HALF MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
I thought I had replaced the door pins on this truck before, but had not, as the pins were still riveted/swaged in the holes.
I gathered my arsenal of metal cutting tools.
Hacksaw or sawzall = no go, due to lack of "stroke" room behind the pins.
3" air cut-off wheel = no go, will not fit in the limited confines.
Torch = no go, unless everything around is fire-proofed and heat-shielded.
Dremel tool with abrasive cut-off wheel = will work, but also will take forever; I gave up after spending thirty minutes getting 1/3 of the way through one pin.
Here is what did work:
Die-grinder with inch diameter aluminum-oxide BALL stone.
First, I tapped the pins up, as far as they would go, thus getting the heads above the surrounding metal.
I ground the heads off the pins and drove them out the bottom.
The bottom end of the factory pins are splined, so they drive down better than they will drive up.
I took some brush-on red primer and covered the bare metal where the grind-stone wore the paint off.
An air blow-gun blew away all the little metal dust, so that moisture wouldn't rust it through the paint.
I enlisted the wife and son to hold and support the door, while the pins were out.
They had to support the weight of the entire door, while I drove out the old bushings.
Had they have dropped the door, it would have root-wadded a zillion wires, let alone skinning up the door.
To start the bushings, I drove a sharp cold-chisel under the flanges, thus loosening and lifting them, then used a punch to finish driving them out.
The new bushings were pressed in with the jaws of a pair of Channel-locks.
The top bushing flange goes up; the bottom bushing flange goes down.
A dab of gun-grease was smeared inside each bushing.
The new pins got driven down through, from the top, with E-clips snapped in their lower grooves.
The correct part number for these door hinge pins is Dorman HELP! 38410, about five bucks per pack.
Only one pin comes per pack, requiring two packs to do one door; this is sort of a rip-off, seeing as how the packs for a Dodge truck come two pins/pack for less money.
These new pins/bushings, coupled with the new plastic sleeves on the latch-pins, make the door swing and latch better than new.
I can push the door together and gently "CLICK" it closed, effortlessly.
Takes those guys about 3 minutes.
