welcome to the new door hinge pin club, You have passed the test my friend. Just remember to grease (SPRAY GREASE )the new pin everytime you change your oil and your new pin should last forever...

I have a 1997 s-10 blazer and the driverside power window, doesn't roll up and down, it has two little plastic wheels at the bottom of the window in a metal track and the plastic wheels are broke so the two arms came off the track at the bottom, what do i buy to fix it and how do i do it?????????????

I have a 1997 s-10 blazer and the driverside power window, doesn't roll up and down, it has two little plastic wheels at the bottom of the window in a metal track and the plastic wheels are broke so the two arms came off the track at the bottom, what do i buy to fix it and how do i do it?????????????

You can get the bushings for the window track at the dealership. What does this have to do with door hinge pins though?

I changed bushings and pins last year in my passenger door.

Here are some tricks I found:

I made my own spring removal tool from some old steel, bolts, nuts, and washers. It's similar to the tool you'd buy.

Since the metal I used to compress the spring was too weak, it ended up bending til I got the spring completely out; and since it also took so long to compress the spring, I decided against using my tool to re-install the spring.

Please note: While the following methodology used to re-install the spring works, it is dangerous. Please read the posts by Rlith and Blazee below.

So, I put the spring in the vise and slowly compressed it and then using thin wire, I wrapped it along its length to keep it compressed once I removed it from the vise. I made several passes with the wire to make sure it would hold. I opened the vise, rotated the spring 180 degrees along its length, recompressed it, and wired it a second time so that the spring would be straight, not arched, for installation. Then, out to the Blazer. I probably held the spring in place with a needle nose pliers and used a wire cutter to snip one of the wires. With the 2nd wire still in place, I made sure the spring was lined up on the hinge and then cut the other wire. (I put ear muffs on cuz I had no idea how loud it would be when the spring expanded and hit the hinge - my hearing is damaged, so I don't take chances anymore.) Anyway, all that was left was to use the needle-nose pliers to pull the pieces of cut wire out of the spring. Oh yeah, I probably had safety glasses on (maybe just regular eye glasses at the very least) while compressing the spring and also when I cut the wire off it.

Since some of the wire bits were a pain to get out of the spring and because the wire I used was very strong, I decided the next time I did this I would only make one pass with each of the two wires.

Why didn't I buy a spring removal tool? Well, I guess I'm too cheap.

Instead of a socket set extension, I found a bolt laying around, maybe 1/2 inch diameter and 6" - 8" long, and ground a point on the threaded end. The pointed end fits into the small, shallow holes I drilled in each end of the new hinge pin.

The pointy bolt in the drilled pin reduced the number of times I had to re-center the bolt as I hammered the pin into place.

I drilled a hole in the other end of the pin as well, just in case I needed to remove it in the future.

I did remove the door myself, but I would recommend a second set of hands. I had the window fully opened so I could grab the frame. I put a floor jack and some wood beneath the end of the door to realign it (really bad bushings and an egg shaped hole in the hinge) and also to hold it in place.

Hope someone finds something in here useful.

Well, compressing the spring the way you did is highly dangerous. (Believe me, I know). When compressing it in a vice like that so you can wrap wire around it, the spring can pop out and smack you in the face (again, hehehe, I know from experience). Easier to buy a 15 dollar tool, then to end up with a cut/bruise/lump on your forehead. I'd rather have the right tool (especially considering how cheap they are) then to sacrafice safety...That's just me though

As to the grinding the point down, that's ok, but with the socket extention, you don't really have to recenter it as it grips the hole head of the pin.

If you develop egging, the best way to take care of it, is to weld the hole up, grind it flat, then redrill.

I agree, it's always better to use the right tool and do the job safely, especially in a case like this when the right tool is so cheap.

I agree, it's always better to use the right tool and do the job safely, especially in a case like this when the right tool is so cheap.

Yep...

FYI, you do end up ruining the 1/4 inch ratchet extension in the process...Also, When reinstalling one of the pins, I was hammering it back in place with the extenison and one of the NEW bushings cracked in half, good grief! This job can be easy if all goes well. I suggest purchasing an extra pin and bushing kit in case you run into the problems I did.

Update: DOOR HINGE PIN TRICK

Here's a little time saver Trick I learned on the last set of door pins I did...

I was replacing a friends 99 blazer door hinge pins last weekend and I was pounding the shit out of the old pins for 5 minute's each, and they were not moving at all. I sprayed WD40 again on each of them and grabbed the center of the pin with a good pair of VICEGRIPS, I rotated each pin a little bit and broke them free of their rusty bond, Then I tapped on each one of them with a hammer lightly, and they fell right out with one hit...Enjoy

FYI, you do end up ruining the 1/4 inch ratchet extension in the process...Also, When reinstalling one of the pins, I was hammering it back in place with the extenison and one of the NEW bushings cracked in half, good grief! This job can be easy if all goes well. I suggest purchasing an extra pin and bushing kit in case you run into the problems I did.


Are you sure you had the correct bushing on the correct side of the pin. as stated already, two different size bushings go on the door pin. Big one at the top, small one on the bottom. If you mix up the bushings they will crack when pound the pin back in...

Yes, bushing was on the right side. I did one door with no problems a while back. This door gave me a little grief for whatever reason. Didn't help that it was 90 degrees and humid today!

Hmm, never broke a bushing tapping a pin back in...(also never damaged a 1/4" ratchet extension).... Did you clean the bushing hole prior to loading everything? Did you grease anything? Sounds like we're missing something here..

My 1/4" ratchet extension is no doubt shot. The end is mushroomed from me hitting it with the hammer to try and knock the pin out. Maybe it's not a quality tool? I don't know what to say about the bushing getting cracked on the way in. I did clean the hole out for the bushing and sprayed it down with WD-40. I did not grease it. I did make the little tool with a nut and bolt to squeeze the bushing into place. That worked slick! And yes, the bushings were in the right hole. Don't know why it would have cracked pounding the pin through? The only thing I can think of is if the door wasn't propped up enough and the pin was going through at a little bit of an angle? Does that make sense? When I did the first door a few months back, all went smooth. Not this time.

after replacing ....get litiuimn grease in a spray can and keep relubeing it every month or oil change or so to keep it lubed up.... thats what i do with mine..

after replacing ....get litiuimn grease in a spray can and keep relubeing it every month or oil change or so to keep it lubed up.... thats what i do with mine..

Good advice, lube is the key here. No sense changing them if you are not going to lube them a lo or they will be bad in no time.

Kinda like replacing your balljoints and such and never greasing them, there is no real point.

unless you have the sealed ball joints with no zerk

Which is very rare on a Blazer.

can you just replace the top hinge bushings without taking the bottom hinge appart?
Looks like i just need the top hinge pin and bushings replaced.

thnaks

can you just replace the top hinge bushings without taking the bottom hinge appart?
Looks like i just need the top hinge pin and bushings replaced.

thnaks

NOPE, The bushings must be pressed in, You will end up dammaging the bottom bushing in the process, maybe even bending the bottom hinge.
Do both at the same time, Under an hour job. Make sure you use the GM DOOR SPRING REMOVAL TOOL, it will make the job a cake walk....

I clean and regrease mine with white lithium grease every 3000 - 5000 km so as to hopefully avoid (or at least prolong) having to replace them.

I clean and regrease mine with white lithium grease every 3000 - 5000 km so as to hopefully avoid (or at least prolong) having to replace them.

Good rule of thumb

My 1/4" ratchet extension is no doubt shot. The end is mushroomed from me hitting it with the hammer to try and knock the pin out. Maybe it's not a quality tool? I don't know what to say about the bushing getting cracked on the way in. I did clean the hole out for the bushing and sprayed it down with WD-40. I did not grease it. I did make the little tool with a nut and bolt to squeeze the bushing into place. That worked slick! And yes, the bushings were in the right hole. Don't know why it would have cracked pounding the pin through? The only thing I can think of is if the door wasn't propped up enough and the pin was going through at a little bit of an angle? Does that make sense? When I did the first door a few months back, all went smooth. Not this time.
We all make mistakes some big some small, I've cracked a few in my time trying to get the bushing in the hole you had to weld up and drill out and sometimes it just don't seem like the hole is round because that bushing just ain't going in there.

Link to cheap door spring tool

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=95344

also available at the retail locations

Well... I've got to do mine on my 97 Sonoma.

Left side drops very little so I probably won't have to weld but the right side is eggshaped.
Sounds stupid :banghead: but...
What size drill do I use after I weld it?
And does NAPA have quality pins?

Thanks for the help and excellent post :)

Well... I've got to do mine on my 97 Sonoma.

Left side drops very little so I probably won't have to weld but the right side is eggshaped.
Sounds stupid :banghead: but...
What size drill do I use after I weld it?
And does NAPA have quality pins?

Thanks for the help and excellent post :)


I would just Dab some weld on the egg shape part of the hole on the hinge, then use a round file on the new weld, Filing just to the point where the new brass bushing will go in about a quarter of the way, then compress it in the rest of the way with a homade compresser tool.

I bought my new pins and bushings from the dealer.
Good Luck and post us back......

SUCCESS!!!
What I thought were going to be egged holes on the right side turned out to be little left of the bushings!!! Pins popped right out. Left side took a bit more work to get the pins out as it wasn't nearly as bad. Doing the worst side first prepared us for the left side. (Dad-in-law helped as he had a welder if we needed it.)
Spring tool worked slick (ratcheting box wrenches on the Christmas list!)
Pressing in the bushings worked even slicker (is that a word?!!)
Not even close to what I thought was going to be a difficult job but following all the great info and pics given here, this job was VERY EASY!!
THANK YOU TO ALL!! :grinyes:

Welcome, You are now an honorary member of the......
"New Door Bushing and Door Pin Club"

Doing this little repair next week....

I just happened to look up today when I opened my rear hatch window. It appears that the bushing has slipped out of the hinge...has anyone done the REAR HATCH pins...

Finally replaced the drivers door pins/bushings on my 89 jimmy. I wonder what people were thinking when they saw I had a 2 ton engine crane out there holding the door, ha.

Anyone know why I cannot see the pictures in this post?

Thanks,

George

Just finished pins and bushings on my 2002 Blazer. Some of my observations (some of which have already been made - thanks to those before me on this post):

1) Two hollow concrete blocks on end with a few shim boards makes a good support under the door. Then use your floor jack with a wood block in the middle which will come in handy for when the door goes back in. I can see how opening the window and supporting from above would be even better but I did not have a sky hook.

2) You do not have to remove the boot and wires but be aware that a full retraction of the door will not be possible and the natural resting place is just off of the hinges and still in the door well next to the hinges. Prepare in advance with padding around the front edge of the door or you will get paint chips and scratching.

3) The spring can be in a rotation where you cannot insert the door spring tool far enough apart to get complete spring compression for removal. A pair of channel locks on the middle of the spring with a twisting motion will bring the spring (careful, lots of stored energy) out of the door. Re-insertion is then very easy because the tool can get in the proper position for compression. Just remember to seat it well to start and treat it like a loaded gun (watch where you point it).

4) A socket extension and hammer for pin removal. A chisel for bushing destruction. A punch for fragment removal.

5) Despite the waxy coating, the new bushings have to be lubed or most of them will not go in without breaking. I used white lithium grease. You pull each one into place individually with a homemade tool stacked from top down as:

Top of 1/2" X 2" hex bolt
Fender washer
Bushing (flange up)
hinge
socket (to receive the bushing nose)
fender washer
Nut

Keep the stack squared up and watch for tilting and binding, stop and restart if the assembly gets too tilted or you will break the bushing shoulder. Start tightening and the bushing will be drawn into the hole. I tried to span both bushings in a common hinge but that did not work. I tried pressing them in with a large channel lock and that had a 50% crumble rate.

6) Have a helper and be ready for pin insertion with a good starting bushing/hole alignment or the door can get out of square with partial pin insertion and really torque on the new bushings. Start each pin partially so that the door is pretty square then finish. :runaround:

7) Have extra bushings of both sizes or you may be stuck with a door removed, unable to finish. Even with every precaution, these bushings are very soft and break easily.

8) 20 minutes per door is a good estimate but only after you work the kinks out on the first door, so assume 20min/door plus the learning curve on the first door and a run to the store for bolts/washers/etc.

Good luck.

Can someone tell me the labor time for complete hinge removal and install?

1-2 hours for the first one. 20-30 minutes for each of the rest of them.


George

the picks i cant see it can you fix that

No matter what computer I view this thread on...THE PICTURES WONT SHOW UP!!!! very irritating! any help? I right click and select show picture...still nothing...

I, too, cannot see the pics; nor did I see any pics at the links in the first post. What's up with that? Would be VERY helpful to SEE how this was done.

The original post is over 4 years old. The host site may not exist anymore.

OK - I read this entire post. I think I may have this problem as well. What I need to know is how did everyone know the door pin and bushings were the problem? What problem were you having?

I ask this as I just bought a 2001 2D Blazer LS last week and discovered the following with the drivers side door:

I can hear road noise as if the window was down
With the door open I can lift the door up and down and feel the
door move slightly
When it rains water drips inside, being in Florida this is a BIG ONE!

I've been told the door is bent, its the seals, the top pin, the bottom pin, etc.

I'm going to keep searching the forums to see if I can find an answer.

Any help and all help is appreciated!!

Open the door and look at the vertical pins in the hinges. Look for the bushings/sleeves around the pins at the top and bottom. Look for cracked/crumbling bushings and/or the holes in the hinges being egg shaped. Also, the door will have to slightly "climb" up the strike plate just before it latches. I had the same problem and the bushings were all broken up. I also needed to replace the very top weather seal that spans across both doors.

OK - I read this entire post. I think I may have this problem as well. What I need to know is how did everyone know the door pin and bushings were the problem? What problem were you having?

I ask this as I just bought a 2001 2D Blazer LS last week and discovered the following with the drivers side door:

I can hear road noise as if the window was down
With the door open I can lift the door up and down and feel the
door move slightly
When it rains water drips inside, being in Florida this is a BIG ONE!

I've been told the door is bent, its the seals, the top pin, the bottom pin, etc.

I'm going to keep searching the forums to see if I can find an answer.

Any help and all help is appreciated!!



MY door creaked over every bump and i could move it up and down when opened.


Your bushings need to be replaced...Do both at the same time.

2000 Astro AWD LT - second owner since Dec '07 195K. I had some pretty bad sag on the driver's door and bought a Dorman kit with two hinge pins and two bushings to relieve it. I wish (actually, my back wishes) I had found the thread where the guy used a ladder and straps to float the door.

Anyway, I easily removed and replaced the two bushings - the top one one had split - but they were both in the body-side of the hinge brackets, not the door-side brackets. I have some egging in the top hole of the top door-side bracket, so now I'm begining to wonder if I placed the bushings in the correct bracket (and if someone had done this incorrectly, before me), especially since the pin appears to be stationary and the door swings on the pin. The bracket holes accepted the bushings as expected and I was able to press them in with a pair of channel-locks. Most of the sag was relieved and the wind noise through the gasket seems to have stopped, even in a cross-wind at 75 mph.

Now, some of these threads talk about four bushings per hinge (if I'm reading this right), a couple talk about the bushings being of different sizes to accomodate a taper in the pin, and some of the pictures show the bushings in the door-side bracket. The differences could be in the different models, I'm sure. But the pins would be floating in the body-side bracket holes if I had used the bushings in the door-side.

Since I replaced the bushings where they were, "originally", does anyone know if the 2000 Astro has two or four bushings per hinge, and if they are supposed to be placed in the door-side brackets or the frame-side brackets. If it's two per, I'm begining to think that I need to add a bushing in the top of the top door-side bracket. How big would that hole have to be to accept a buhsing? .005 over?

I'd hate to have to do this again... but I have a ladder and some straps.:wink:

Thanks

harryevan

Sorry, the Dorman kit had two pins and four bushings - two per hinge.

harryevan