Dayle97SE

iTrader: (7)

anyone here ever change their driver door hinges themselves? I need to change mine on my 89GXE as they are shot, and my door sags alot, how do I go about doing this? Do I have to remove the fender to access the hinges? Is there an easy way? any help is appreciated.

pkfinn

Here's some info, if it's not too late. I just bought a 91 SE for my son and one of the only "major" problems it has is that both hinges on both front doors are worn quite a bit. The door drops about 3/4" when opened and you can raise the back end up and down when the door is open. I went to the dealer to see if they had bushings and pins, and was pleasantly surprised to find out that you can buy a complete hinge assembly for about $20 each. I bought 4 new ones and plan to change them this weekend. It looks like I should be fairly easy if I remove the two bolts that hold each hinge to the door, then move the door away far enough to get a socket on the bolts that attach the hinge to the body. I ordered a 12mm door hinge bolt wrench S6159 from my local Snap-On dealer. It's supposed to be in this week. I'm not gonna start the job 'till I get the wrench. I don't think you'd be able to easily adjust the door after installing the new hinges without removing the door, repositioning the hinge on the body, then reinstalling the door to the hinge. The wrench is "S" shaped and can get on the body-side bolts with the door in place. I'll let you know how it works out. How common are worn hinges on these cars? I looked at a couple other 3rd gens and didn't notice any of them being worn much.

Dayle97SE

iTrader: (7)

thanks so much for replying! i thought no one was gonna answer. its actually my mom's car, she has the '89 GXE, i have a 97 SE. anyway i don't really know how common this problem is, but i'm guessing that the driver door hinges wore out becuase its the most used door on the car. funny thing though, we also have an '86 maxima and all the doors still open and close flawlessly, they have yet to even be adjusted! let me know how it goes with your hinge replacement, i still have to buy them but thank god they are so inexpensive. i just need to wait for some decent weather in the spring. NY weather is pretty nasty right now. well good luck and i hope all goes smoothly.

Matt93SE

iTrader: (44)

it's actually fairly common on these cars.

imagine opening and closeing a 100lb door half a dozen times (or more) every day for the last 10 years. that's well over 20,000 times that hinge had been worked. (no wonder they wear out!)

anyway, best way to swap them is to use some sort of "stand" to hold the door in place. remove one hinge at a time and replace with the new one.
best way I've found to do it (if you don't have a "door stand" like my body guys does) is to stick a rag on top of a jack.. then jack it up until it just barely pushes up the back corner of the door. have a helper hold the door steady while the jack holds up the weight.. then you remove the hinge and replace.

it's tricky, but you can do it without removing the fender.

pkfinn

I wasn't planning on removing the fender. It doesn't look like you can get straight on the bolts with the door in the way, so with both hinges unbolted, I was just going to move the door away from the fender far enough to get a socket on the two bolts that hold the hinges to the body. The jack idea with a folded up towel on it is exactly what I planned on doing along with a helper to steady the door while I work. I'll let you know how it goes. Hopefully I'll get it done this weekend.