My upper door pin has settled down so it hits the spring and lets the door sag. I know I have to pull the spring to get to the pin and there is a special compressor tool for this. I was wondering where only the upper pin on the drivers door is the issue and all others look good, can I use a decent zip tie to compress the spring to remove and reinstall it. $10 shipped for the spring compressor seems a little steep for stamped sheet metal that im only going to use once on one pin.

 

harbor freight has that compressor. i think its like 5 bucks. and heck no a zip tie wont work... ive tired the big ones...

BUT... heres my little technique i used since i let someone borrow my compressor and never got it back. use some thick bailing wire. and only do one side of it so the spring is kinda bent, then put it in there and cut the bailing wire. the zip tie will just stretch

 

I just bought one from NAPA for $20 only to find out that Harbor sells then for $4 without shipping


Needless to say I was pissed

 

you can use a set of big vise grips to get it out. Be carefull though in case it pops out. To get it in i used a bunch of zip ties. I put it in a vice to compress it then zip tied it with as many zip ties as i could fit on there. Then put in place and slowly cut the zip ties evenly. Eventually the last few will break and you will be good to go.

 

You may not use this tool only once as it works for most GM vehicles. Plus, if you keep this vehicle long enough the bushings will wear out again over time.

 

Yah this one didnt really wear out, it was because the dealer when they swapped the door after it got tboned years back reused the old pins and bushings from what I can tell. Yah its 11 shipped from harborfreight,anyone know if its cheaper at like advance or autozone?

 

The driver's door bushing always wears out first because that door is used the most. If you would lube the bushings occasionally like you are supposed to they would out last the vehicle.

 

Neither of those places carry it... at least in my area. Check to see if Harbor Freight has a store close to you. They've got a pretty extensive website.

One small tip... I used a worn-out old computer desk chair to help support my door when I did mine. I jacked it up with a hydraulic jack, then put the chair under the door edge with the seat back against the outer panel and ran the seat height up as far as it would go. I was able to back off on the jack and let the chair support most of the weight. It worked fairly well, but watch out, the doors are heavy.