Exterior door hinge, trouble inserting nylon washers

[xitjustice]

I have read through several helpful posts including:
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f453...nges-3093.html

The hinge is starting to wear down to be metal on metal (picture), the door shuts okay but is starting to increase resistance to closing on the bottom, opposite to hinges. (I can see evidence of scraping also). I have what I think of as an easy fix on my hands. However, I'm having trouble getting the door to move up on the hinges in order to insert notched nylon washers. I have sprayed silicon on the hinge pin probably 10x over the past 2 weeks.

I have pulled up on door near hinges with approximately 80% of my effort, afraid of causing damage. Is there any trick to getting the door to move up on the hinge?

I was considering using a spare scissor jack with wood on it... I have a feeling that might not be a good idea.
or
Lifting up in the door while my wife hits the hinge from under with a rubber mallet (I don't know how much I trust that idea)

Any help would be appreciated.

[Del Gurney]

Xitjustice: Thanks for the link. I need to remove my hinges because the clear coat has failed leading to "wormy" looking electrolysis. I plan on removal / sand to 1200 grit and rouge with cotton wheel....then re-coat.
Ideal situation would be to machine the hinge pin out but that may cost more than just getting new hinges!!
I already understand how to un-bolt the DOOR from the HINGE by removing the doors inner skin/window trim etc.
I don't know how to remove the HINGE from the TRAILER. I see the philips screw heads under a little piece of chromed trim adhered over.
But if I loosten them I fear I'll hear a nut fall down inside the interior skin/carpeted wall and there in lies my problem. Are your's through bolted or is it a machine threaded to frame or some such??
PS......have you tried heating up your hinges with a hair dryer to see if that allows you enough "play" to move your door up on the hinge pin??

[Jim Foster]

Originally Posted by Del Gurney

I don't know how to remove the HINGE from the TRAILER. I see the philips screw heads under a little piece of chromed trim adhered over.
But if I loosten them I fear I'll hear a nut fall down inside the interior skin/carpeted wall and there in lies my problem. Are your's through bolted or is it a machine threaded to frame or some such??
PS......have you tried heating up your hinges with a hair dryer to see if that allows you enough "play" to move your door up on the hinge pin??

From the factory. there is a nut on each of the hinge bolts that will fall down inside the wall if you are even able to remove the bolt without the nut turning and not allowing the removal. One option, usually a bit of a job, is to remove the interior skin for access to the nut. Another option is to drill a hole in the inner door frame large enough to insert a socket and hold the nut for tightening or removal. Another option, if the bolt can be removed, is to remove one bolt, drill a hole from the outside using the outside hole as a guide, through the inside of the door frame and use a longer bolt with a chrome plated cap nut on the inside. This should be done one bolt at a time to retain perfect alignment. If this option is used, a 1/8" by 1" piece of flat aluminum can be fashioned to act as a washer on the inside. Making it several inches long should spread the stress and keep the door frame from bending inward when the bolts are tightened.

There is no easy way to remove the door without removing the hinges. There is no hole on the bottom of the hinge to allow a punch to be inserted to remove the hinge pin on our trailer. To remove the pin and then the door, drill a 9/64 or 5/32 hole in the bottom of the hinge at the center of the pin, and use a 1/8" pin punch to drive the hinge pin upward far enough to grab it with pliers or vise grips and pull it out for door removal.

[ventport]

Try lifting up on the door while opening and closing it with a back and forth motion. This should let it climb the hinge pin enough to get the shims in.

[Jim Foster]

If you use the method I described in the last paragraph of my previous post, you should be able to remove the hinge pins one at a time and insert your spacers as a whole round washer rather than cutting part away allowing them to slide back out when the door is opened and closed.

[Del Gurney]

Thanks Jim: That clears things up.....maybe I should just polish them in-situe after protecting the trailer sides with tape and thin cutting boards.

[dznf0g]

Try using 1/4" E-clips from any hardware store. After lifting the door as suggested above, they clip firmly in place around the hinge pin.

[xitjustice]

I'm going to give it a shot or two,.. or three before drilling into the hinge.

I know that drilling will work if I need to. I figured I could probably do a trace of the top of hinge to use on the bottom.

Keep throwing ideas at me! Thanks everyone.

[Mixter]

I have door issues too. Was just doing some searches on doors and came across this youtube video on door hinges... might be helpful to you. Good luck!

Airstream How To: Installing Hinge Pin in Main Doors - YouTube

[xitjustice]

I finally got the thing to move! thanks for the great tips. I was able to get it moving while open/closing and lifting at the same time.

two more quick questions..

Should I place the c-clip or nylon washers on all weight bearing surfaces? (4 or 2?)

Do I place the new washer/clip on top of existing washer? That's what I'm planning on.

Thanks for the help,... I felt pretty silly going out and yanking up on the door several times.

~Jameson

[ventport]

Put the clips on ALL weight bearing surfaces, this spreads the weight on the hinges evenly. If you can put the clips under the washers so the door rests on the washers.

[jslowery]

I have drilled holes in the bottom of my hinge and tried in vain to get the pins out. I have folded up two punches, i even drove one of them with my rivet impact which seemed to drive the dust out of all of the cracks but the pin did not move. I am considering drilling them out and replacing with a 5/16 diameter pin since the door half of the hinge is worn some as well. Does anyone think that will compromise the screen door hinge too much? I will have to drill out the screen door hinge to accommodate the larger diameter and I am not sure how much material will be left.

[richcrest]

My 4x center punched upper hinge pin worked its way upward far enough that the bottom most spacer washer fell out somewhere on the highway. I was able to order the new style pin which has a groove to accept a C-clip that locks it in place. Sarah Wallace, one of the great people at Airstream, provided me with OEM stainless spacer washers. This hinge is good to go. Remember to tape a plastic scratch shield on the trailer skin above the hinge before operating, and lube the hinge pin with silicone not WD40 or Tri-Flo.