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Door hinge help...

5-90

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Hammerspace
88XJ2DRLaredo

Anyone in or near the SF Bay Area (not too damn far - I don't have a lot of gas money at the moment) have anough practice with a welder that can help me with my door hinges? The welds are starting to crack and I'd like to get them retouched so they quit sagging...

5-90
San Jose, CA
 
I obviously can't help you from here with the welding, but will remind you if you never saw any of my earlier posts on this subject that after you've done it, you'll do well to consider shortening the door checks, because, especially on a 2-door, the weakness of the door where they attach to it allows the door to open too far, until the hinge reaches its limit, and this is what causes the hinges to tear out. It isn't the weight of the door pulling down, but the weight when it swings out and causes the hinge to flex at the frame mounting.

One possible solution, if you can reach in, is to put washers onto the studs where they mount through the door, which should shorten the check. Another, which I have successfully done, is to weld the hole at the body end shut and drill another a little further in. A third, also possible but tedious, is to grind/file a little off the built-in limit stops on the hinges themselves, allowing the whole door to open out a little further.
 
Another reason the old style door hinges tear out is because they are welded around the perimeter of the massive hinges. After a while the rigid welds and non flexing hing just cut the sheet metal away in a clean scissor like fashion. Had the factory incorporated some rosette welds I doubt that there would ever have been all these hing issues. The post 97 hinges are flimsy compared to the old, but they allow for much more welding surface area. I know this doesnt help you, but maybe you can drill enough into the old hinges so as to put some rosette welds in there.

XJguy
 
XJguy said:
Another reason the old style door hinges tear out is because they are welded around the perimeter of the massive hinges. After a while the rigid welds and non flexing hing just cut the sheet metal away in a clean scissor like fashion. Had the factory incorporated some rosette welds I doubt that there would ever have been all these hing issues. The post 97 hinges are flimsy compared to the old, but they allow for much more welding surface area. I know this doesnt help you, but maybe you can drill enough into the old hinges so as to put some rosette welds in there.

XJguy

I agree about the weld, and also wonder why they didn't weld the aft edge of the hinge. My point above though was that the reason the weld fails is because the inadequate door stop (or check) allows the door to pull it outward. If this didn't happen even the cheesy attachment wouldn't break.
 
The door check also breaks the sheet metal!!!! All three of my XJs have had cracked metal around the doors! Oh well the price of being a light weight.

XJguy
 
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