How to adjust door hinges?
 

Previous owner of my '52 half-ton had body work done on my truck, but they obviously didn't know how to adjust the doors. The driver's door has to be slammed. But, the passenger door has to be lifted up slightly and even then it almost won't open or close. It is impossible to open it from the outside because you can't put enough pressure on the button. I have adjusted the latch plates and that helped a little bit, but more needs to be done.

Can anyone point me in the right direction to a link or instructions to adjust these hinges? The hinges don't seem to be worn because they seem pretty tight, just not aligned correctly.

Thanks ahead of time.

daveboy

Re: How to adjust door hinges?
 

Hinges are a *****. Are yours factory or aftermarket. Ive dealt with aftermarket that will NEVER be perfect.

Ive elongated and enlarged holes too. Can you adjust the striker plate. Are your latches worn. Dont forget to check those too.

If that doesnt work make sure your pins arent broken. They may look tight but the pin may be broken, thats why you have to lift it.

Hope that helps
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Re: How to adjust door hinges?
 

These are the factory hinges. I am just curious how you adjust them, or if you do. I think the body shop just slapped the doors back on and made no adjustments. Is there an adjustment where the hinges bolt to the doors? I haven't really looked that closely yet. Hinge adjustment is just one of the many things on my long list to take care of. You don't really have to move the door up (it does not move that much), but you have to put upward pressure on the handle and then slam it hard.

Of course, I know that if the are worn out I will have to repair. But, I just need to know how to adjust them.

Thanks,
daveboy

Re: How to adjust door hinges?
 

If there movement (vertical) in the hinge pin you should replace the pins, before you start to locate the door in the opening.
There is enough movement in the front of the door to get the clerances to alinge with the belt line, remove the stricker so you do not get the door stuck!
When you have the door where you want it, you can work on the latch, in out up down.
I have found that by piening the rivets with a hammer on the old parts worked better for me than the new ones.
(sp not checked)

Re: How to adjust door hinges?
 

So, let me see if I get this right: 1)Remove the striker plate. 2)Remove the inside door panels (I assume that will get me to the hinge attatchment points in the door, I also assume that attachment is adjustable). 3)Loosen the hinge attachment points inside the door. 4)Close the door and ensure that my clearance is good all around the door. 5)Tighten the hinge attachment points. 6)Adjust striker plate until the door latches good.

Is this all correct? Of course, I understand that my hinges have to be in good working order, and I believe they are. If I open the door all the way and try to move it up and down, I should get very little or no movement without the truck also moving...correct?

If these are dumb questions I apologize. I am very handy and try to do as much work on my truck by myself that I can do. But, I have never adjusted a door.

Thanks,
daveboy

Re: How to adjust door hinges?
 

Give it a go and tell us how it went!!

Re: How to adjust door hinges?
 

The process you described is basically it if the hinges aren't worn out. I'd open the doors about half way and lift up on each one to see if there was slack in the hinge pins. I think that the drivers door sounds like a little adjustment will take care of it but the passenger door may need new hinge pins and bushings.

Once you take the door panel and the panel down at the bottom of the door you will see the three bolts holding each hinge strap to the door that you have to loosen to get the door to move. I've done it a bunch of times and it is not a five minute process unless you are super lucky. It usually takes a bunch of adjusting and checking before you get it perfect.

Re: How to adjust door hinges?
 

A pillar up and down
door panel in and out

Re: How to adjust door hinges?
 

Go to stovebolt.com. They have a great tech section including door hinges and hood adjustment.
Their focus is more on keeping the trucks kinda original but still an excellent resource.
After spending hours trying to gap my passenger side door I found I had a broken pin in the upper hinge. Couldn't see it until I finally broke down and bought the rebuild kit. PITA to do but worth it in the long run.
Also bought another set of used passenger side hinges from a guy on stovebolt.
Slotted both door and pillar sides to get it gapped correctly. As the man said; front and back distance is in the door side. Up and down is the pillar along with in and out. Striker adjustment for the rear in and out.
By slotting the door side you can also gain up and down and help line the door up with the cab beltline. The striker will fine tune it.
But don't get too carried away with the carbide burr and die grinder or you'll have to buy another set of hinges and rebuild them.:lol:

Re: How to adjust door hinges?
 

Only thing I can add is that a lot of the adjustment happens diagonally. If you have a gap problem say at the bottom latch side you need to be adjusting at the top hinge side to get out large discrepancies. then go horizontally and vertically to fine tune. And remember, the latch striker is designed to raise the door some when closing.

Re: How to adjust door hinges?
 

My dad told me a great stories about when he worked for Kirsch Chevrolet back the the 50's. One was when the dealership sent him on a tour of one of the GM plants. They took him along every step of the assembly line, carefully pointing out the high level of quality, etc that went into each vehicle.

The last stop was the final fit/finish room, where the car was rolled out for a last inspection. Dad watched as a little rolly-polly foreman gave each car with his clipboard/checklist. One car had a door that didn't close just right... SLAM! Huh, still not good... SLAM!!!...

This went on two or three more times until the foreman had had enough. He grumbled something at one of the workers on the side, who brought out a 2x4 and a mallet. The two pointed and argued until they came to an agreement as to where the door needed a little finessing...

Out came the 2x4 on the end of the door, and after a couple good whacks with the mallet (and some liberal yanking up and down on the door), things lined up nicely :D

True story.

Re: How to adjust door hinges?
 

Well, today I decided to tackle my door problem. I removed the striker plate, the inner door panel and went to work. I loosened the hinges inside the door, and pushed the door closed. I ensured that my gap was pretty even all the way around and noted that the door height was perfect. I had my son hold the door there while I went inside the cab and tightened everything. Everything seemed fine until I tried to adjust the striker plate. No matter what I did, I could not get the door to fully latch. In, out, up, down, no latch. After a couple of hours of making minute adjustments, I decided to try and adjust the door again.

That is when I noticed it...lower hinge pin is either broke or loose. I am getting movement inside the hinge. So, now I am ordering a hinge rebuild kit. Funny how one job leads to another!

Is there anything I should be aware of when rebuilding this hinge? I assume I replace the bushings and pin. Is that it?

Thanks, you guys are a world of help.
daveboy

Re: How to adjust door hinges?
 

I have rebuilt my hinges on my 54 GMC. The parts I got were just oversized pins. If I recall, they are 11/32. The hardest part was removing the old pin, without getting the holes of center.

Check out the build thread for, msaintg. He has some tips on bending hinges, that were helpful to me.

I too have had to open up the slots on the door hinges, for proper alignment.

Good luck Shawn

Re: How to adjust door hinges?
 

go to stovebolts.com and look at the tech article, it will save you time, especially on pin removal. make sure you mark them to get back in same location on cab. usually only lowers need done, they take all the stress.
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Re: How to adjust door hinges?
 

My old pins were in there good and I mean good. Couldnt get em out with a hydraulic press. I ended up drilling them out with an end mill. I had to use a laser off the head to ensure I was drilling strait down. Drilled it about 0.025 undersize and the thin pin walls crumbled right out. What a pain in the azz.