That is what happened to my driver door on the hinge, it is not true, and its causing all kinds of problems that I cant get fixed until its warm out.. upper hinge door side is angled down on the bottom half of the hinge. It is going to cause me to get the over size bushings, thanks for the link dude, book marking. And also get a new door latch. Thanks GM

 

And it'll fill in the gap created by the wear? I figured the hole had to be opened up, and be round in order for the new oversized bushing to install. So you just push the new oversized bushing into the egged out hole in the hinge?

 

The oversize is what enables the bushing to press into the original hole, and keep it from turning when you open and close the door. When the original pin wore into the hinge, it created the elongated area which is smaller than the OD of the bushing. The bushing will "self align" in to the original hole when you press it in.



Nope. New bushing will press right in where it's supposed to be.




That's it, lube it up and you're done.

 

Right but what I'm getting at, when the pin wore through the bushing and started eating away at the hinge, it made the whole for the bushing out of round. So if you stab a round bushing into the whole, there's going to be that gap of no material where the pin wore into the hinge. If there's no support there on the side of the bushing where the wear is, is it not going to just push onto the new bushing and break it and just result in the same problem? Or is the bushing actually oversized enough to fill in that gap? That's what has me perplexed lol

 

oh and what do you recommend lubing it with, like wheel bearing or steering linkage grease or something?

 

The original bushings, and the standard replacements are bronze, which is brittle. It relies on full circle support for its strength. If the hinge is worn to the point where a standard replacement bushing turns in the hinge when the door opens and closes, the bushing will wear out quickly. Without full circle support, it will shatter and the pin will start hogging out the hinge again. The new oversize bushings are brass, and the walls are thicker, making it stronger on both counts. As a result, it doesn't rely on full circle support nearly as much. The oversize spline bites into the hinge and keeps it from turning. As long as you keep it lubed, it will outlast the original bushing.


For lube, I use this stuff: Permatex Ultra Disc Brake Caliper Lube (8 oz) 24110: Advance Auto Parts

It also comes in little packets for $2, usually by the check out counter. It's available in a tube too. I suppose white lithium grease, wheel bearing grease etc would work well. The problem is that a grease that works well, attracts dirt. Lube it at each oil change, clean it out once a year and re-lube. The body will rust away and the hinges will still work fine

Use common sense when pressing in the bushings: They must be straight when you start to press them in. Line up the splines, and don't use excessive force. A couple of 7/16" wrenches is all you need, leave the impact gun and the 5# sledge hammer in the tool box

Before you install the door, stick the pin through both bushings and make sure it does not bind when turning it. If it does, square up the hinges.

Don't over think it... get a pack of each size so you have them on hand, and stick 'em in.

 

Awesome, thank you for the explanation, that makes since now

I ordered both sizes last week and they came in this weekend, SUPER fast shipping! Got a new door that's going on at the same time since last time I changed the bushings I dropped the damn door and folded the bottom rear corned in... So I also took a bunch of measurements from the body side of the hinge of the truck I got the door off of so I can square up the body side on my Blazer. This truck I pulled the door off of had 75k miles on it, looked like the original bushings in the door, and it looked MINT May try and get the new bushings and door installed this week sometime.

 

Try the ratchet strap, works like a charm. Just make sure the ceiling joist can hold the weight of the door.... don't want the garage falling down

 

no garage, but I got a tree! lol