It seems the bushings on the door to my 94 LeBaron convertible have gone out, and the door is off-kilter. Consequently, the fender needs to be replaced.
A local body shop quoted me $1,4000 to fix it.
However, a local junkyard has a fender, in the same color, completely in-tact, for $50.
Here are my questions:
1) How difficult would it be to do this myself? I've got a floorjack I could use to help me re-install the door.
2) How do I fix the bushings? The hinges will un-bolt from the vehicle, but they're welded to the door.
3) Can I just replace the pins and bushings? If so, how difficult is it? If not, how would I replace the entire hinge? I'm sure I could Dremel the old one off, but I don't have a welder to put the new one on...
Wait a sec -- if the hinges will unbolt from the vehicle but are welded to the door, then why must you replace the *fender*?
You won't find a prefab kit with new bushings and pins, though come to think of it such kits exist for older Chrysler cars -- I can't think of any reason why the same parts wouldn't work for your later car. The idea is that you drill out the old (worn) holes, put in the new bushings, and the new pins fit into the new bushings.
Pick up a copy of Hemmings Motor News at any well-stocked news stand. Look through the "Chrysler (Mopar) Parts For Sale" section under "Hinges" or possibly "Door". There's a vendor who's been selling repair kits for years.
"Daniel J. Stern" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@alumni.engin.umich.edu:
I'd assume because the bushings are so worn and the pins are so worn and possibly the pins have worn completely through the bushing and possibly even worn the hols in the hing parts that the door sags enough that it bound up on the fender and bent it.
I've seen that many times on cars that have half the hinge welded to the door or body. An incredibly STUPID idea, IMHO, but six or eight fewer bolts per car saves money, unless the hinges get welded on out of kilter, but what's scrapping a whole door once in a while VS not needing a few thousand bolts...
Feel lucky that on the LeBaron, the hinges bolt to the body from the oustide! On my 86 Cadillac Cimarron, they bolt through the door post from the *inside*. (Stupid, stupid, STUPID design!)
Anyway, if the 94 fender is anything like a 90-92, there are two bolts under the bottom end at the rear, one bolt near the top that comes out from the rear with the door open, one in the middle of the back you get at from the fenderwell after removing the plastic liner (buy new plastic push pins at NAPA), three (or four?) nuts at the front that hold the bumper cover to the fender, Then shove forward and down on the end of the bumper cover to expose a bolt through the lower corner of the nosepiece, Pull up the plastic panel that covers the gap behind the nose to get at a nut holding the upper corner of the fender (more plastic pins from NAPA). There's two (or three?) bolts to get at the front from inside the wheel well and one more from the front into the radiator support that's behind the headlights, get it from below. Then there's all the ones along the top edge you get with the hood up. If you're lucky, the back two holes in the fender will be slotted so you don't have to fully remove those bolts. Nothing has to be done with the hood or hinges since there's enough clearance to slip the fender edge under the hinge. (At least _some_ things on this car had some brains applied to the design.)
Once the fender is off, the door comes off easy. Figure out something to support the door if you don't want to remove the interior panel and disconnect all the wiring and fish the lot through the hole in the front.
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