I'm going to replace front driver's door hinges 'cause door started rocking and squeaking, and hard to close.
Do I need to paint the new hinges prior to bolting them on?
And another question. There is some kind of goo (waterproofing compound?) where the hinge attaches car body. Is it supposed to be there? What can I use instead?
Any hints about the whole task?

Thanks in advance.

 

bump... anybody?

 

They come plated with yellow sinz.. you dont' have to paint them, but they look pretty odd if you don't. they're not going to rust and fall apart though.

the sealant around the original hinges isn't a problem. I just removed my old ones and bolted the new ones on (after painting them red).. can't really tell it's ever been touched, unless you pull the fender off.


FYI, you will have to pull the fender to get to the bolts on that side. and when you do replcae the hinges, only unscrew them one at a time-- and leave the door closed until you're done.. once you have one new one bolted into place, then you can pull the next one off-- it keeps you from having to hold the door in place- let one hinge do it for you.

you're probably still going to have to move the door around a little bit to make it shut perfectly again, but it's not that big of a deal. the hardest part of the whole thing is getting the fender to line up properly again.

 

Thanks Matt! This is what I call a good piece of advice

 

if i were you, replacing the hinges would be my last resort. try your best to lubricate the hinges using premium/water resistant greases first.

be forewarned: a misaligned door can become quite a headache.

good luck
walka

 

im pretty sure the only cure to a misaligned door is to replace the hinges

 

the point i was trying to make is that getting the new hinges perfectly aligned can be time consuming sometimes.

on each hinge, there are 4 holes. 2 bolt to the frame and 2 bolt to the door. there is quite a bit of play and tolerance for each hole.

granted, swapping one hinge at a time with the door still mounted is much easier than removing both hinges and swapping doors.

walka

 

So how come your replacing the hinges? Have you tried lubeing them, I have noticed its kinda hard to lube these things, is the hinge a common fix to these things getting tight? How much a pair of hinges go for?

 

the hinges should be replaced whenever you notice the door sagging.

Open your door and lift up on the end.. if you feel any play in it, then the hinges are worn out. they most likely are on a 10 yr old car.
Also, if they don't close perfectly, and you have to slam it to get it to latch, the hinges are probably gone.
sure, you can re-align it by loosening the door hinges and jacking the door up, but you're just covering up a problem with with another problem.

 

i bolted up all 4 of my doors without a hitch when i repainted the car

 

This was discussed on the forum about a half year ago. And it was stated that it is the way to fix door play, bad squeaking, sagging etc.

Sure I tried to lube them. It helped only for a couple of weeks.

 

Hey Matt, is this a dealer only part? And how much do they go for.

 

I think I paid ~$12 each (2 per door) from JRNissan.

 

12-20 a door from nissan not painted, dealer only item.

these cars are getting so old this question should be an FAQ

 

You said pull the fender. The Advanced Auto parts website doesn't mention that at all. Why did you have to pull the fender?

 

go start the job and see.

until you have your hands in it, there's no point in me explaining why. it will be self-evident when you get out there.

 

Way to build up suspense! So just in case can you tell me how to take the fender off?

 

youll find that you have to pull tbe fender to replace front door hinges on 98%of vehicles the only exceptions are deloreans and other exotics

 

its pretty hard to explain just start removing bolts that obviousaly hold it on and you have to remove the corner light and the tire well plastic cover

 

step 1. gather tools.
step 2. walk out to car.
step 3. strategically remove stuff in the way until the fender is free.

If you need more help than that, then you don't need to be changing the door hinges.

 

buy a fsm or even a chiltons/haynes. they tell you how to do it.

 

Thanks!

Last time I just started removing bolts to get at something I found I didn't nessesarily have to remove all the bolts. So knowing this in advance would have saved me some time. I have the Hayes and FSM for both my 93 and 98 but as you would know what they say in the book isn't always the same as how it actually goes down.

What you've told me is going to save me time. Now, don't you feel better?

I hope I didn't come across in a bad way. I just have a dry sense of humor.