Frozen door hinge pins (1 Viewer)

[Chris8760]

I had the bright idea of removing the top on the 40 today... looking forward to some great fall drives in the open air before winter sets in.

Anyway all went pretty quick and smooth with the exception of the door pins. I've never had the doors off and don't think they've been off for quite some time. The top pins came loose after a few minutes, but the bottom pins aren't giving in. They've been sprayed and sprayed again and sprayed some more with WD40 and are now soaking... my plan is to keep tapping tomorrow morning.

Is there a smarter, easier approach to loosening these up? Thanks... I appreciate any input.

 

[JohnnyC]

Nothing 'smarter' .... just the BFH ... don't mushroom the end however

Technically Mr.T wanted you to remove the hinge from the door ... but didn't realize we like to remove doors faster than that

 

[Josie'sLandCruiser]

Hi all,

First off, WD-40 is not really a lubricant; go find some "PB Blaster" or (even better) "Aerokroil" penetrating oil.

But, what you probably really need is heat, like from a welding or propane torch, to break those door pins free from the tub mount.

Good luck!

Alan

 

[TheHardWay]

I'm having the same problem with mine. Two came off pretty quick, but I've been PB blasting the other two, pounding them with the BFH but no budgee. Won't the flame from the welder/torch ruin the paint?

 

[JohnnyC]

Yes heat will F the paint

 

[Chris8760]

I should have been more specific. It's the WD40 penetrant/rust release spray, not just the regular stuff. But you're right... PB Blaster may be the better choice.

I appreciate the advice... I thought about heating as well. Will give it a shot and post back on how it goes.

Thanks guys!

 

[Captn Conch]

Try soaking in that stinky diesel smelling engine degreaser aerosol spray can stuff it seems to penetrate real good, way better than it's intended use as a degreaser. My windshield hinge pins froze up and no matter what I did they seemed to form into one piece of metal. had to find some good used ones. This was before I found the degreaser. Not sure that would have worked though.

 

[Fast Eddy]

Tap them down from the top as well as up from the bottom. Using a brass drift will keep them from getting all beat up.

 

[honk]

I like a sharp chisel under the heads of the pins.

If the top ones have come out for you put them back in partway so the bottom ones will still run straight.

Don't believe everything you read on a can of WD-40. They took losses in reputation after desmogging their formulas and have been trying to recover ever since. WD-40 or not it's best not to rely on such products too heavily.

In the end it'll be your good hammering and if all else fails heat that win out. If the paint suffers you can fix it later.

 

[JAFO2014]

I have had very good success with ATF and Acetone mixed 50/50 as a penetrating oil. ATF is a fairly corrosive liquid. I bought a set of rails for a D2 Caterpillar (rails are the track chains) that had been sitting out in the weather coiled for years. They were actually new rails, but they were stuck (guy restoring the old machine had passed away and family let things sit). Every pin and bushing was rusted and seized. I mixed a spray bottle with the 50/50 ATF/Acetone and kept soaking all the joints. It took about a month, but finally everything started moving. And after more soaking and then prying with a bar, both chains came free and I installed the rails onto my machine. Also used it on some stuck pistons. But with all this stuff, time is your friend. It has to have time to work.

Penetrating Oil Showdown!!!

 

[Chris8760]

Thanks again for all the replies. In the end, it was a flat head screwdriver under the heads of the pins that really did the trick. I do think soaking in the WD40 rust release spray helped. I've had a new set of pins laying around, so I'll use those when I put it all back. I'll grease them up before putting them in and put the top ones in upside down.

Has anyone ever had a simple 'I think I'll take the top off today' turn into a frame off resto?!! I keep thinking 'it's only a few more bolts...' Hmmm.

 

[Chris8760]

I know how we all like pictures, so thought I'd cap off this thread with a few shots from my drive today. Great day, beautiful drive...

 

[swelltimes]

I'm in the same dilemma now, after starting to put my doors back on. Can't get the pins to budge on a couple of the hinges. What a PITA. Thanks for the tips here.

 

[TheHardWay]

Two came off easily. For the other two, a combination of PB Blaster, BFH with a brass drift so the pin wouldn't be flattened/bent worked on the top hinge. For the bottom, had to remove the running board to give some BFH swing room. BOOM - out it popped!

 

[Chris8760]

I've since sold this 40 (these pics are a painful reminder!), but I when I put it all back together I used white lithium grease and put the top pins in upside down. The next owner will have a much easier time!

 

[swelltimes]

Two came off easily. For the other two, a combination of PB Blaster, BFH with a brass drift so the pin wouldn't be flattened/bent worked on the top hinge. For the bottom, had to remove the running board to give some BFH swing room. BOOM - out it popped!

Yeah, I'm running into clearance issues with the hammer on the lower hinge, too.

 

[Landpimp]

Take the hinges off the body, then take to vise and goto work.

It's 3 or 4 bolts on the inside of the body to remove the hinge.

When you do go to put back together , put the top pin in upside down. or shorten it, easier to remove