I just got another set of door hinges. They were from the passenger side of the salvaged car and seem pretty good. I will be flipping them and using them on my driver's door. There is a very small amount of play in them... is this acceptable, or an indication that they need to be rebuilt? (as in ... there needs to be NO play ...) I rebuilt the drivers hinges on my Comet a long time ago, using pins and bushings from a Mustang parts house and not happy with the result. They didn't seem to last nearly long enough. I think the bushings were brass. I would like to hear from some folks who have rebuilt their door hinges ... what you used, who you got the kit from, and if you are happy with them.
I put new pins and bushings in mine (steel pins brass bushings). I got them from Autokrafters and so far I'm happy with the results, but I've only had them in a couple of months.
I replace ALL the pins when I do a car. Very easy to do with the hinges already off the car. Harder to do once installed.
I've always thought it would be cool to put ball bearings in the hinges. They'll never wear out again.
don't think it will work They're made and marked rt and left for a reason. Might be wrong , but I don't believe you can flip and switch. Get the hinge kit and replace all the bushings with new pins and a dab of grease on the pins during installation. You should be good to go.
Where do you see this right and left marking? The hinges on both sides are identical. If you look, you'll even realize one side is mounted upside down from the other.
Thanks for the comments, guys. As I pulled the hinge from the car in the salvage yard, there is an "RD" stamped on it, and it did make me think twice if they were side specific, but I had always heard to grab passenger side hinges because they theoretically had less wear and could be flipped. And that does seem to be the case in looking at it a lot closer. One difference that I did notice is that the hinges on my 72 Comet had a 1 inch hole drilled through the lower hinge body, somewhat near the pin. The one out of the 73 Mav does not have this hole ... maybe a bit stronger? Has anybody seen a hinge rebuild kit that has steel bushings instead of brass?
Ok ... just checked out the tech article and saw that Ford used brass or bronze bushings originally, so I guess that answers that question. The tech article is good. I knew how to do the rebuild, but I like the cotter key-style pins from NAPA in the article. Very well might get these.
