240z Door Hinge Rebuild

[Hardway]

The driver side door hinges on my 1972 240z were beyond shot.  The door had significant drop when it was opened and this presented all kinds of problems.  A rebuild is in order! 

This has been covered a few times but wanted to share my experience with rebuilding my 240z's door hinges.  I used Vernon Husk's write up on Atlantic Z to get a good idea of what I was getting in to.  It can be found here -> http://atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/body/doorhinge/index.htm

I did not like the nail head pins Vernon used so I purchased a set of pins and bushings from Leon Cutajar in Qrendi Malta.  He sells them on eBay for $50 pair shipped and they take a few weeks to get to you.  They are well worth it in my opinion and give an almost factory original appearance.  You can find a set here -> https://www.ebay.com/itm/DATSUN-240Z-260Z-280Z-Z-CAR-Door-Hinge-Brass-Bush-Pin-Rebuild-Bushing-Kit-Set/322668159056?fits=Model%3A240Z&hash=item4b20856050:g:XVgAAOSw0UdXsDsX&vxp=mtr

I started with the upper hinge as it was the easiest to work with.  Some owners have been able to tap the pins using a hammer or press them out using a bench vise. My hinge pin would no budge so it got to see the business end of my 20 ton HF press.  The pin pushes out from the bottom of the hinge since the top is splined.  Using a grade 8 bolt the pin came out with no drama.

Hinge up side down to show pin orientation when pressing it out.

Now right side up with the bushings knocked out.

Using my variable speed rotary tool and a wire wheel I cleaned off as much of the paint as I could.  A sandblaster would have been better but I do not have one so this was the next best thing.  The end result was quite good.

A quick wipe down with Acetone and they will be ready for paint.

Edited November 29, 2017 by Hardway

[Hardway]

Next up was the lower hinge.  The first hurdle is to safely compress the spring so the detent roller pin can be pressed out.  My hinge spring compressor was too big to fit in to the coils of the spring so I used a small bench vise.  I must add this disclaimer, SAFETY is paramount here so proceed at your own risk!  This is really when you need a second set of hands to help hold everything in place while you work the press handle.

The detent pin itself was straight forward in removal.  Removing the main hinge pin took some creativity to get the press setup.  There is not much material around the pin so you have to use a small socket or other component that will not allow the edge of the hinge to sink while you are pressing on the pin.  People that do this kind of work for a living have built a jig to quickly and safely position the hinge.  After a few tries I got it figured out.

Checking my progress as the pin bottomed out in the shallow socket.

On to the deep socket.

The pin tells the tale. To be honest, the hinge had very little play in it.  I was shocked by how bad the pin looked.

A comparison of the old and new pin. Night and day!

Ready for the wire wheel.

Edited November 29, 2017 by Hardway

[Hardway]

With all the parts wire wheeled I covered them in some Rustoleum satin black.  The car is red but I didn't want to paint them red as the car may not be red all of its life so black it is.

With everything cured after 7 days I started the reassembly process.  The upper hinge was first.  Using my bench vise I pressed in the brass bushings.  They went in perfectly.

Since the brass bushings were thicker than the originals I had to use the metal lips of bench vise to spread the side of the hinge a part just a little.  I lubed all of the contact surfaces with lithium grease.  Once I got the hinge halves together I used my 20 ton press to install the new hinge pin.  The end result is nice and tight upper door hinge.

The reassembly of the lower hinge was the reverse of the disassembly.  The bushings in the lower hinge looked good and felt really good with the new pin so I opted to leave them.  Just like the upper hinge, everything lubed up with some lithium grease.

The inside of the door received some clean up and fresh red paint.  The fasteners were treated to some wire wheel action to clean them up as well.

With the help of my wife we got the door with minimal damage to the paint.  I had taped a thick towel to the top of the door but still managed to pull some paint off.  

The end result is a door that functions like new again.  Seeing that there are no new hinges to be had and there is a service on eBay charging $100 - $150 to rebuild each hinge, the is a lot of value to be gained by doing this yourself.  It does take an investment in some specialty tools like the HF press but it will pay for itself over and over just as mine has over the course of many projects.  I welcome any questions or feedback.

Edited November 29, 2017 by Hardway

[zKars]

Always to nice see a DIY solution. Great work. 

You know, that spring really really looks like an inner valve spring.... hmmmm....

[Gav240z]

Love it, great work. Will bookmark this 1.

[Diseazd]

I always look forward to your projects Hardway.....hope you come to Atlanta next year!

[siteunseen]

Yes, great work!  You're one of the crew I'd take to the Moon.  I think you could fix anything on the Shuttle with some simple tools. 

[Namerow]

10 hours ago, Hardway said:

The driver side door hinges on my 1972 240z were beyond shot.  The door had significant drop when it was opened and this presented all kinds of problems.

At what point of opening the door did you notice the drop issue?  Or was it, instead, something you noticed when you were trying to close the door? (e.g. door latch wouldn't line up with the striker plate and/or the stopper ramp)

Also:  How many miles are on the odometer of your car?  (trying to get a sense of how much use the vehicle has to see before this kind of hinge-wear problem becomes an issue needing attention)

And: It appears from your photos and comments that the pin wear problem was largely restricted to the lower hinge (the one with the spring).  Since the upper and lower hinges should see approx. the same loadings as they take up the wright of the door, it appears that the excessive wear in the lower hinge's pin could be related to the transverse load that the spring being applies to the top of the pin.  Either that, or Nissan decided to use extra-crappy steel for the lower pin.  What are your thoughts on this, having taken the door off and disassembled both hinges so that they were lying there on the bench for you to stare at?

Also:  Has anyone with an early Z (no spring/detent in the door hinges) noticed this kind of pin wear in the lower hinge?

[Hardway]

Thank you for all the compliments and questions everyone!  Yes, I plan to make it to ZCON in 2018 in Atlanta.  I had so much fun at ZCON when it was here in Austin and Atlanta seems like it will be just as good.

If a spot opens up to go to the moon, count me in!  I wonder if I can bring my HF press?  In all fairness, without the press I would not have been able to do this project.  So far I have not had anything that the press could not push out or push in, even very stubborn spindle pins.

The door drop was was noticed immediately upon opening the door when I went to look at the car for the first time.  Seeing how bad it was I made it one of my price negotiating  points.  With the door open it could be moved up and down almost two inches.  That is a lot of travel so when it came time to close the door you had to lift it up and push at the same time.  This was taking its toll on the striker as well so it needed to be resolved sooner than later.  As far as mileage, the car served as the previous owner's daily driver for 4-5 years and was a weekend cruiser for the next 5 years, seeing less and less use as time went on.  Before him I don't know other than the car came from California.  I would have to look at the speedo again for the miles but I can confidently say the car has well over 100K miles and would not be surprised if it had closer to 200K miles.  At this point, any of these cars with a good deal of miles need this kind of service.  They may not be as bad as mine but once they start to go it never gets better.  The question of the lower hinge pin and possible quality issue, I don't know.  With the upper hinge off you could twist the halves and the metal would knock against the pin.  With the lower hinge stripped to just the main pin, it still felt solid with almost no play in it whatsoever.  That is why I was surprised to see the condition of the pin once I had it out.

When I sold my 1971 Series-1 240z #8011, the upper hinge was starting to go.  You could tell when you open the door it would drop a little and closing it required lifting up on a little so it was in line with the striker.  I am unsure of the lower hinge but seeing they sell these kits to rebuild 2 hinges and you have gone to the trouble to remove the door, you should really rebuild both at the same time.

[Mark Maras]

@Redwing

[NapaBill]

I told Jeff I didn't see mention of the detent roller being replaced and he said his was good. If anyone does need one I used a Press-Fit Drill Bushing from McMaster-Carr, part # 8491A202. It is 3/8" ID, 5/8" OD and 3/8" length hardened steel. Fit perfectly.

 

[Captain Obvious]

Nice work!

If I were to take all the stuff I thought I would need on the moon, the rocket would never be able to get off the ground.