Replacing Door Hinges & Pins

lookforjoe

True Classic
anyone done this?

The replacement DS door I have had badly worn hinges- the lower pin may also be broken, I haven’t extracted it yet.

I drilled the top mushroom off the pins and punched out the pins from my old door ( thankfully hadn’t scrapped it yet).

Not sure I can trust the pins to stay put if only mushroomed at one end. One option would be to drill the lower loop on the door hinge & add a setscrew. That’s how Volvo doors are held in place, so I know that is a viable option. Might be kinda fiddly to access.

9_C1879_BD-297_E-4364-9513-_C494_B6_E15_E6_D.jpg
 
could you insert short screws into the top and bottom ends. The screws would secure the proper size washer to keep the pin in place. Or maybe a length of rod the appropriate diameter which was threaded at both ends to secure nuts at the top and bottom of the pin.
 
how about a screw above the pin so that it can't move up and the existing mushroom to keep it from going down (easier than trying to set up a set screw, but kinda the same idea)
 
I'll need to do this too. I also have an extra set of doors but wondering if it's possible to have a pin machined to spec. MWB had them but they show out-of-stock:
http://www.midwest-bayless.com/p-6289-4245373-oe-door-hinge-pin-fiat-bertone-x19-all-oe-nos.aspx

My guess would be that the pin is softer than the hinge to wear first, so what grade would the it be? What is the exact diameter specified? Maybe someone has a parts catalog, microfiche or some other esoteric FIAT specification.

Thanks.
 
Might not be any easier, but another route is to find a pin from another vehicle and ream the Fiat hinges to match it.
 
This is what I did:

Drill & tap for M6x1.00 threads
Dallara_Door_Hinge00001.jpg


Grub screw will press into existing pin (grease?) groove & hold pin in place. I will use a feeler guage to center hinges, to make sure they are not riding directly on the welded portion of the hinge
Dallara_Door_Hinge00002.jpg
 
Last edited:
I don't recall, is that to reuse the existing pins, or are you replacing the pins due to wear (I think that was the point of this)? If so, what pins did you find to use as replacements?
 
That is y
I don't recall, is that to reuse the existing pins, or are you replacing the pins due to wear (I think that was the point of this)? If so, what pins did you find to use as replacements?

This is using the good pins and center hinge I removed from my old doors. I cut off the mushroom from one end of the pin for removal, hence the set screw retention:)
 
This thread was recently linked to another discussion about replacing the hinge pins. And reviewing this again brought a thought to mind.

In the other thread the mention of regularly lubing the hinge pins was noted as a good means of prolonging the life of them. So the thought I had was if you do something similar to what Huss did here - he added a grub screw to secure the pins in place - but perhaps use a zerk fitting instead of a grub screw? He positioned the grub screw into a groove or slot that runs the length of the pin. That slot would allow the grease to travel from the zerk to the length of the pin. That way they could serve double purpose, retain the pin in position and allow easy effective lubing of the hinge. However I'm not sure how "hard" the zerk fitting is and if that might be a factor.

Dallara_Door_Hinge00002.jpg
 
I can't recall offhand if there is clearance off the door frame with the door fully closed for a zerk fitting to fit. I didn't even bother with the set screws, the door isn't going anywhere sitting on the mushroom end (top). I can squeeze grease through the holes I made :)
 
Is that the centre part of the hinge that rotates around the pin? The pins are secured top and bottom?.....one guy on the Alfa forum used HSS drill shanks of the correct diameter for replacement pins
 
I don't think you need zerk fittings for occasional greasing, this is not some 1903 car, you can remove the set screw every 20 years to grease the hinge pin.
 
I don't think you need zerk fittings for occasional greasing
Agree. If they lasted this long without being lubed, then I doubt they will ever need to be lubed again - at least not in my lifetime. But I thought if you were going through the trouble to drill and tap a hole to the pin, then why not make it functional at the same time.

My dad was the type that really believed in over lubing everything. He really made a mess of a lot of stuff as a result. In fact in some cases the item failed sooner due to the constant disassembly and reassembly, despite having a ton on lube on it.
 
Just to add, I didn't install set screws shown earlier - don't know what I was thinking - the pin needs to pivot within that center section (which was discussed earlier(!) ), so securing it would be a non-no. I can use the hole to squeeze extra grease DTR.
 
Back
Top