I replaced my door bushings/pins on the drivers door when I got the Blazer. Only been on the road a few months and doors still don't close correctly. Holes were worn out so they are egg shaped but I did my best to fix it temporarily. As soon as spring comes and I'm doing the body-lift, motor mounts, fixing non-functioning Heat/AC controls, I will be repairing the front door hinges.

I noticed the doors are fairly heavy but nothing compared to the loads seen by the 3rd generation F-bodys (Camaros/Firebird).

They use a sturdy hinge that is bolt-on capable

for the top hinge, and a pin style like the Blazers use for the bottom. However the price for pictured hinge is almost $100 ($30 for 93-02 F-bodys and they are bolted on both sides). Factory they are bolted to body, but welded to the door. So just cutting them off the door, drilling, and making the backing plate are the only requirements.

Since said vehicles are widely abundant and I've replaced the pins on my Firebird once in the last 12 years and it has more miles on it than the Blazer I've deemed that setup superior. If I go through with this I'll make a write-up. The only issue will be hinge size/location in relationship to the Blazer hinges.

If all else fails the hinges are going to be removed from the doors and converted to bolt-on style for easy repair.

 

In all honesty, getting away from these hinges could be the best thing. I understand the lower hinge uses a pin on just about any vehicle, but nothing else has a pin in the upper hinge. Not to mention they are all bolt-on hinges vs. welded on both body and door. It could be because anything new is generally a uni-body vehicle and releys on the door as structural support.

So overall, changing higes should be safer?

Since I have a Firebird and Grand Prix at my disposal for measurements I'm going to start looking at what it takes for a conversion. If it goes well I may make a DIY write-up if anyone is interested.

EDIT:
Picked up an upper and lower set for both driver's and passenger's doors from an '02 Camaro I believe. $10 for all 4.

 

I probably should have this in the Body section. However since I started it here I suppose I can finish. It appears as of now that I will have 100% bolt-on hinges. This will require either backing plates in the body/door for both hinges or else some high quality washers.
The lower hinge looks to be somewhere around 1/2" narrower than the Blazers(doors will not extend as far out from body). However the upper hinge is a lot larger(will run into front fender bolt as well as top of door sticking out past fender), so it will not only need cut down a bit, but some material removed as well.
This is not quite the amount of work I was hoping for to make a DIY project for drilling some holes and adding some bolts. I will still keep track of numbers and templates.

I wonder how the Blazer would stop with some aluminum dual piston calipers up front as well? I might have to pick up a set and see if they make a difference.

 

LMCTruck.com has the proper hinge repair parts. Somewhat expensive by the looks of it, but no modification necessary other than drilling out the welds & drilling the holes for the bolts.

 

$80 a door is quite a bit more than close to free. Especially since it requires roughly the same amount of work in the end. A bit more my way, however there are no pins/bushings and will require some cutting/welding.
Got the driver's door pulled today. Hinges will work a lot better than I thought. Aside from some spacing blocks to account for a difference in hinge size to keep the pivot points in the same position.
Some minor work needs to be done to the door however to keep the top hinge correct... without major modification. We'll see which route I take.

Pics should be coming soon.

 

Blocks for proper hinge location should be done in the next couple days.
Here's the dimensions for the blocks I am having made. As soon as I get them I can give locations where each goes. Only 3 are needed for each door, one point acutally lines up with a little cutting/welding on the door frame.
Qty. 2 2-3/4" x 3" x 3/8"
Qty. 2 2-3/4" x 3" x 15/16"
Qty. 2 2-1/2" x 2-1/2" x 3/4"

About $20 for materials and close to $20 for labor. I suppose $50 for both doors is not to bad. But more than I wanted it to be.

 

Here's a couple pics I got from today. Batteries were to low to get a flash, but the idea should be shown.

First is of the hinges laid out in their respective Left and Right sides. Top hinges are on the left and bottom hinges are on the right. Also in the pic are the aluminum blocks that are used to get the hinge center lines relatively close to where the stock ones are. I was afraid of not getting things lined up but, I have bolts now(loosen&adjust).


Second is of the top hinge. Spring no longer needs to be removed to pull the door. You can also see the studs that replace the brass or bronze bushings and the pins.


I've been looking and it appears that the old hinges may not need removed completely. I'm waiting to see though. Should have an update tomorrow with more progress... hopefully.

 

Looks like I don't have to remove any of the hinges except cutting the (ears) if you will off them. I can leave the base tack welded to the frame of body and door. Drill/tap the plates and bolt the hinges on.

Today I reduced my spacers 3/16" to account for the material thickness of the original hinges. The only exception is the upper hinge that is on the body side. This one will need completely removed and somehow get a washer and nut up in there. That issue must be addressed no matter what approach is taken. Hinge modification was a thought, but why bother? A nut-sert (spelling) is a possibility but I'm not sure how well that would hold since there is something like 2 layers of sheet metal there.


Hopefully more progress this coming week. I got a bit side-tracked with a 2" body lift that ended up with none of the bolts lining up with the nuts in the body. GGGrrrahh!

 

I replaced my drivers door pins on my 2000 LT 4x4 4.3 about a yr ago. Once I got the spring compressor (Off ebay for 5 bucks brand new) and found a stud in my garage ceiling to hold the door is was easy. Pins cost me a few bucks at auto zone. Did the whole thing minus finding the stud and putting a hook in it for the door maybe 30 mintues for both pins. Since they are sold as pairs and once you start on the door you have to remove both pins to replace one. Do both at the same time. Holes were in good shape. Every thing is nice and snug now like brand new. Now the pass side needs them..A mans work is never done. Plus I need to replace the drivers side window motor (Have the motor) just a bit to lazy to tackle the job yet. I figure that one to take up most of my day and have to be careful when removing the motor because it is spring loaded.

 

Got started on the project but after a few minutes with the cut-off wheel on the angle grinder I managed to have it catch, explode the disc and mangle my finger in the process (don't they normally have guards?). Project is now on hold for a few days I suppose. Which is not good since I need the Blazer pretty soon this week. Doors are overrated anyway.