02' Door hinge

**johnfin** · 10-10-2012, 09:17 AM

Anyone have problems with their lower door hinge. Mine has a round ring looking piece on top that just rattles around.

**pajeff02** · 10-10-2012, 10:44 AM

No problems at all. I'd have to go look at ours to see what it is that you are referring to.

**johnfin** · 10-15-2012, 04:38 AM

Looks like the bushing on the roller is missing. Can this be repaired or do you have to buy the whole hinge.

**sjgreen6** · 10-15-2012, 02:29 PM

Yes the roller is shot. These hinges need regular lube (I spray mine with white lithium grease) but even then can fail because they are under a lot of pressure. Your choice is to buy a used replacement (cheapest) or have yours rebuilt with a new bushing and pin. Either way you will have to remove the hinge to do the job. You might be able to just pull the one hinge but probably have to remove the door. Getting the door lined up without goofing something up is a bit tricky since the door is very heavy and hanging on the end of a long pivot point. My advice would be to buy a used hinge (upper and lower, driver and passenger side make a difference so get the right one) then have a local body shop install for you. Much better than goofing it up by either dropping the door or gouging the paint with a misaligned door.

**johnfin** · 10-16-2012, 04:10 AM

Can a bushing even be bought? If so I could grind the lip off remove the roller, install the roller and mig a small washer on top.

**sjgreen6** · 10-16-2012, 04:19 PM

There are rebuild kits available. Go to eBay and do a search for Firebird Door Hinge and you'll pull up a number of kits. Usually you have to remove the old hinge and get the pressure off the spring to replace the bushing. They also sell a tool to safely remove the spring.

I understand what you are considering with trying to remove the damaged roller but I really think even if you had the part to try it, you would be much better off just replacing the hinge complete with a good used or a new old stock one if you can find it. Trying to get the old pin out and roller replaced without causing other damage to the hinge is difficult at best.

**johnfin** · 10-17-2012, 04:18 AM

I was thinking of leaving the pin. Just remove the roller. Another problem, small, but finding a good one with matching color (yellow)would be impossible. and.. painting it myself, i would think painting a spring would be difficult. Maybe an off color one would not be a big deal.

**johnfin** · 10-17-2012, 12:17 PM

So does this pin fit into a larger pin?

93-02 Camaro Firebird Lower Door Hinge Roller Kit | eBay

**sjgreen6** · 10-17-2012, 03:00 PM

As you noticed that replacement pin does not go all the way through the hinge like the factory pin. It might work, but I suspect the factory pin goes all the way down to provide extra stability to the bushing. They don't tend to overengineer GM cars so I would bet that the replacement pin would not stay in place long unless you give it a couple of touches with a welder on the under side where the pin comes through to add strength.

In the end you are still going to have to remove the hinge fix it and replace it. I think you will be ahead finding a replacement hinge with good bushings and hinge pins, cleaning it up and getting a matching can of spray from the auto parts store. Shoot the replacement hinge (you can paint the spring by compressing the hinge a bit in a vice to open the spring up. Then when it is all pretty and ready to re-install, smear on some black grease like yours has now and no one will ever suspect