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Old 02-05-2023, 06:44 PM   #1
Accelo
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Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: washington
Posts: 2,169
Door hinges, pins and bushings.

I seem to rebuild plenty of door hinges. Few come apart with out heating. My friends seem to have trucks but lack a large vise and Oy-Act Torches. So I am using a lot of pins and bushings. I recently tried another type, black pins and silver colored bushings. Very first one I attempted to install would not go together and galled when I hammered it apart.
Background;

Pins.
There were some differences in measurements. Both style pins (black and silver) were within .0005 of each other in diameter. Both had to be cut down to mimic the stock length. This is unusual, I believe manufactures just use the length for the later style vehicles. No big deal cutting them down. I either cut them prior to installation or saw them off afterwards. The lathe job looks cleaner but I have never had anyone comment on a crooked saw cut! The black pins may have been hardened or of better material than the silver pins. This is a judgement call based on how the machined on the lathe.

Bushings.
I am attaching a picture with measurements of each bushing. The extra hat thickness makes the hinges slightly more difficult to assemble, they have to fit between the ears of the other hinge.
The steel bushing is almost .060 longer than the brass ones. I believe the extra length may be what contributed to the galling of my pin. Although I do blast the hinges before assembling. I do not ream or modify the hole, the bushing presses into, in any way. Except for blasting it to remove any rust and/or plastic that may remain from the removal process. The steel bushing pressed in hard. I was suspect, because of this, but kept going when I found could insert the pin, in the bushing, just fine. However, after pressing in both bushing I could not get the black pin installed. This is the very first time I have encountered this issue. Pictured is the result of the galled pin.

Conclusion.
I believe the extra bushing length may be contributing to the issue as the steel bushing is longer than either the brass bushing or the factory plastic one. The bushing may have entered a rusted or un-machined section of the hinge and resulted in a reduced diameter of the steel bushing. I am used to assembling them dry as I primer and paint them after assembly. Possibly with some antiseze it would have worked? I do not have the specialized reamer to size the ID of the hole in the hinge. I have never had to address this issue with the brass bushings.
I can't recommend purchase of any hinge repair kits that includes steel bushings. Stay with the brass and you will be alright.

To resolve this issue I am going to remove the steel bushing and replace them with brass. The picture in the add clearly shows bushings that are brass colored. The actual color is shown best in the first picture slid on the pin. Someone saved a dime and it wasn't mine!
Cheers
Attached Images
   

Last edited by Accelo; 02-05-2023 at 07:01 PM.
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