welded on dor hinge replacement

[Ed Pacheco]

Hi all, first post here, I have a 2003 Tahoe that had Lambo door hinges installed ... I am replacing them back to a regular door hinge but after grinding for an hour on each I need to know the best way to attach the new hinges. what are the gotchas for location etc? I don't see how to get to the back of the door frame hinge location the Dorman hinge kit (924-110 & 924-111) came with one backing plate for each hinge so far I can only think that it needs to be on the door side. Is the frame strong enough to just be threaded? there are wide flanged bolts but again I can't see how to hold them in place while starting and far less torquing... My Googlfu is not helping me find anything specific for this type of replacement hinges.

thanks

 

[Matthew Jeschke]

My worst nightmare. I recently rebuilt my hinges and saw they are welded w/ no adjustment possible, other than the anchor. You may like to go to a body shop with a frame straightening machine, many even straighten and rebuild pillars. They may have specs on placement of those hinges.

I would presume you need to weld it but also am unsure what's behind the pillar. Additionally, there's no way to get a nut or nut plate back there as I think that's how the old doors were built.

Long story short, you probably best to do as much prep as much as possible. Clean pillar to bare metal and hinges so they can be welded... Then interview a few shops to see which knows about fixing frames and pillars. Then have them install the hinges. Painting and body work there after is simple. I'd imagine they'd be a few hundred bucks if even that with you doing all the prep. Although I have no clue how they place those hinges and I'm basing off my frame on my car I bent which was $150 to get bent back.

Somebody from factory that knows how they are built might know if there's some marks on the pillar or how they originally placed those hinges. I have one buddy who built work trucks of this vintage for GM. I'll ask him if I recall next time I speak with him.

Another thought, but probably more work than it's worth. You could cut the pillars off another truck, then swap them onto yours. I'd only do this as a absolute last resort though.

 

[OR VietVet]

Welcome to the forum and I agree with @Matthew Jeschke, take to a body shop unless you have lots of skills and patience. I had some oe mounts at the body that were separating and I had them welded after doing all the grinding and prep work. That was on my old 2002 Tahoe

 

[Joseph Garcia]

Welcome to the Forum from NH.

Lots of knowledgeable folks here who freely share their knowledge, experiences, and perspectives. Knowledge is power.

I hope that you will become a participating member in the Forum's discussions.

Pics of the truck, please.

 

[tRidiot]

I think I saw somewhere that to do it properly you have to pull the dash to mount that backing plate behind the dash. Can anyone verify this?