S10 door hinge

Hi All,

Got a '99 S10. The drivers door went droopy on me about 2003. I put it in the shop and had the hinge redone. Cost was about $85.00. About 14 months later, the door dropped again. I called the chevy dealer -- they said tough luck -- warranty was for 12 months only.

I'm tired of the misalignment - decided to get this fixed again. I called another dealer to set up an appointment. They say that this repair cost $125, is only guaranteed 12 months and that the hinge would only last about a year and a half unless it was continually lubed.

This sound normal or is this a load of BS? What is a good price to pay for this repair? Who long should the repair last? Any pointers really appreciated.....

Reply to
Danzig
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Had the same problem with both my 95 3500 crew cab and my 99 suburban. Only one of the many quality issues I had with those trucks. GM's crappy engineering and build quality is well known.

I forgot how much I paid to have them done, but it seems like because it is such a common problem, an independent shop might be able to do it cheaper.

Best of luck

Reply to
Capt. Tundra

Don't be using the DOOR for a CRUTCH when Exiting the Vehicle.

Most OVERWEIGHT people Put all their weight on the Door when Exiting the Vehicle I am not saying u are overweight , But I see this all the TIME at the MALLS.

Put a 2X4 on the bottom of the DOOR AND SLAM it Shut ONCE. This is what they used to Do in The BUICK ASSEMBLY in FLINT, MI plant as the cars came off the line

Reply to
no one

I'm not overweight and don't use the door for a crutch. I've never had another car door sag like this. I may be wrong but seems like bad build quality/poor design from the factory and poor quality replacement parts at the dealer. I can't conceive of a door hinge lasting a year and half. I've never seen anything that poor.....

I've thought about this description for a bit - but - i can't understand what you're describing. Any chance of a revised description or a link to a website for us dummies??

Reply to
Danzig

My 99 Blazer has the same issue. It is the silly hinge pins they use that wear out. They would not be hard to replace except for the door spring. See if you local parts store can let you borrow the tool to keep the spring compressed when replacing the pins. Mike

Reply to
Mike Copeland

Yep the pins are WAY too small on the GM hinges. I just did both of the front hinges on the newer 2002 we got, just to make sure they are OK. They were not too bad yet. If you want to make them a LOT better you can drill out the hinges and use larger pins and bushings from a Chrysler, I also usually add some extra steel around the bushings to make a larger bearing surface for the pins. To lube the bushings the best thing I have found so far is synthetic dry film lube. You spray it into the bushing and the carrier dries up but the lube stays behind. Doesn't attract dust and grit that way.

Taking the spring out is the easy part. It is getting it back in that is difficult. I use a small engine valve spring compressor myself. I have the "correct" tool someplace in the shop someplace........

Reply to
Steve W.

Look, this is a common problem that doesn't need to happen at all for anybody with just a little of what used to be called COMMON SENSE!

Here's what you do if its not common sense to you:

  1. Oil the door hinge pins, bushings, and latches twice a year with oil! This is what is considered continually lubed. Is this too much for you?

Thats right, only one step to the whole process. I don't know why people can't do this. I hear squeaking binding door hinges all the time and lots of people just can't figure this out. Oiling hinges takes 5 minutes at the most.

No oil means pins and bushings wear out, door sags down, doesn't line up with striker post and latch and it all goes to hell and people blame the manufacturer.

This is just stupid negligence and there is no excuse for this happening. I have never had a door sag on any vehicle I have ever owned and I have kept some vehicles as long as 15 years.

I have a 96 S-10, 160,000 miles. No problem at all. Bought it used in 01 with 91,000 miles and the guy before me always oiled the hinges (I asked him if he had always done this when I noticed fresh oil on the hinges which is part of the reason I bought it).

Sometimes I think people have lost the ability to think and do anything at all for themselves and just blame someone else instead for everything that goes wrong for them as a result.

Reply to
Fred Fartalot

It may be common sense to you - but this is new to me. I've been driving since the early 70's and I've had more cars than I can count. I've rebuilt engines and re-doing clutches was a favorite and profitable pastime.

I've never oiled a door hinge before. While I have zero complaints about the S10 engine, the rest of this truck is poorly built - both in design and materials. I had the distinct feeling that the hinges were just another screwup by chevy.

I guess I'll see how long a "lubed" hinge lasts - provided I keep the truck that long......

Reply to
Danzig

I just last year changed the hinge pins and bushings in my 91 S-10. That was at about 190k. People just don't know any more. I lube door, hood and tail gate hinges, been using Mobile 1 silicon spray on them at every oil change since new. I lube the door locks and the ignition with a bit of dry graphite a couple times a year. I found the Mobile one works well on the door gaskets too. With age the gasket on the rear window/gate shrinks and then the window wants to squeak on rough roads, this stops it. I use a little bit of lithium grease on the latch assembly on both doors and the tail gate latches. Owners manuals used to have this info in them, its just second nature to me anymore, maybe because PM is beat into your head in the service. Its no fun being broke down when hot lead is flying around your head. Whitelightning

Reply to
Whitelightning

no! Chevy should have put an auto-luber on the hinge pins. ;)

Reply to
Shoe Salesman

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