Hinge Pins

jblakeney · January 29, 2010

Has any one replaced the hinge pins on their GMT800 on the front or rear doors? If so post away about it.

My drivers door has started to sag and its really starting to get on my nerve.... I got a pin kit off my shelf a couple months ago when it started but have not looked at it yet. NAPA BK 675-1248.

Looks like on the original pins that are in my hinges that the pins not easily replaced. Grinding required.....

Also, if the GM kit is better fire away on the kit and how many I need to replace both upper and lower on one door.

Jbo

springfield · January 29, 2010

Has any one replaced the hinge pins on their GMT800 on the front or rear doors? If so post away about it.

My drivers door has started to sag and its really starting to get on my nerve.... I got a pin kit off my shelf a couple months ago when it started but have not looked at it yet. NAPA BK 675-1248.

Looks like on the original pins that are in my hinges that the pins not easily replaced. Grinding required.....

Also, if the GM kit is better fire away on the kit and how many I need to replace both upper and lower on one door.

Jbo

I feel your pain. I have an 04 Suburban that the drivers door is starting to sag. I also bought the kit from NAPA a few weeks ago...but have yet to install. I do know that you have to remove the door and grind the old hinge pins out. I also was going to go the GM replacment part route, but at $200 a door vs. $15 it was an easy choice. I will let you know how my replacment goes as soon as I get a chance.

jrrod2004 · January 29, 2010

call me stupid AND naive but what is a sagging door and what causes this?

jblakeney · January 29, 2010

call me stupid AND naive but what is a sagging door and what causes this?

Opening and closing it. For 10 years 6 to 10 times a day.

Jbo

nqabigt · January 30, 2010

Has any one replaced the hinge pins on their GMT800 on the front or rear doors? If so post away about it.

My drivers door has started to sag and its really starting to get on my nerve.... I got a pin kit off my shelf a couple months ago when it started but have not looked at it yet. NAPA BK 675-1248.

Looks like on the original pins that are in my hinges that the pins not easily replaced. Grinding required.....

Also, if the GM kit is better fire away on the kit and how many I need to replace both upper and lower on one door.

Jbo

I got a kit off of ebay for my 99 silverado.

Cheap and easy, sawzalled the old pins (support the door!)

Took less than hour, worked perfect

springfield · February 12, 2010

Has any one replaced the hinge pins on their GMT800 on the front or rear doors? If so post away about it.

My drivers door has started to sag and its really starting to get on my nerve.... I got a pin kit off my shelf a couple months ago when it started but have not looked at it yet. NAPA BK 675-1248.

Looks like on the original pins that are in my hinges that the pins not easily replaced. Grinding required.....

Also, if the GM kit is better fire away on the kit and how many I need to replace both upper and lower on one door.

Jbo

Hi all,

I wanted to check in and let you know what kind of luck I have had. I first purchased the NAPA replacment hinge pin / bushing kit. It has E clips that hold the pins in....what a joke. The door moved more with these pins in than it did with the original worn out bushings. I broke down and bought the GM replacment pin kit which was just under $100. The GM kit has pins that have threads on the bottom which accepts an included lock nut. This draws the pin into the hinge C bracket. This setup worked awesome. I am not saying you have to go with GM, just get a kit that has the nut on the bottom of the pin, not the clip. Also, my truck is not high mileage. I am replacing the pins on the drivers door at just over 60,000 miles.

truckofwinandawesome · February 12, 2010

call me stupid AND naive but what is a sagging door and what causes this?

its when the Bronze Bushings and Hinge Pins of the door wear out after years of use. the Bushings crumble and leaves a gap between the hinge pin and the hinge halves. the weight of the door causes the hinge pins to bend against the hinge halves. the only remedy is to replace what's left of the bushings and the hinge pins.

i know this because at the Tennessee Technology Center, I had to help replace the Hinge Pins in The Driver door of the Assistant Director's '06 GMT800 4.8 RCSB. I had to show the idiots where the Door Electrical Connector was, AFTER they completely took the harness out of the door. (The Assistant Director of the TTC is an Avid GM fan. he had an '89 4WD Blazer that was in pretty good shape; that is until of of the Automotive Students didn't watch the oil pressure and ruined the engine in it. the GMT800 was that Blazer's Replacement.)

jblakeney · February 13, 2010

Has any one replaced the hinge pins on their GMT800 on the front or rear doors? If so post away about it.

My drivers door has started to sag and its really starting to get on my nerve.... I got a pin kit off my shelf a couple months ago when it started but have not looked at it yet. NAPA BK 675-1248.

Looks like on the original pins that are in my hinges that the pins not easily replaced. Grinding required.....

Also, if the GM kit is better fire away on the kit and how many I need to replace both upper and lower on one door.

Jbo

Hi all,

I wanted to check in and let you know what kind of luck I have had. I first purchased the NAPA replacment hinge pin / bushing kit. It has E clips that hold the pins in....what a joke. The door moved more with these pins in than it did with the original worn out bushings. I broke down and bought the GM replacment pin kit which was just under $100. The GM kit has pins that have threads on the bottom which accepts an included lock nut. This draws the pin into the hinge C bracket. This setup worked awesome. I am not saying you have to go with GM, just get a kit that has the nut on the bottom of the pin, not the clip. Also, my truck is not high mileage. I am replacing the pins on the drivers door at just over 60,000 miles.

Yeah, I am a NAPA jobber..... I got a set of the pins and decided to not use them... I returned what I had on the shelf (MY STORE WILL not get anymore of them IN)...... Completely cruddy.... Dorman I think produced that crap!! I am not really that big on anything I have to hammer in to make it fit. More so when it is a HINGE that is welded on the body. Its kinda hard to adjust the door back after you have beat the hinge to get the pins in.... I found a kit from Total Automotive (part number RPL-CK99L[or R depending on side]_ _ _ _ 4 blanks is your paint code). The piece that holds the door to the truck (that bolt you take out to separate the door from the truck) comes painted to your paint code. Pretty good looking kit.

Pins are stainless steel.

I have not got them on my truck yet waiting on it to warm up......

call me stupid AND naive but what is a sagging door and what causes this?

its when the Bronze Bushings and Hinge Pins of the door wear out after years of use. the Bushings crumble and leaves a gap between the hinge pin and the hinge halves. the weight of the door causes the hinge pins to bend against the hinge halves. the only remedy is to replace what's left of the bushings and the hinge pins.

i know this because at the Tennessee Technology Center, I had to help replace the Hinge Pins in The Driver door of the Assistant Director's '06 GMT800 4.8 RCSB. I had to show the idiots where the Door Electrical Connector was, AFTER they completely took the harness out of the door. (The Assistant Director of the TTC is an Avid GM fan. he had an '89 4WD Blazer that was in pretty good shape; that is until of of the Automotive Students didn't watch the oil pressure and ruined the engine in it. the GMT800 was that Blazer's Replacement.)

Yup they do wear out... 10 years probably at least 8 times a day my door opens and closes on that truck.... 5 days a week 8 times... 40 times a week plus.

Jbo

timrob · February 13, 2010

I just bought the Napa pins and haven't installed them yet. I read the service manual at work which says the bushings/pins aren't replaceable. Then after reading this thread, realized I could make things worse by beating on the hinges. I'm going to wait and see what others do.

If I do replace the bushings, must I take off the door? I was planning on supporting the door with a jack and ceiling straps, then remove and replace them one at a time.

timrob · February 13, 2010

I just looked at the door hinges again. There's no way you could remove the pins without removing the door.

jblakeney · February 14, 2010

I just bought the Napa pins and haven't installed them yet. I read the service manual at work which says the bushings/pins aren't replaceable. Then after reading this thread, realized I could make things worse by beating on the hinges. I'm going to wait and see what others do.

If I do replace the bushings, must I take off the door? I was planning on supporting the door with a jack and ceiling straps, then remove and replace them one at a time.

Yep the door must come off (3 bolts and un-hook the harness).

GM sales the pin kits also..... I talked to my friend at the dealership.... The do not service them thou (edit: he was quite abrupt telling me this, SO i think their might be a horror story to go with the abruptness)..... They sell hinge units and send the car/truck to the body shop..... They might not next time I go visit them they may not do that any more.

I was not impressed with the ones NAPA distributor Balkamp (company owned packaging label) came up with in the aftermarket. They could have done a better job finding a replacement for the OE. I have used hinge pins with clips before.... I usually end up outside with my MIG welder and a washer, to finally make the pin stay put... I have a 3 vehicle delivery fleet that puts obo 100k a year per truck. They are in and of the trucks A LOT, which is the demise of lots of hinge pins and bushings.

Jbo

timrob · January 22, 2011

I finally went forward and had the pins replaced. I tried myself first by banging on the pins. I quickly gave up as I didn't want to bend the hinges. I took it to a shop where they figured it out. First, you take the out the bolts that are perpendicular to the hinge, then the door lifts straight up and off. This was the trick as I didn't see this explained any where else. I'm not sure about how the electrical harness came off. The mechanic then had to grind out the old pins. I initially bought pins from Nappa, but like others said they look cheap. Instead, I bought pins from Pep Boys. These pins had a lock nut on the bottom. Once installed, they were rock solid. The door no longer moved when you lift on it. The door still vibrates when going down a rough road, but that's probably from either the black plastic skid plate on the bottom wearing out or the weatherstripping. I'm looking into replacing the skid plate next.

lambrkt · February 14, 2011

I don't know if this is a help for you folks with newer GMC trucks, but this may help out. There is a lot of bad/inaccurate advice floating around on the web about what you have to do (or not do) to replace your hinge pins and bushings. Some guys even want you to cut the door harness wires and remove the door!! On the 1973 thru 1991 Chevy/GMC full size stuff, this is unnecessary. The pins on my '87 Burb were crimped on the bottom so the easiest way to get them out was to take a high speed die grinder and a narrow carbide bit and cut the pins in half. (A sawsall will work ok as well).

To hold the door, I made a wood fixture out of scrap lumber in about one hour. This keeps the door aligned and held upright without a helper or the risk of it falling off a chair etc. Slide your fixture onto the door, unbolt the door and slide it back so the top of the upper pin clears the curve of the door. You DO NOT need to cut any wires or otherwise remove the door. Cut the pins in half. Next push the lower half of the cut pin out and then take a punch or long bolt and drive the upper pin half up and out. Next drive the bushings out. You may need to cut them with a cape chisel to get them to drive out.

This is a good time to clean your hinges and door jambs. Using a round file clean up any burrs or nicks you made driving the pins/bushings out - lightly chamfer the bushings and hinge openings with your file. If the bushings are very tight fits, lightly sand or file them to get a snug but not a force fit. They are fragile so just lightly tap them into place - don't force. Next test fit your pins. If they have too much shoulder to drive flush, grind or file to get a tap in fit. Grease the hinge and pins and reassemble. See photos.

white1500 · December 14, 2014

Thread revival... I think I'm going to get this done soon too because I verified last night that my drivers side door is sagging. It has vertical movement and the door will has marks of where its rubbing. I believe that this is what causes the wind noise at high speed and on hard right hand sweeping turns.

This damn truck is a bottomless pit...