A humbling experience, look what I did to my truck...

fm2176 · February 24, 2013

Soon after getting my service truck years ago (a '94 service body E-350), I hit a fuel pump barrier. I'd fueled up and went to pull off, completely forgetting that it was a dually and the service body was about eight inches wider on each side than the cab. Forward momentum stopped with a loud noise, and I thought "dang". One of the outside doors was messed up and there was some cosmetic damage, but I managed to get the door working again before I went back to the shop. Fortunately, the company wasn't too concerned. Most of the fleet consisted of '95 E-350s with the Powerstroke and a cargo body, so my older '94 non-Powerstroke 7.3L wasn't of much concern. I drove past the company a few years ago and noticed the road techs use standard vans now. I guess they decided that service and cargo bodies were an unnecessary expense.

A few years late, as a broke Private I managed to snag my Sentra on a light pole suppport cable. Couldn't afford a phone, so I was trying to maneuver the car to where I could use a payphone without standing in the rain. Fortunately, I only damaged a quarter panel.

My truck has somehow survived tight spaces in DC and elsewhere with nothing more than a few minor scrapes and scratches--so far.

08lt · February 25, 2013

You can fix it yourself. I am a bodyman and can walk you through it if you like. there are a few common handtools that cam realign the door and then you just have a small dent.

11hennesseysilverado · February 25, 2013

yep, been there, done that too. not a biggie. it seems minor from the pics and the fact that the door won't close seems to be from the crease or fold at the corner. I'd attempt repairs myself before going to the bodyshop. a set of channel locks to bend back out the fold and a dolly and hammer to smooth it. door edges are a little tricky due to the door skin and shell metal around the outer perimeter. certainly can't make it worse than it is. i'd try straightening the crimp on the edge first before determining if the damage is more severe than what you are capable. you just might impress yourself. good luck.

Davidsingletary · February 25, 2013

Thanks for all the input.

I came back from a job interview this morning so I swapped vehicles, tied the door shut, and went to a local bodyshop.

There is good news and bad news.

Good news is that I was offered an entry-level job working in the parts department at a Charlotte Honda dealer and I am taking it. (even though it's only 32-35 hours a week)

Bad news is that the repair is estimated at $1,350 that is replacing the door, door-mounted hinges, etc along with a repaint and "back-to-new."

And they cannot guarantee that that will fix it because they cannot tell if the frame-mounted hinge is ok or not until they put a non-damaged door on.

I am entertaining the idea of buying a door skin (150ish), hinges (don't know $), and swapping the handles, mirror, window, motor, rubber molding, etc etc into the new shell

Then they said that they would charge me around $3-400 to paint the new door and add outer trim.

Rough situation, when I got home I wrestled with the door a bit and I had to lift it up about 1.5-2 inches and shove it into the locking gate...but it held.

It still pokes out, and will not be weatherproof, but it's shut!

note* now I cannot open the door

I would greatly appreciate any help or advice on replacing or re-aligning the hinges, door, etc, I don''t mind keeping the door...as mentioned it is not horribly damaged cosmetically. I should be able to straighten that crimp. Other than that, it should be alright...cosmetically

The only problem that I see is that it looks like the door's outer skin is separated from the inner skin. I should have taken a picture, but inside the area where the hinges are, you can see that the door's outer skin slid forward somehow; there is gray metal sticking out past where the normal inner and outer skins would meet at a seam and then welded or fixed together. Problem seems to definitely be the skin, and from the 2 inch door sag, I would think that it is also the hinges.

As it sits, the front is still touching the fender and the back has considerable gap. Even though the door is "shut" at the locking gate.

I think either way a new door is in my future and that will require money and/or my time in swapping things over.

Anyone parting out a Driver's door on a gmt-800?

I might raffle off my possessions...just kidding...but not really

Looking on the bright side, I have two alternate dealerships that are looking to find me a full-time position. Things could always be worse, I got some funny looks driving down the highway with a door-ajar and roped off!

11hennesseysilverado · February 26, 2013

hi david, while i'm by no means a body man, i am a jack of all trades, master of none. enthusiast all the time. because your accident was slow speed, i'm optimistic that the pillar area is in good shape and the door, being the weakest part, took all the damage. the more detail you provide, the more i will lean towards total door replacement. check with your local salvage or junkyard for a replacement for your year. i expect you can probably pick up a used, good unit for under $300, as long as the door itself is good, regardless of what condition the components are in as yours are probably going to be switched over anyhow. note; IT WILL BE HEAVY ! lt will take 2 people to handle. be sure to shop around at least 2 or more locations as they like to compete between themselves. you may have to find a salvage yard that deals only in trucks if it gets hard to find any model year vehicles among the typical all makes and models yard. usually, a couple of years up or down from yours will be identical. they'll be able to tell you. the latest remark you made describing the area around the hinge at the front of the door tells me it's serious. separation of door shell from door skin is bad due to loss of primary shape from the collapsing of the primary structure. with this damage, even after repairs, alignment can be difficult as there are no bolted areas where you can place a shim or washer to space out or more in, it then becomes a nightmare of bending and lifting and hoping it stays put ! the area around the hinges at the front is reinforced inside the shell and ties into the structure with the safety beam across the middle of the door for side impact protection. the hinges are pretty thick themselves to support the weight of the door and the constant motion of opening and closing. the pillar area where the hinges attach is also reinforced with the cab and structure around the dash is designed to survive a severe impact, both frontal and side. god i hope i'm not discouraging you ! but it is tidious. thats all for now, i'll be monitoring your posts for more updates, pm me if you need some other advice.

11hennesseysilverado · February 26, 2013

forgot to congratulate you on your new job and wishing you luck on getting a full timer !

Davidsingletary · February 26, 2013

Thanks for the advice and information everyone.

I have started to price things out and I can get a door skin for ~175 shipped, hinges for ~100-150 shipped

Then I would have to swap out the interior paneling, all the rubber trim, window, regulator, window tracks, motor, wiring, door handle, mirror, etc

So I would look at ~300-325 considering everything goes well and a lot of labor.

bottom line: 275-325 dollars plus ___ for paint (and a TON of labor on my part)

I called Carolina Salvage in Rock Hill today and I found that I can get a complete door with hinges, power window/locks and everything ready to go for 450 or 600 depending on condition

This place has several doors in factory black! Doors with a ding or dent will go for 450 and an "insurance or body-shop quality" door goes for 600

bottom line: 600 dollars...done!

Another place has a dark blue door with power window/locks with "a tiny bit of damage" (I have not seen it yet) for ~175-200 (no hinges)

So then I would need to figure out how much paint would cost, and hinges are ~100

bottom line: 300 dollars plus ___ for paint

Any thoughts?

I am leaning heavily towards the 600 dollar option, a 600 dollar door that is "insurance-perfect" and already factory black would

probably be the fastest and easiest option to get things back to stock-condition and road-worthy

I would swap over my chrome mirror, interior colored door panel, and there is a silver trim piece on the outside of the door that I will put on.

Other than that bit of minimal work, it will be a 600 dollar repair if the frame mounted hinge points are not damaged.

Davidsingletary · February 26, 2013

I know the picture quality, along with the rain and dirt on the door makes for a crappy picture; but these are still easily worth a thousand words...all of them sad

Picture 1 shows that with some more grunting and lifting, I pushed the door all the way closed this afternoon. Top trim looks like it fits ok

Picture 2 shows that although the door is completely shut, there is still a gap where you can tell that the outer door shell has been pushed towards the front of the vehicle.

(and it still rubs the fender edge, even though the door is shut properly) Also leads to hearing lots of road noise.

Picture 3 shows the fender in contact with the pushed-forward outer door shell.

I hope these give you all a better grasp of the problem.

As far as the door is concerned, I will be replacing it.

Now that I was able to shut it, I might make do with an undignified scramble out the passenger side...if things prove to be watertight

I am thankful that my new house has a garage!

Davidsingletary · February 26, 2013

Here is one more, the door is closed

00Silverado4x4 · February 26, 2013

I'm not sure which way I'd go on this one. I can fully appreciate the pros/cons of both repair options. I'm also leaning toward the complete door change just for the convience of it all. Plus if it's already the right color that saves you the time on painting. Yeah I think that's what I'd do, replace it as a complete unit and know the repair is complete with no extra surprises.

11hennesseysilverado · March 21, 2013

hey david, good pics ! while the damage doesn't seem that bad, i agree with 06sierraZ71 that out of convenience and time the best way to go is if you can get that black door. hopefully with the stiff cab structure of the truck you won't have any issues installing the replacement and you'll back and rolling in no time as if nothing happened !. good luck, let us know how it turns out.

hzhardy · March 21, 2013

Look up a local LKQ distributor like Keystone automotive or something similar and see if they can source you a used door that matches your color. swapping a door is a fairely easy job as it is 6 bolts if I remember correctly and the door harness terminates right in the kick panel so it is easy to undue. The ruber trunk that passes the wires just click in place. The only issue with LKQ and used parts is they typically require a delivery to a buisness.

11hennesseysilverado · March 21, 2013

P.S. in case you do go and replace the door completely, keep in mind that before you throw your old door away, you can salvage the more common wear and tear parts such as your window glass, window motor and mechanism, door handle and latch, and any other item salvageble and if any item goes bad in the replacement door, you've got a spare !