Adjusting for G body door sagging > Any Tricks?

[87BlazeLS]

Hey friends, My driver side door needs a lift (literally) due to sagging. I know all about the hinge
pin replacement procedures. But is there any way to Adjust the door up in the rear at the closer
By loosening the bolts ? Between door and hinge or hinge and body ? Shims ?
I was thinking maybe a shim in the lower (door to hinge location) would help straighten it out
without serious labor or drama. Who's got the scoop on this adjustment ?

thx jake

 

[81_El_Homewrecker]

You can loosen the hinge mounting bolts and tilt the back of the door up, but it will throw off you gaps in the front by the fender. I would replace the pins, everything else is a band aid and will probably be more work in the long run.

 

[CWPottenger]

Redo the pins or replace hinges. Once the hinges are correct the alignment is just tedious, but very adjustable to fine tune the doors back to perfection.

 

[81cutlass]

I took a regular floor jack and opened the door and rested the door on the jack. Loosen the bottom since it will pull the door further away from the fender which is probably what you need and jack the door up a touch. If you do the top one the door might bind with the fender.

Replacing the pins is the right way but takes a few hours and you almost need 2 people. If you have a gear wrench or very shallow socket moving the hinge is a quick fix that will work for a while. Just keep track of the condition the pins are in so it doesn't lock up entirely or start wearing out badly.

I did this about twice on my 4th gen firebird since it has 170K miles and its too crappy of a car to want to that much time into really fixing it. Once when I bought it and once about a month ago after 5 years and 30K+ miles. Oil the hinges once a year and you will have a few years of service before you decide to do a frame off or something.

 

[Ribbedroof]

A few hours to replace hinge pins/bushings? Did my driver's door last week in about 20 minutes, by myself....but it was a wagon door and easier to handle than a coupe door.

Of course, not my first rodeo on this, and air tools help speed it along.

IMO, just bite the bullet and do them now...things that get band-aided tend to never get done properly.

One tip, don't worry about removing the staked nubs on the hinge pins, just cut the pin in the middle and remove the 2 halves seperately rather than trying to get the pin out in 1 piece.If you buy pins for an Astro van, they will have a small clip on them that keeps the pin from sliding out when installed.

Also would be a good idea to invest in the hinge spring compressor, make life a lot easier.

 

[81cutlass]

Is there a way to do it keeping the doors and fenders on? I couldnt get the hinge pins in the lower hinge with the wiring boots in the way. I even had the fenders off. Ive only done one set but I don't know how to do it without ripping half the car apart. Can't get a grinder in to take them out and can barely press them in.

 

[ssn696]

Hinges don't heal. The uppers wear out first since they have both weight and the force of the restraining spring on them. Replace the pins before you adjust anything. Do one hinge at a time, balance the heavy door on a floor jack, protect the door edge with a folded rag. Draw around each half of the hinge with a pencil. Get a hinge pin kit from the HELP! section at the parts store. You will need a means to compress and remove the spring before you tap out the pin. If you are lucky, the sacrificial bushing is worn but the pin has not eaten into the underlying hinge steel. Mine ate into the hinge, and I used a few beads on the MIG welder to make the hole closer to round, then a small round file to restore the hole to shape, and deburr with a flat file. Paint the raw metal, then reinstall the bushings and pin, then squeeze the spring back in there. Use white lithium grease to keep them alive.

Reproduction upper and lower hinges are available - pencil mark around your old ones and install one at a time.

http://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=1261329&cc=1056372&jsn=468

 

[pencero]

Installing a door is more difficult than most people make it sound. Don't be ashamed to hire a helping hand on this one. It's impossible to do it by your self, lol

 

[87BlazeLS]

Hey thanks for all the reply's. Seems I've got some planning to do and parts to get.
I guess I should say that the sag is only about 1/4 to 3/8" maximum. I had to move the
striker bolt down just a fuzz. Slight gap at top of window at the very rear section.
The fender to door gap has always been a bit bigger on the driver side than the passenger side.
Passenger side is fine. But the guy who owned the car before me may have been in an accident
with that driver side some time back. Due to the fender gap looking like a lot more than whats
needed to cause the door to close correctly.

 

[87BlazeLS]

Also what Year of astro van pins ??????? 87 ? 91 ?