door removal

Need to pull the drivers side door for hinge repairs. Can't get the torx bolts out due to lack space. All I've seen online involves cutting the hinge to make lift off doors.

Any ideas? Using a thin 3/8 with a stubby t40 for calipers.

I didn't have a 3/8 drive torx bit when I did mine. I used a pair of vise grips and the torx socket. Took FOREVER but it did work. Pop the torx bit out if the socket and use a ratcheting wrench

Yup, I used a ratchet wrench with a torx bit in it.

Cool will try that out. Really didn't want to cut the hinge. My luck I would yank the door off randomly in a parking lot....

I just did mine last month...go to Harbor Freight and get a cheap set of Torx bits. BTW, depending on what year you have, you may not be able to drive the hinge pin out. On my 2000, what worked for me, once the door was off, was to cut as much of the hinge pin as I could with a dremel. I then used an air chisel to complete the job and they basically fell out from that point. Also, this is a golden opportunity to carefully inspect your wiring harness..it's not if, but when you have some of them crack or break. This was one of the more satisfying jobs I have done. After carefully adjusting the door, I have no wind noise and it shuts with a nice thunk.

You probably don't want to hear this, but.....if the problem is with a hinge that has torn loose (as in old 2 doors) and requires welding, the easiest solution in the long run is to take the fender off. When the fender is off, the torx bolts are dead easy and the welding access is too.

Planned on removing the fender, didn't even think about removing them with the door shut. Thanks!!! Will go that route. The hinge is starting to break the welds, hoping to just tack a plate behind and then weld to that.

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=986973&highlight=door+hinge+repair

I did this repair a few years ago. It is still working great.

Yep, thats what gave me the idea to put in a plate. The sheet metal just doesnt seem strong enough to truly support the door.

With regard to door hinges, since we've drifted there: on my stepson's 93 2 door, which had serious hinge problems, one of the things I found helped a lot after welding them back into the torn metal, was welding the rear-facing edges of the hinges. For reasons unknown to us mere mortals, the hinges are welded only on three sides, leaving the trailing edge open. The gap is large, but I found if I cut a piece of 1/4 inch or so mild steel (think curtain rod), and welded it into the space, it helped a lot to prevent the hinge from tearing out forward.

The other thing I did was to shorten the check strap slightly. The check has a rubber cushion in it, and it is also attached to the door in such a way that it tends to pull the frame out when stressed. The door has so much momentum that it easily overstresses the check, and when that happens the door hits a secondary stop, which is built into the hinge. When the door hits that hinge stop, the next step is to tear the hinge outward and forward.

You can weld the hole in the check shut, drill another a little further back, and grind the excess off.

You can also file or grind the stop in the hinge a little, to allow the door to open a little wider before hitting it. It must still be there to prevent the door from going wild and smashing sheet metal if the strap breaks, but ideally it should not actually be reached in normal use.

I cut the hinges off and re-welded them. Factory welds were like lipstick, just a smear

I recently F-d up my drivers door hinges. Out wheeling, stuck on a nasty incline with my drivers door facing down hill. I opened the door and it FLEW open basically slamming all it's weight into the hinge stopper.

After that I only noticed because now my door would bump my fender when opening and closing.

Upon closer inspection I could see where the rear portion of the hinge had pulled away from the sheet metal.

Luckily for me there were no tears in the sheet metal. I was able to pull the door and with a 2x4 and BFH pound the hinge back flush with the sheet metal.

So far so good and now I am MUCH more aware of the flimsy design and will not let the door slam open.