Body flex - replacement door hinge

[JHZR2]

I replaced the left upper door hinge on my Ram. The old one didn’t have a spring/check, and that would have been ok if the pins didn’t also have excessive play. This the door hit the latch, the weatherstrip sealed water but not air.

All in all so much better. Works really well.

But I noticed this:



The sheet metal flexes. Not good... I don’t drive the truck a ton for errands or constant in/out, but I don’t want to let this happen much.

I think it must be misalignment, but the door closes good and the sheetmetal lines up. The bottom hinge got new pins and bushings but was not removed from the body.

Any thoughts on how to best remediate it?

I can see a small gap by the one screw. It’s not like that on the other side, but the hinge is different/opposite in terms of the orientation. But it’s odd that it would actually function and line up well if it’s that far off.

Thoughts??

 

[KGMtech]

Does the door have a check strap? Yes, the gap at the hinge to A pillar meeting point doesn't look right & tight.

 

[zfasts03]

Make sure all fasteners are tight and seated and I think I would lube it up with your favorite spray lube. It might be normal for a new stiff latch with a new stiff spring.

 

[vw7674]

seems the detent spring is just WAAAY too strong, leading to all that flexing.
Grease it up well, or or heat the spring to weaken it ??

 

[JHZR2]

seems the detent spring is just WAAAY too strong, leading to all that flexing.
Grease it up well, or or heat the spring to weaken it ??

That could be the case. This was an aftermarket hinge from LMC.

 

[JHZR2]

Does the door have a check strap? Yes, the gap at the hinge to A pillar meeting point doesn't look right & tight.

No, the spring assembly in the hinge has a piece of metal with detents that serves as the door hinge.

 

[Driz]

Ive done more than a couple on my Chitty Chevys. Lots of practice with those lovely things. One thing I found is be VERY wary buying aftermarket hinges, hinge pin sets, pin swap outs ect. Even though they fit many just don't do the deed and your sag comes right back. Likely another sase of China strikes again....... All I can say is square that away fairly soon. If you don't you will end up mangling the door post, latch and even the hinge. Just don't go there .......... Door hinges as simple as they are can be a real PITA Try this forum. Its all about body and fender and there are many helpful pros on there.

Autobodystore Forums

See Q&A about auto body and paint application as well as tools and materials needed.

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[Trav]

I replaced the left upper door hinge on my Ram. The old one didn’t have a spring/check, and that would have been ok if the pins didn’t also have excessive play. This the door hit the latch, the weatherstrip sealed water but not air.

All in all so much better. Works really well.

But I noticed this:



The sheet metal flexes. Not good... I don’t drive the truck a ton for errands or constant in/out, but I don’t want to let this happen much.

I think it must be misalignment, but the door closes good and the sheetmetal lines up. The bottom hinge got new pins and bushings but was not removed from the body.

Any thoughts on how to best remediate it?

I can see a small gap by the one screw. It’s not like that on the other side, but the hinge is different/opposite in terms of the orientation. But it’s odd that it would actually function and line up well if it’s that far off.
View attachment 37290

Thoughts??

The old Porsche 924 had this issue, it eventually tore the post metal at the top hinge creating a big repair. Can you get behind that to install a supporting metal plate?

 

[JHZR2]

The old Porsche 924 had this issue, it eventually tore the post metal at the top hinge creating a big repair. Can you get behind that to install a supporting metal plate?

Getting that top inside bolt out is a major pain, I’d guess not Anything of substance.

I don’t think it’s right... the other side doesn’t do it and the older one didn’t either.

 

[Trav]

You may be better off with a good used or new OE hinge (if its available).

 

[nthach]

My parents had something similar happen on their van - the door check cup ripped away from the door frame. Me and The Critic though it was the door check - we replaced it to no improvement. When I looked at the Sienna forums, turned out that Toyota didn’t put in enough spot welds - and the fix was to drill out the failed spot weld and rivet it. That’s if the other spot welds didn’t fail and cause the door check cup to start tearing. Of course Toyota covered it under a “secret recall” but they were past it. I ended up doing a kludge fix with rivets and JB Weld Plastic Bonder(urethane). It’s held up for two years.

 

[big_guy]

My brand new 2003 Ram 1500 3rd gen did the exact same thing.

 

[Driz]

There’s nothing kludgy about rivets. I used them on my cars for years with no issues. Welding ain’t all it’s cracked up tone considering how it burns off paint in places you can’t necessarily get at to fix.

 

[nthach]

There’s nothing kludgy about rivets. I used them on my cars for years with no issues. Welding ain’t all it’s cracked up tone considering how it burns off paint in places you can’t necessarily get at to fix.

Yep - you destroy whatever corrosion protection was on there and many don’t restore it.

 

[PimTac]

I always thought all the welding happened before the anti-corrosion dip?

 

[nthach]

I always thought all the welding happened before the anti-corrosion dip?

Yep - I’m taking aftermarket repairs. Many don’t restore the corrosion protection - either by using weld-through primer(but being careful to clean the weld/join zones before welding) before repairs or using a wax product afterwards. Once a hot spot is created, the process starts.