Does hood need removed to remove fender? Replacing door hinges.

[mtnmankev]

Hi kids,
I'm working on my 84 K10 and the driver's door hinges need replacing.
I know it's easier to do the adjustment of the door with the fender removed, (not sure exactly what all is entailed in THAT) and it appears the hood hinges are bolted to the fenders, which means remove hood, remove LF fender (somehow) then do the hinges.
Then, I get to deal with this mess, the striker pin area has cracked badly over the years, I had some welding done to stop the crack, but that didn't work and now the door won't even latch properly.
I ordered a new striker pin along with complete new hinges, and would appreciate any ideas or help you guys may have to offer.
Thanks !!!
Kev

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[crpntr78]

You may have to weld in a back up plate behind the striker. Make it plenty oversize and then drill holes through the area around your striker to weld through to it. As far as the hinges go, they are not attached to the fenders. Just have to remove the bolts at the rad support and the inner fender plus the few by the hood hinge and one down low at the bottom of the fender.

 

[crpntr78]

And no, the hood does not need to be removed to remove the fender but there are 2 hinge bolts attached to the fender you will have to remove. Just scratch around it before you release the bracket so it'll be easier to realign when putting things back together. And you will have to use a stick or something to support the hood up while you're working on the door.

 

[mtnmankev]

It sounds from your description that I will need to weld in the support steel plate from the backside, in that tiny area that is hard to reach into and see what I'm doing.
Isn't it possible to just weld a plate over the bad area from the outside where it's accessible, and make sure the welds don't stick up above the plate ?

 

[DanMcG]

Can you locate a backing plate for the latch pin at a local junk yard? It shouldn't be welded in, that way when you need adjustment you can loosen the latch and move it around.

 

[mtnmankev]

If I unthread the pin, there is a "nut" as part of a square steel plate a couple inches across, and it's not welded to the door jamb.
I'm thinking because of the cracks, I need a lot more reinforcement in that area.

 

[legopnuematic]

If you weld a plate on I'd say first grind out the old repair, drill the end of the crack out to in theory prevent it from spreading, run a bead over the crack, good hot weld and good penetration, before weld cools hit with slag hammer to peen it and release stress from the joint. Cut a plate out to fit behind the striker area, drill hole where the striker goes through on the plate that is larger than the square opening to allow for adjustment and to be able to use the oem type nut/backing plate. Drill holes in striker area, line plate up and plug weld the holes, welding the striker area to the plate.

 

[idahovette]

Listen to Lego , he's GOOD!!

 

[mtnmankev]

Thanks, guys .............. looks like I have my work cut out for me.

 

[crpntr78]

If you weld a plate on I'd say first grind out the old repair, drill the end of the crack out to in theory prevent it from spreading, run a bead over the crack, good hot weld and good penetration, before weld cools hit with slag hammer to peen it and release stress from the joint. Cut a plate out to fit behind the striker area, drill hole where the striker goes through on the plate that is larger than the square opening to allow for adjustment and to be able to use the oem type nut/backing plate. Drill holes in striker area, line plate up and plug weld the holes, welding the striker area to the plate.

That's exactly was I was talking about him doing! Great minds think alike! LOL

 

[mtnmankev]

I made a little progress on the project today, got the door off, then found out the secret to removing the hard-to-get-to bolt that holds the upper hinge.
Lower the steering columm,remove dash bezel, remove headlight switch, remove the left hand lower A/C discharge vent, pull the rubber plug out of the body (has a beige wire that goes to who knows what.
Then a 9/16 socket on an extension is a straight shot through the hole.
But it's painfully obvious I will need to remove the fender in order to adjust the door where it will need to go.
And I only have a couple working days until the winter freezing rains set in.

 

[trukman1]

I've got the same problem with the door striker area being cracked. Since they've already started salting the roads I won't be able to have it fixed until spring and was wanting to do the interior over the winter months. (New carpet). Now I'm not sure if I should hold off doing interior until welding is done. I'll be watching this thread intensely! Thanks for bring this up.

 

[mtnmankev]

For Trukman1: if the hinges are worn out, any repairs to the striker pin area won't last, so do yourself a favor and verify the hinges are good.
They wear so gradual it's hard to notice the change except for when the doors don't close properly.
The weather changed here, got a few sunny dry days I didn't count on, so today I yanked the fender so I will be able to adjust the new door hinges.
Amazing how many fasteners had to be removed to get the fender off, but it's the only way to do the adjustment.
I removed the old striker pin, ground off the weld that was done to try and stop the crack, cleaned up the area real good, then rewelded the area. Fabricated a steel plate 3.5"x6" to use as a reinforcement to go behind the striker area and the steel plate/nut for the pin will hold it in place for the next step..
Tomorrow I will drill some 3/8" holes in the doorjamb and will plug weld the plate.
Going to then remove the striker pin, and adjust the door to factory specs, .19" gap along the top and rear edge of the door, and .25" at the bottom.
Then install a new striker pin and adjust that so the door latches properly.
A body shop quoted almost 1800 bucks to do the repairs to make the door close properly, so I will do them myself.
I will be posting pix of my progress.
Smart idea for you to wait on interior work until all grinding and welding is done.
Sorry about the crappy weather you have to deal with ....