0
0
Cutting Door Hinges On The Truck with Kim Ley
The hinges are easy to cut if you use a dremel tool with a flex shaft on it. You can use either a cylindrical carbide bit that has a fairly small diameter, or those little flat stone cut-off disks. You will also need some of those little sandpaper drums, a drill and fairly small drill bit, a hammer, a small chisel, a punch that is smaller in diameter than the pin in the hinge, and a floor jack, you may also need a pair of needle nose pliers.
You want to take the drill and small drill bit and drill holes along the top part of the hinge on the side that is fastened to the fender. This will make cutting the hinge go a lot quicker. You dont have to drill the holes if you dont want to, but it takes a lot more time and uses up a lot more disks if you dont do it. Then drill another hole through the hinge and pin as shown (at the bottom of this part of the hinge and directly above the part of the hinge that is fastened to the door marked with an asterisk on the diagram). Now take your dremel and cut through the holes in the hinge.
Take a chisel and a hammer and use it to push the cut piece up and off of the pin. You may have to split this piece to get it off or you can just push it up and out of the way with the chisel and cut the pin off from underneath it if you are using the carbide bit. Again cut through the hole in the pin like you did on the hinge. Now that you have that piece off of there, you will need to grind the top corner of the hinge piece on the door at an angle. This needs to be done so that the door clears the indentation in the fender a little easier.
You are almost done! After you cut all the hinges, you will want to open the door and use a floor jack to lift the doors up until the top of the hinge hits the indentation. At this point, you will want to drill a hole and cut the pin just below the hinge but as close to it as possible. This will make the pin the right length for you to easily remove your doors. It is a good idea to have somebody help steady the door on the jack so it dont fall off. Once you have the doors off take the dremel and smooth off the pin a little bit where you cut it. Use your sanding drum attachments to sand the pin down a little so the door doesnt fit so tight on the pin. Then you will need to take the punch and tap the cut portion of the pin out of the hinge. Now you have removable doors without the headaches associated with trying to remove the phillips head screws that hold the hinges to the body. They are a royal pain in the butt to remove!
I hope this helps and makes some kind of sense! Email me if you have any questions.
Kim
08/11/10 15:07
