Well I finally tackled the notorious sagging door issue on my '96.
All the solutionsI had read about seemed like a pain in the ass and very expensive.
Well I'll tell you allI did it for a grand total of $30 CDN, and 3 hours of my time.
Unfortunately I have no pictures, but it's all so damn simple, there's no need for it.
I started by ordering this:
http://ken-co.com/hingepin-dodge.htm
They don't sell to the DIY's.
SoI tracked down this guy:
Arend's Specialty Sales
Arend Driegen
P.O. Box 1232
Houston, British Columbia
(250) 845-4089)
adriegen@xplornet.com
You may be able to track down your local rep by caling ken-co.
$11 CDN per hinge.
My passenger door was fine, so I only got two kits.
Removed the inner door panel. Very easy with a panel popper. (Refer to manual, or message me for details)
Removed the Speaker in the door. Removed the rubber tube from the chassis to the door. Fished out the wire. (power nothing in my truck, so speaker wire was all).
Removed the 4 bolts holding the door to the hinge.
I had a buddy hold the door for me.
Set the door aside.
Now, to the fun part.
The instructions say to grind the original hinge pins and then knock them out. I say nuts to that. The stock hinge pins are held in by a small plastic washer, a small screwdriver under that and they crack right off.
The stock hinge pins pop right out with a little positive persuasion of the ball pein kind.
Watch for the top hinge, it has that pesky spring in it. I was a little afraid, but it turns out that once the door was removed, and by popping the hinge pin out slowly the top part first, then the bottom, it releases most of the tension. Mine never came flying out, nor did it require any special tools to re-install. By pressing against the hinge it was enough to hold it from flying out.DISCLAIMER: BE CAREFUL with yours.. mine may just have been worn out.
Anyway.... so now the hinges are in two parts. One part remains bolted to the truck, the others come off. The pieces that came off, you'll notice the teflon bushingsare cracked:the root ofthe problem. A large flat screwdriver removes those easily.
Now the kit requires some drilling. 31/64 drill bit will clean out the hinges so the new brass bushings can be persuaded into the hinges. A light tap will seat them just fine. Pay attention to how the old ones were installed, once the brass ones go in, they don't come out in a useable state.
Now, the bolt is a 3/8 bolt. The hinges on the truck are drilled out accordingly. The brass bushings are also reamed out accordingly.
Now the hinges go back on the truck. In goes the new pin. Tighten, BY HAND.
Now we have the reinstallation of the door, a little finnicky adjusting, set your gaps, and there you have it.
The $30, 3 hour, DIY door hinge repair. No painting, no downtime, no body shop. NO MORE SAGGING DOOR!
DIY Sagging Door REPAIR (for $30)
