'67 Entry Door Hinge Pin

[mikextr]

Originally Posted by 65TW

Is the 1/4" hinge pin supposed to be stationary relative to the body side of the door hinge? I assume it is since there is a 1/8" (?) drift pin that holds the 1/4" hinge pin in place on the body side door hinge, but wanted to double check. I think my hinge pin is frozen on the door side hinge and it sheared the drift pin. The hinge pin definitely is fixed and rotating with the door side hinge, not the body side hinge. It became really stiff about a week ago, which triggered me to look at this.

Any tips on drilling the new drift pin hole? Before or after installing the new stainless steel hinge pin? Any tips on drift pin material, e.g. stainless steel?

Thanks
65' Tradewind - Full Monty

Yes. The hinge pin is stationary on the body side. The material for the drift pin does not matter too much as long as it is steel. I used a stainless replacement. If you can tell that the 1/4" hinge pin is not broken then just try to drill out the old drift pin and put in a new one, leaving the 1/4" pin in place.Here's a link to the guide I used to repair my sloppy door hinge. My repair was a great success. In the article I linked to, the authors remove the hinge from the trailer and the door before removing the 1/4" rod. I reapplied PB blaster to my hinge pin daily for a week and was able to drive the 1/4" rod out while still attached to the trailer with a slightly smaller diameter steel rod and a punch. It's a bigger job than you think. As they say in the article "whatever you do don't break the hinge". They don't make them anymore and are impossible to find.

[65TW]

Mikextr, thanks again. I got the hinge pin out. It’s not broke, but it’s pretty trashed. The drift pin hole is not centered by any means on the hinge pin. It’s offset literally all the way to one side, which helps explain why these may break when you remove them. I have to wonder if they drilled the drift pin hole after setting the hinge pin at the factory and just missed the mark on centering things up. Anyway, how’d you deal with drilling the hole in your new hinge pin? Before or after installing? Thanks

[mikextr]

I think it would be best to drill the drift pin hole with the hinge pin in place. Since you say that it looks like your drift pin hole wasn't centered properly, you might consider drilling a brand new drift pin hole through the hinge just above or below the old one if there's enough room on the hinge and you're confident that you can do a better job. Sorry my trailer is in storage so I can't take a look at the hinge now to see if there is room on the hinge for new drift pin hole, but I think there is. Start with small drill bits and work you way up to the 1/8" hole.

My original hinge pin was in pretty good shape so I cleaned up real good and reused it even though I had new hinge pin ready to replace it. I thought it would be easier than drilling a new hole. Before I inserted the hinge pin I cut a slot in the top of the pin with with a Dremel cut-off wheel so I could turn the pin with a flat head screwdriver to line of the drift pin holes once the hinge pin was in place. I also put a bunch of light lithium grease on the pin and hinges before I reinserted the hinge pin. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[65TW]

Thanks. There's enough room on the body hinge to drill another drift pin hole. However, the drill surface is at an angle to the drill bit direction for starters, and I think it would be tough to get it centered without removing the hinge and setting it up on a maybe an x-y jig on the drill press. I don't have much confidence in being able to do a better job. I may take your advice and use my old hinge pin after some using some very fine wet sanding and polishing. I've attached pics of the hinge and the pin from two angles. You can see the drift pin hole goes through what use to be the sidewall of the pin. Not centered by a long shot. Surprised that this didn't break on the way out.

[mikextr]

The pin looks to be in pretty good shape in the pics. They did miss center by a mile but it looks like once you get it assembled, with the linchpin inserted, the hinge pin is not going to twist or fall out. If it was my trailer I would reuse that hinge pin and call it good. Just keep the hinge oiled regularly and it will last another 53 years.