Topic: 1966 door hinge rebuild

[Hipo giddyup]

Guys, I am  currently rebuilding the lower door hinges on my 66’ coupe. I am having issues trying to replace the pin? that holds the roller that the door position arm rolls on. (Hope I am explaining that right). I have been heating up the area and tried knocking the hinge off of the pin that is being held in a vise. Not working... Any ideas.

[jwc66k]

"Heating" is not enough. Use an oxyacetylene torch on cut with the cutting oxygen valve off. When the hinge is red, pull the pin. This is an outdoor task with a securely mounted vice or other non-flammable retainer for the hinge.
Jim

[Hipo giddyup]

Yikes, but won't work for me as I do not have that torch or know of anyone thats does. I found a video where the guy created a "tool" similar to a type of puller. It worked well and might be my only choice at this stage.

[CharlesTurner]

Hydraulic press?  If you don't have one, maybe a local machine shop can help.

[67gtasanjose]

Yikes, but won't work for me as I do not have that torch or know of anyone thats does. I found a video where the guy created a "tool" similar to a type of puller. It worked well and might be my only choice at this stage.

This is what I did. The pin you speak of is the "blind" one, no access from below. Most kits provide a replacement pin & roller. Drill & tap threads into the old pin and thread a fine-threaded stud deep into the pin (like a #8) and using a nut and home-made fixture with a couple lubricated washers as a bushing, extract it out. No heat needed. I found a step-up stud to 1/4-28 pitch and it came right out.

[jwc66k]

I drilled one out from a hinge that has the roller pin sheared off, there was no way to use my torch method. It was an extra hinge so I "experimented". First: you will find it difficult to get a "center" for drilling, so don't worry about it, just get real close with a center punch. To start, I used a 1/16 inch bit and worked my way up to a 1/4 inch bit. The "off-center" drilling is actually a benefit as you get real close to the edge of the hole in the hinge, and a center punch can then collapse the remaining wall of the drilled out stud, until a pair of needle nose pliers can grab something. When the old stud is out, check the fit of the new one. I "deformed" the serrations slightly before I pressed the new one in (don't forget the roller) and used J-B Weld to keep the stud in place.
Jim

[Hipo giddyup]

Very good explanations on how to extract the pin. Thanks everyone. I actually created a tool similar to the one on the YouTube video I watched on this removal. While cranking down on two bolts the plate that is welded around the head of the pin, pulls the pin up and out of the hole. It worked for me for the first side. Tomorrow I will work on the other side, hopefully with the same results.

[jwc66k]

Pictures would be nice. I'm always looking for different methods.
Jim

[Hipo giddyup]

Just finished the rebuild. I will supply a few pics tonight (thanks for asking Jim). One thing I did note is that once the bolts start raising the pin, I found that it was angling the "pull" of the pin as the height increased. I corrected this by slipping a few large washers next to the pin for more stability. Hopefully the images I supply will be self explanatory. Sorry, they will be on their way soon.

[Hipo giddyup]

Sorry this has took so long. I’ve been side tracked..

Attached is the pic of the plate I used to extract the pin. It’s a 1/4” piece of steel plate and I first drilled a 3/8” hole about 2”s in from the edge. I then cut the wedge out in order to fit this around the shaft of the pin. You will need to cut off the roller portion of the pin to make this work first.
You can now place the plate around the pin head, put the wedge in place, and I placed a small tac weld in the wedge to keep in back in its original place. Then , you need to align the plate and drill two holes , one over each of the angled sides of the hinge. This Is where bolts will be used and as they are ratcheted down against the sides of the hinge, the force will put pressure on the pin pushing it up and out of the hinge.
To do this step you need to eye up where the holes will be drilled, drill the holes ( I used a 3/8” bit), then two nuts can be tac welded on top of the plate. I used full threaded bolts about 4” long for this extraction. Use a vise to hold the hinge, ratchet the bolts at the same time ,and I used a few large washers under the plate to help keep everything level while extracting the pin. When I knew it was working correctly, I tac welded the pin head to the plate to make it solid.
Long story short, there is a good YouTube video of this if you search hinge rebuild. To get the new pin in place, I used a large bench top vise and slowly pressed the pin in place. Don’t press it in too far, make sure the roller stays free moving. I hope this helps folks.

[67gtasanjose]

Sorry this has took so long. I’ve been side tracked..

Attached is the pic of the plate I used to extract the pin. It’s a 1/4” piece of steel plate and I first drilled a 3/8” hole about 2”s in from the edge. I then cut the wedge out in order to fit this around the shaft of the pin. You will need to cut off the roller portion of the pin to make this work first.
You can now place the plate around the pin head, put the wedge in place, and I placed a small tac weld in the wedge to keep in back in its original place. Then , you need to align the plate and drill two holes , one over each of the angled sides of the hinge. This Is where bolts will be used and as they are ratcheted down against the sides of the hinge, the force will put pressure on the pin pushing it up and out of the hinge.
To do this step you need to eye up where the holes will be drilled, drill the holes ( I used a 3/8” bit), then two nuts can be tac welded on top of the plate. I used full threaded bolts about 4” long for this extraction. Use a vise to hold the hinge, ratchet the bolts at the same time ,and I used a few large washers under the plate to help keep everything level while extracting the pin. When I knew it was working correctly, I tac welded the pin head to the plate to make it solid.
Long story short, there is a good YouTube video of this if you search hinge rebuild. To get the new pin in place, I used a large bench top vise and slowly pressed the pin in place. Don’t press it in too far, make sure the roller stays free moving. I hope this helps folks.

good job!

For those pins that are sheared off (like I had one on a replacement hinge not original to my car), the other drilling out ideas seem to better fit the call of need. I was surprised how stubborn these can be to get out yet whenever you get the "right pull" on it, how easily they remove. Key seems to be having a perfect "pull", straight upwards.

[Hipo giddyup]

I agree completely!!! Makes me want to purchase an NOS set of lower hinges for my next project instead of going through this method again. 

[jwc66k]

After reading the how make and to use the "steel plate extractor" and seeing the pictures, I'll stick with my torch method. It took me about 15 minutes (plus another 15 to take the torch out out and it put away) with no special tools (just a pair of vice grips) to remove mine.
Jim