Door Hinge Spring Replacement

[Toad455]

Oh ye of little faith, remnants of melted zip ties.

What year are the hinges in the pics?

 

[Toad455]

Oh ye of little faith, remnants of melted zip ties.

 

[Rickf]

That's on my '93.

 

[Snoots]

BTW: while researching this I came across a YouTube video about how to easily fix door pops on a C10. My passenger door did that, and I’ll be damned if it doesn’t work. I’m sure most of you were already aware of this but I sure wasn’t, and always pleasure to come across a free and instant fix:

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Yeah, but those rollers are supposed to turn freely and NOT be stiff as his. He needs to clean out the old grease. He's welcome.
But that video does nothing to help with the spring.
I found replacement springs at CJ Pony Parts but nothing on how to replace them.

 

[Turbo4whl]

Here is the tool, Cut up a socket to make one if you can't find it to buy. The tool works great. 1/2" drive

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[C10_Blackie]

Yeah, but those rollers are supposed to turn freely and NOT be stiff as his. He needs to clean out the old grease. He's welcome.
But that video does nothing to help with the spring.
I found replacement springs at CJ Pony Parts but nothing on how to replace them.

Yeah - I see now that my rollers are binding because of paint overspray. But it was a nice quick fix for me to give the roller a turn and have the door start closing nicely again.

I ordered a replacement left-hand spring from LMC and I guess I'm going to find out for myself if it's possible to get one of these things on without removing either the door or the fender. From what people said earlier in this thread, I guess it can be done.

 

[C10_Blackie]

Got it, I think. I was having problems visualizing what needs to be done. Turns out at least C3 Corvettes have a similar spring and now I can see how the tool suggested above would work. I think I might be able to do it with a thin pry bar. Here's the basic procedure:

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[Old Guy Bill]

On my ‘78 hinges the springs seemed OK, but both rollers were beyond repair.
I just replaced the whole hinge on both sides.

 

[C10_Blackie]

I’m pleased to report that the method in the video for the Corvette also worked on my 1981 C10. You don’t have to remove the door or the fender. You just have to drop the spring into position, pry it over from the bottom and tap it up into place.

There isn’t a lot of room to work in there so you will definitely need a thin pry bar/tool like the one used in the video. There was nothing in my garage that would work. I was about to head to the hardware store and happened to run into a neighbor who had a little bar that had just enough of a bend to get it done.

Nice to not constantly get hit by the driver’s door anymore.

 

[Turbo4whl]

....... I can see how the tool suggested above would work. I think I might be able to do it with a thin pry bar.

Glade you got it! The tool actually works from the top. Hook the spring on the bottom, and slide it up. With the tool in place, short extension and ratchet at the top, twist to hold a little tension. Remove your hand, twist the tool and spring around where it goes, push down on the ratchet to set the spring. With the tool, less than 10 seconds.

I did some springs the way you did until I got the tool.

 

[C10_Blackie]

Glade you got it! The tool actually works from the top. Hook the spring on the bottom, and slide it up. With the tool in place, short extension and ratchet at the top, twist to hold a little tension. Remove your hand, twist the tool and spring around where it goes, push down on the ratchet to set the spring. With the tool, less than 10 seconds.

I did some springs the way you did until I got the tool.

Thanks! Once you get the hang of it, prying it over from the bottom isn’t hard - but I’d be happy to never have to do it again…