I finally pulled a hinge off of one of my spare doors. It wasn't really bad at all, but I wanted to do this thread...so it got rebuilt anyway.

This is the RH, front, upper hinge.


Here it is again after about 3 min in the sandblaster. You can see that it is stamped with RH and FRONT.



I put it upside down in the vice with a nut to support the area around the pin. I gave it one smack with the hammer and it started to push out.




I then used a drift punch to push it out far enough to release the knurling.



You can just make out a small amount of wear on the bushing and the pin. Like it said, it wasn't bad enough to rebuild to begin with. I could have reused the same pin and saved myself some grief, but since this was just an exercise anyway. I figured I'd assume the pin was bad for the sake of this thread.



You find a lip from the bushing inside. Use the drift to knock it out like you would a wheel bearing. Flip it over and do the other too.



Old/new comparison of the bushings.



Tap the new bushings in. TAP...don't pound. And hit it flat...I had the hammer propped on the vise to take the pic. I did both sides at the same time.



Quick test fit to make sure the shoulders on the bushing weren't too thick



I put the new pin in to get an idea of fit. The diameter is perfect, but there's a problem with the length.



If you rebuild the hinge without cutting the pin, you'd better put the bolt in the hole first. The original pin is simply in there to show where the new one would be in relation to the bolt.



I cut it off and beveled the end on the grinder. I'm pretty sure this is hardened steel, so you probably won't be able to cut it with a hacksaw.




Now put the pieces together and tap the pin in. I had to refer to the hinge on my car since I sandblasted my alignment marks off(DOH!! read the siggy!) The knurling on the new pin is different than the old, so it bites pretty firm. I wouldn't worry about it coming out until it actually does. These hinges from the '68 didn't show any signs of the pins trying to come out.



I didn't like the way the top of the pin was, so I cut it off too. I did leave a bit of shoulder. I then hit it with the wire wheel on the grinder.




If you really want to get carried away, grind them smooth before you put the rebuild kit in.



I had pulled the lower hinge at the same time. I lined them up to see if the same "kit" would work. It will.



The drop on this door is actually from the lower hinge being bad.



I did attempt to do this in the car. You won't be able to do it without chipping the paint. I'm not sure it's even possible to do the bottom hinge in the car. I think I'll rebuild a spare set, then start swapping. I may just rebuild enough to replace them all.


Start to finish, with all the sandblasting and everything, this didn't take 30min. If I had a handfull of these on the bench and wasn't worried about cleaning them up or anything, this wouldn't take more than 5-6 min each and that's if you cut the pin like I did.

Thanks. That's the first time I've ever rebuilt a hinge :)

I gave it a medium whack. When I tried it on the car, I had a heck of a time getting it to break free. The one in the vise wasn't bad at all.

Sweet!!! Glad it helped!!

I think I'll be ordering a few more kits and doing the bad ones on my wgn.

If the hinge has never been moved on the car, you can mark it before removing it. Then when rebuilt, put it back where the markings are. You probably won't even have to align the door.

Mike you are an intense maniac.

An extremely detail oriented one at that.

Nice work.

Great post there Mike...

I'm sure it will come in handy for a lot of people!

i used the napa brand 675-5157
I used the same org Datsun pin

from datsuns.com
General Maintenence

Door hinge repair

Went hunting for repair kits for the hinges and came up with two specifically for Nissans and a universal kit that should also work. All
kits had bronze bushings
Nissan Upper/Lower
NAPA PN 675-5157 One pin and two bushings
$5.00

HELP by Motormite PN 38397 One pin and two bushings
$4.00
(Red blister pack)
Bushing ID .315"
Bushing OD .397"
Pin OD .313"


Universal
HELP by Motormite PN 38400 One pin & 4 bushings $4.00
Bushing applications listed are 84-60 GM cars & trucks.
Pin application 84-73 GM cars & trucks.
This kit has 2 sets of bushings, one is oversized OD for worn hinges.
Bushing ID 5/16" (.312")
Bushing OD 13/32" (.406")
Pin OD 5/16" (.312")
The oversized bushings have knurling on the OD. You could remove the knurling with a file or other method to have 2 sets of bushings for the price of 1 set in the Nissan kits.


From the packaging, I'd guess the NAPA and HELP are packed by the same supplier.

The HELP brand is sold by Pep Boys and AutoZone, and maybe more

You probably won't use the pins. The NAPA and HELP Nissan kit pins are 2.85" long, the HELP universal pin is 4-1/8", If your pins are too worn, you could cut the kit pins to length and bevel the end like the OEM pin.

The repair is straight forward. Put hinge in heavy vise and drive out the pin from the tapered end side. If your lower hinge still has the spring in it, you will have to be creative to compress the spring. Maybe a valve spring compresser tool. All the hinges that I have overhauled didn't have the spring left. Remove the plastic bushing renmants and clean the corrosion out of the holes with a round file. Clean the corrosion off the pin. I used crocus cloth. Press the two bushings in using a heavy C-clamp. Or use a 1/4" bolt with 2 washers and a nut.

Swab the inside of the bushings with bearing grease and reinstall the pin.