Paint and Body Door pin install question

[ggradtech]

I have a little sag in my drivers door. I swapped out the pins for new ones. It helped, but not 100%. I may try the oversized bushings to see if it helps. My question is this.....
Is there any reason that the bushings NEED to be installed in a certain direction? They say to install the top bushing in from the top, and the bottom one in from the bottom. Somehow i put mine in both from the top, but the door was still able to seat itself in the hinges. Would installing them both in "from the top" make a difference in the tightness of the "pin to bushing" tolerance as long as it still will mount up to the door hinges?

 

[JD1964]

Shouldnt be a problem the way you have it. Does the door close easy without having to slam it?

 

[ggradtech]

It's not terrible. I guess I shouldnt expect 2019 Mustang panels on a 1993 It was definitely way worse before. So much so, that the bottom of the door was chipping paint on the inner rocker panel area. I still feel about 1/16"-1/8" of play when I pull up on the door edge.

 

[JD1964]

Close it slowly against the pin in the jamb. If you see the door move up or down when it strikes the pin, try adjusting the pin position for a smoother close. If the pin is in the right place, it should take little effort to close. Do this with the window down to take the upper weather stripping out of the equation

 

[JD1964]

Edit..if its a convertible do it with window down. If its a hatch or coupe, window up or down doesn't matter because theres a frame around the window on those

 

[Wayne Waldrep]

I have to disagree. There's a reason they go in the correct way. It's very hard to describe on here but....the bushings have a flange that needs to be held captive between the two hinge pieces. I've put lots of these in and never had to put them in the wrong way. And yes I'd try the oversized ones. With the old ones out, all you do is see which bushings fit very tightly in the hinge holes. The bushing makes up the slop in the holes so you may need to used an oversized one in only one place. That will be fine since the inner diameter is matched to the pin.

 

[Wayne Waldrep]

Like this. If you put the lower bushing in from the top then the flange is just sitting on the top. Nothing holds it in that way and yes they can come out. End of the world? No. The wrong way to do it? Yes. Now you know. Hope it goes good for ya.

 

[ggradtech]

Well, I reinstalled the bushings the proper way. Even though my original bushing holes are not hogged-out and the bushing seem pretty tight, I'm still able to wiggle the door up and down a bit if I gently lift it. I was originally gonna use the "oversized bushings kit" to make it a tighter fit, I could in no way get those fat bushings in. I guess the only remedy I can now think of is to get 4 of those fatter bushings are slightly hollow out the bushing holes so I can get those bigger bushings installed. I'm thinking that there is a slight amount of "play" in the original sized bushing holes. Not hogged-out, but enough wiggle room to allow 1/8" or so of door play when pulling up on the open door.

 

[Wayne Waldrep]

Glad you got them in there. I would not make those holes bigger. If anything, chuck the bigger bushing in a drill...you'll have to get creative to do this but it's not hard. Then take a piece of 80 grit or so sandpaper and sand the outside of the bushing while it's spinning. Do this until it is a perfect fit. Time consuming but it works.

 

[ggradtech]

That's a better idea. I did try to "bevel" the edge of one of the oversized bushings on a grinder wheel, but it was still too fat I think to fit into the hole properly. I wound up splitting it trying to get it to seat.
I saw a video where a guy used some flat washers and a long nut/bolt combo to basically "squeeze" the bushing into it's seat. Tighten it down to pushnit on then reomve it.This way it's not getting tapped in with force.