Will be replacing the bushings on my door hinges this weekend on my '91 mini Blazer, and looking for ideas on supporting the door while the pins are out. I figure a length of 2x4 secured to my trans jack with a blanket over it is plenty for support under the door, but I'm not sure what to do about keeping it from flopping over. I have a finished hard ceiling in my garage, so I can't wrap a rope/bungee around the rafters (not to mention with all the crap in the garage, I'd probably spend half the day just clearing out enough room to pull the truck in, lol), and I don't have any suitable trees in the yard at all (I live in Phoenix, all we have here is cactii and huge palms).

I was thinking about setting up a 6 foot A-frame ladder next to it, with some concrete blocks on the bottom rung or two to hold it down, drap another blanket over the door, and just more or less let it lean on the ladder, but I'd rather not find out the hard way that it was a bad idea _after_ I have the pins out, lol. My other thought was to lean it against the mail box, but I'm not sure if I can position the truck well enough to be able to the jack in there to support the bottom.

Any other ideas for this?

 

You could build a "cradle" out of a couple of 2X4's that would....uh...cradle the door and keep it up right and still use your jack to aid in final adjustment when installing the new pins.

 

i usually just smack the top pin out then stick a screwdriver into the hole thats a little bit smaller. then do the bottom pin. then take screwdriver out then do top pin. no flopping falling doors. use your jack anyways so you dont bend anything

 

I used my engine hoist........ :S

 

If you didn't get to it yet, (sorry, saw this thread too late, was busy stuffing my face this Holiday weekend--LOL!), You could just tie a rope around the frame at the top of the door's window area, then run it thru and around the inside of the rig, or simply tie it to something inside like your steering wheel, or seat, -etc;.

I just use a picnic bench (seat) from our picnic table, then put 2x4's under the door's "sill" like you said to raise it up to the heighth I need, using thinner scrap boards to get it the exact height for re-assembly. But I have done it the way the gentleman herein suggested to. By just putting a rod, or screwdriver into the threaded door hinge holes, but you'll want the door very secure when doing this, so the door won't "flip-out" on you (slide off the screwdrivers), thus damaging the threads in the bolt holes! "Been there done that"--LOL! Best of Luck to you, let us know which way you chose, as you may have come upon a better system than we suggested!

 

The best method = door cradle (auto body shops use them). The first time I borrowed one for this purpose, I was sold!

If another pair of hands are available, a floor jack can be used with that extra person holding the door while you work.

 

This is what I'm thinking I'll do, probably building something out of some scrap 2x4s. I haven't yet gotten to this as I've had some other projects taking front stage, but I figure I should be able to get to it in another week or so.