Driver's Door Removal

[gregnash]

Getting ready to paint my spare drivers door in process of replacing my rusted out one.
Question is, is there an EASIER way to do it than opening the door and removing from the hinge?

 

[LAMBCRUSHER]

I think it is easier to leave the hinges on the pillar and take the door off the hinges... but if you can pull your fender, then just pull the hinges off the pillar, door and all. Make sure to scribe the pillar, door, and hinges for getting it to all line back up. Hth.

 

[gregnash]

Did I miss something? If you open the door fully can you access the hinges on the pillar? I could have sworn I looked and mine were blocked by the door, but I could also be smoking something so who knows. I will look again tonight, finally grabbed what I needed to sand down that door to original primer and then will test my skills on it. Gonna see if the shop I spoke with about color can make me a small pint of it so I can spray the door to see how I like the color.

 

[slacker24-7]

If you have any issues getting paint I've used these people several times, the latest was a repair to my battery tray area.. also have 12 oz spray that was a perfect match and worked well on my 60. Touch Up Paint and accessories | AutomotiveTouchup

 

[60Works]

Hinge to pillar bolts not accessible. Hinge to door bolts accessible.

 

[gregnash]

Hinge to pillar bolts not accessible. Hinge to door bolts accessible.

Yeah I noticed that... so basically it is take the door off the hinge or take fender off to remove hinge from pillar.

 

[SteveH]

Handy hint - my front upper driver's door hinge was worn out, but I found that if you use the passenger's front lower hinge and flip it over, it works as a replacement. After carefully adjusting my doors, they open and close like new.

To test the hinges, grab the door and lift it up and down and watch the upper hinge for slop/play.

 

[gregnash]

Thanks for the tip Steve.
One thing that I remember seeing on here a long time ago was someone had modified their hinges to be pull pins. The person did this so they could make the swap to their "trail doors' much easier so I may look into that. Spare door did not comes with hinges so I have to use my current.

 

[Spike Strip]

I believe there's an SST for the door hinges:

OTC Toyota 09812-00010 12Mm Door Hinge Bolt Wrench

But you can find generic version on ebay for around $30.

 

[gregnash]

Thanks Spike! much appreciated... Seems like it should be something that can semi-easily be made for much less.
Looks like this should do the trick if the wrenches are long enough (5 Pc Metric S-Type Obstruction Wrench Set)

 

[Spike Strip]

Those won't work. I tried. One head of the SST is off-set and makes all the difference.

12 mm S Type Wrench for Installing and Removing Car Door Hinge Screws, JTC# 4093

Good enough for the one-time you'll use it.

 

[gregnash]

Those won't work. I tried. One head of the SST is off-set and makes all the difference.

12 mm S Type Wrench for Installing and Removing Car Door Hinge Screws, JTC# 4093

Good enough for the one-time you'll use it.

Got this one and works like a charm. Haven't actually taken the door off yet but just tried it out and made sure that none of the bolts were stuck. Long enough that it has good leverage no matter what and definitely has special angles/turns/offset to make it work.

 

[brownbear]

I had to make a wrench when I did mine. If you have a welder you can cut a wrench up and make it in the shape you need.

It's not an easy job, even harder if you are replacing the fenders like I did at the same time. Alignment is tiring.

 

[aviafx]

Does anyone have any tricks to properly align the driver door? Repainted this summer and have all the doors in good working order except the driver side. Hinges seem okay.

It seems it's either too low on the bottom end and the top right corner of the door smacks the middle pillar, or it's too high and it closes tough/pops open due to some biding on the upper left corner. Seems the weatherstrip gets in the way.

Currently I have it so the weatherstrip around the right side of the door snags a little on the middle pillar, and the door closes with a little more force than the other doors. It works, but occasionally I won't close it enough and get locked out from the inside. My lady laughs when I have to roll the window down to unlock myself with the key from the inside.