Door Hinge removal

[littleblackflash]

How????

I can remove the hinge from the body, but what tool do I need to remove it from the door? It has a cross head screw which is now quite cheesed by using a smaller screw driver.
Can I drill the bolts to the door off and replace them? Are they threaded into the door or is there a plate on the inside which I could replace?

I'm trying to change the hinge pin but mine is stuck. Tried all the usual things except heat because I don't want to ruin the paint work.

[aupickup]

you can get a screwdriver you hit with a hammer, it comes with a selection of bits and it just may jolt the screw
there is a plate on the inside of the door where the screw threads in to

[littleblackflash]

Thanks for the quick reply. Is the plate in the doors removable or is it welded in place?

I think the tool you are refering to called an impact driver. Which I don't have.......yet.

[aupickup]

yes impact driver had a senior moment trying to remeber

the plate in the door is removable

[PSL184]

the plate in the door is removable

So... do NOT take all the bolts out unless you use something to hold the plate in place otherwise it will fall to the bottom of the A pillar, never to be seen again

[aupickup]

how can the plate in the door fall to the bottom of the A post

[littleblackflash]

Good advice,

I took all the bolts out of the a-pillar today in an attempt to knock the pin free. Next time I'll put one bolt back in. Luckily the plate didn't drop this time.

Would the plate in the door do the same?

[PSL184]

how can the plate in the door fall to the bottom of the A post

The inner one Dennis - Doh !!!

[LordAnthony]

I dropped the plate and after an hour or so with a bent wire trying to hook it back I had to cut a hole to gain access and then weld it back up again. In the end, after I took the bolts out one at a time, I stuck a bent wire in each hole to keep it in place.

[bmcecosse]

Soak the bolt threads in Plus Gas etc - and yes - the impact driver is a wonderful tool!

[IaininTenbury]

A bit of intense localised heat on the screws nearly always works - such as that from a gas welding torch - say a number 3 - 5 tip, go in hard and quick on the screw head and you don't harm too much surrounding paintwork. Its easy enough to touch in the paint on the hinges afterwards beign a roughish finish.
A hot tip (literally!) when the plate inside the door drops to the bottom of the door when the last screw is removed, WAIT till its cooled down before you ferret it out with your hand... You soon learn not to!

[littleblackflash]

No luck so far dispite hitting it very hard with a lump hammer on an impact driver.

Will try tomorrow with some heat on the nut plate from inside the door if possible. Otherwise I'll be drilling out the bolts and buying a new plate to go inside the door.

[Dean]

Remember to keep smiling... There's nothing more stress relieving than having the wife popping out after four hours of getting nowhere, ask you how are you doing, for you to smile and "ventriloquist" behind a grin "I'm doing well thanks love". Not a swear word in sight

[chickenjohn]

As above, heat and an impact driver will be needed on the screws that attach hinge to door. (They are 5/16BSF thread screws- available cheaply from the usual Minor suppliers).

What I've done when replacing door hinges and undoing and doing up the bolts to get the door to fit is to drill a small hole in the A pillar between the "arms " of the hinge. Then drill further into the captive thread plate behind. Screw in a self tapper screw and this will hold the plate to the A pillar as the hinge is removed. This can be done to the hinge to door side as well as the threaded plate inside the door will drop to the bottom of the inside of the door.

Also, if you have a long 5/16 BSF bolt, cut the head off togive you a short 5/16 BSF stud, and when you remove the first bolt holding hinge to A pillar then screw in the stud and this (together with self tapping screw) will keep the threaded plate in the right place inside the A Pillar.

Hope that makes sense!

EDIT, the screw between the "arms" applies to the door side of the hinge, use 5/16 BSF stud screwed in the hole the first hinge to a pillar bolt comes out of.

[littleblackflash]

Thanks for the tips and advice.

More bashing with the lump hamer on the impact drive loosened 3 of the bolts to the door. The final one need to be drilled out and retapped.

This time, when removing the bolts into the A-pillar the plate did move. Thanks to the advice above it was held with some thick wire until I could put some bolts back in. The plate in the door did fall out but this didn't matter because I needed to re-tapp it.

With the hinge off, I still coundn't drift the old pin out. Reason -- The hinge had 2 shortened pins fitted, one from each end. Again I tried some heat until it was all glowing red but it still wouldn't budge. So drilling from both ends was the only option.

New pin fitted and hinge back on the car. BUT, the door is still too low on the trailing edge, although it now has no play. I guess I need some shims on the lower hinge to get my gaps right. Will order these on Monday.

[littleblackflash]

box from ESM arrived today

I fitted 3 x 1mm lower hinge shims and the door now closes without hitting the door frame. The window section fits well but I have a taper on the rear edge of the door. Its about 1mm at the top and 4mm at the bottom. (the lower edge sticks out lots)

Is this normal for a Morris or should I be able to get it better. To correct this I'll need to machine down the top hinge because there is no more shims to remove.