240z Door Hinge Rebuild

[gnosez]

It would weigh less there however...

...just stating the obvious.

Edited November 30, 2017 by gnosez

[Captain Obvious]

Haha!! Nice! I see what you did there!  

[jcb]

Great to get that detent roller part number. I had not looked at M-C parts. Thanks NapaBill

Has anyone found a relplacement for the detent roller pin. The pin on my hinge broke into two pieces .  I have tried my local dealer and got no where. They did not want to fool with me. I welcome any help for a replacement pin source.  JCB

[Hardway]

On 12/1/2017 at 6:52 PM, jcb said:

Great to get that detent roller part number. I had not looked at M-C parts. Thanks NapaBill

Has anyone found a relplacement for the detent roller pin. The pin on my hinge broke into two pieces .  I have tried my local dealer and got no where. They did not want to fool with me. I welcome any help for a replacement pin source.  JCB

I have never seen the pin itself for sale but I have not looked that hard yet either.  A quick Google search indicates that the pin for American cars is very easy to come by.  If worse comes to worse, you could buy another hinge and rob the pin from it.  If I had thought about it I would have taken some measurements of my pin when I had it out to see if something could be bought and possibly modified if needed.

[NapaBill]

I didn't think to post pictures of the detent roller. Here you can see the old one alongside the replacement from McMaster-Carr. In the second photo the new one appears larger but that is just foreshortening in the photo. BTW, my left and right lower hinges are different. The right hinge has no detent roller, but an interleaved stop instead. The car was built in July of 1970 and I suspect the right side is original but the left side may have been replaced during collision repair.

I'm hoping that the replacement roller doesn't increase wear on the detent arm due to being a harder material. I'll be keeping it lubricated.

Namerow asked about mileage for the amount of wear...my car has about 156,000 showing on the odometer. The right-hand door did not have as much slop as the left, but I think that relates to the fewer number of times the passenger door is opened/shut than the driver door rather than the type of stop.

On 11/29/2017 at 5:40 AM, Namerow said:

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)

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]

You are correct NapaBill.  The series-1 hinge with the interleaved stop has a larger spring but it is weaker than the later spring.  Your theory is correct, the driver side hinge was replaced either due to a collision or the original hinge getting worn out.  On my series-1 240z the driver side lower hinge interleave was worn out and would lock/bind up with the spring in place.  I ran it without the spring but included a used passenger side hinge to the new owner when I sold it to rob parts off of.

[grannyknot]

6 hours ago, NapaBill said:

BTW, my left and right lower hinges are different. The right hinge has no detent roller, but an interleaved stop instead. The car was built in July of 1970 and I suspect the right side is original but the left side may have been replaced during collision repair.

 

6 hours ago, Hardway said:

You are correct NapaBill.  The series-1 hinge with the interleaved stop has a larger spring but it is weaker than the later spring.  Your theory is correct, the driver side hinge was replaced either due to a collision or the original hinge getting worn out.  On my series-1 240z the driver side lower hinge interleave was worn out and would lock/bind up with the spring in place.  I ran it without the spring but included a used passenger side hinge to the new owner when I sold it to rob parts off of.

Guys, my 3/70 240z had the exact hinge arrangement, original on the passenger side with hardly any wear and a later roller/detent on the drivers side, I guess that's why Nissan changed the design, premature wear.

NapaBill, the zinc looks good on the hinges and no more CRACK sound when you open the drivers door, mine was so loud it would turn all heads when I opened it.

[jwtaylor]

On 11/29/2017 at 5:40 AM, Namerow said:

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?

My 12/70 build 240Z has the doors drop about a quarter to a half inch when opened.  I bought the new hinge pins and bushings but have not installed them yet.  I will try to remember to update this when I get to rebuilding them.  I am missing one of the springs, so I need to solve that also.

[Namerow]

10 hours ago, jwtaylor said:

My 12/70 build 240Z has the doors drop about a quarter to a half inch when opened.  I bought the new hinge pins and bushings but have not installed them yet.  I will try to remember to update this when I get to rebuilding them.  I am missing one of the springs, so I need to solve that also.

Does your 12/70 240Z have the same mix of detent-type hinge on the driver's door and interleaf-type hinge on the passenger door?

[jalexquijano]

Are these any good replacement?

https://www.amazon.com/DATSUN-1969-1978-Hinge-Brass-Bushing/dp/B071KQD7MC

Anyone has had any experience with these ones?

[Mark Maras]

 I'm told that a door hinge and bushing kit from Dorman, Part# 38397 is a good replacement. Cheap too. $8.00 on Amazon. Probably not a whole lot more at your local parts store. P.S. the bushings will work in your shifter too.

[jwtaylor]

9 hours ago, Namerow said:

Does your 12/70 240Z have the same mix of detent-type hinge on the driver's door and interleaf-type hinge on the passenger door?

No, both sides are the early interleaf-type.  The drivers side is  missing the spring.  I recently bought some  '73 hinges and may just switch to them, but I have read that there is a problem with  the bottom hinge pivot point being shifted making the bottom of the door stick out more than it should.  I will be doing some comparisons between the two types before they get changed if they even do.