must be common cause i've seen it on three doors in my own pigs. the body cracks away, starting right below the lower hinge. anybody have a "best way" to reinforce the body once the cracking has begun?
lower door hinge area cracking
- Thread starter nuclearlemon
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
VERY common at least in these parts! I have my Cruiser +2 waiting for this treatment, I think the somewhat thin door coupled with a strong spring and no lube-compound this.
Have not started yet but my plan of attack is to completly rebuild frome hinge to hinge, welded nuts on the inside, then reinforce again on the outside. I think the hardest part will be aligning everything.
Anyone done anything different? Love to see what ya got!
Have not started yet but my plan of attack is to completly rebuild frome hinge to hinge, welded nuts on the inside, then reinforce again on the outside. I think the hardest part will be aligning everything.
Anyone done anything different? Love to see what ya got!
My 5 minute fix consisted of welding the cracks and then I ground the welds down, POR'd and was off to the races. My Piggie is a trail Piggie though - not a primo resto.
anybody got a pic of these cracks?
on the body pillar or on the door?
don't see any on mine, but if the area needs to be strengthened then I should do mine this winter.
thanks
on the body pillar or on the door?
don't see any on mine, but if the area needs to be strengthened then I should do mine this winter.
thanks
https://forum.ih8mud.com/showpost.php?p=2438935&postcount=330
This is after I welded but you can kind of see where my cracks were.
Gonna be on the door. Usually on the bottom hinge on the drivers side. Push door open all the way then look around the hinge area while you put push it out a little further. See movement? Then you probably have a problem.
My divers side had this issue allong with a lot of others. No pic of the fix. But I just took the door off, hinge off. And welded the crap out of this area from the outside and inside. Funn stuff. Then welded flat. It shouldn't break there for a long time.
This is what my door looked like originally.
After I used a Hammer, Dolly, Crowbar, BFH, 2x4, and various other non metal working aides.
I simply welded one of my old 55's and it cracked agian, in not too much time. I feel it needs to be rienforced at least somewhat? Metal seems thin there? Definetly use POR-15
thanks for the pics, will look at this area carefully when putting mine back together
After this I went and looked at mine--sure enough--there they are. Not big enough to be a real worry (I oiled the crap outta my hinges and open the door slowly) immediately, but its definitely jumped to one of my top priorities.
- Thread starter
- #10
here's a shot of mine
Cracks in your door are caused by a worn hinge. The hinge is worn on the inside with most of the wear (the hinge knuckle is ovalized) near the arc of the door as it nears closed. Sorry,best way I can say it right now. Thus, the spring hold open mechanism combined with the wear causes the jamming effect. Eventually all of this causes the metal to fatigue. Notice the popping sound everytime you open the door? Extra resistance to opening? rebuild your hinges before you repair. Make sure the spring mech. is functioning well. Another point of notice is that there are 2 more peices of metal behind the cracked outer metal. Check these also. have to agree with the comment that welding cracks alone is not enough. replacing the whole area with a thicker gauge is probably better.
gread pins sure would help........alternatively oilite bushings in the hinges; they are made of sintered bronze with oil impregnating the pores..........either one would be better than the original ones in my opinion........any comments from the engineers welcome
?
Lou
?Lou
The FJC forums keep getting cruiser folks saying that the old LCs never have body fatigue issues.
Therefore, your issues must not exist.
It's just a figment of your imagination.
Therefore, your issues must not exist.
It's just a figment of your imagination.
- Thread starter
- #14
so the reason this door won't work isn't because there's huge gaping hole where the lower hinge should be, but because it's a fatigue prone fjcruiser door?
What do you expect? They were made way back in days of steel. We can sit back with our smug plastic faces and wonder, what were they thinking? I mean, everyone knows the obvious benifits of plastic. Every time I walk by an FJC I ogle those beautiful sturdy plastic rockers. If only they made um for my 55.
- Thread starter
- #17
didn't get any inbetween pics, but pulled the door and somewhat fixed the cracking. i didn't have intentions of fixing it, and not much time, so i didn't make a scab plate. that will happen later. i just welded what i could. the metal was so thin, that i had to turn the welder way down and i was still burning through like crazy. you can kinda see some spots in the after pic. for now, it's solid, and all back together for weds rising sun meeting. we're having a gathering of the swine. terry (arthog) and myself planned it, then another member bought a new pig, so we'll have three pigs at the meeting wooohooo!!!!
also did some shampooing...seats look much better.
wooohooo!!!! also did some shampooing...seats look much better.
Ige, that looks like a good fix for now. Glad to see you've got it mended for the time being.
And ya'll take it easy on the FJ Cruiser...I happen to be one of "those" people too. But I have the advantage of owning a 34 year old Toyota as well as a year old one. Gives you a little perspective I think.
And ya'll take it easy on the FJ Cruiser...I happen to be one of "those" people too. But I have the advantage of owning a 34 year old Toyota as well as a year old one. Gives you a little perspective I think.