Door Hinge Spring Replacement

[Tom Bryant]

Well yesterday I was finally spurred into action and replaced the door hinge spring on the driver's side. My car had a piece of steel in the tire and I sent it to work with my wife to be repaired. I had some errands to run so I was forced to put the new sticker on the plates and drive the L81. :JLast fall I put in a new horn/burglar alarm relay and that fixed that problem maybe a little too well. I had gotten used to the thing not working. As you know, if you open the door and hit the lock button and then let it come closed a little before you push it open again the alarm goes off. Then you have to stick the key in the outside lock to turn it off. I was downtown when I did this and, of course, everyone looked at me like I was an idiot (more so than usual).

I decided it was time to replace the door spring that was laying on the bench all winter. I bought one of those bent screwdriver installation tools from Echlers too but just wasn't too sure about prying around things painted.

I thought I'd take a look at it and see what I needed to do then work out a way to protect the surrounding area before I started serious leveraging. First I read the instruction sheet. :eek That is against all that is holy but I did it anyway. Then I slipped out the old spring piece and slipped in the new spring making sure it went into the slots. Next I put the bent screwdriver through it and pried lightly while closing the door just a tad. The spring slipped over the roller and was installed. Way too simple. Why didn't I do it 3 years ago?

All I have to do now is wipe it down with some Prep-Sol and paint it with some brush on touch up paint that I also got from Ecklers. The original spring is painted so this one needs to be also.

I never got to the place where I needed to protect the surrounding area but without that bent screwdriver tool it would not have been so easy.

Tom

 

[LT4man]

Tom, you are not the only one who puts off doing something. My vacuum has for a long time been hard to start. Finally took it apart, went to Radio Shack to buy a new switch, and Voila! now the sucker starts every time! Should have done that about five years ago! otfl

Congrats on getting the new spring in. Is that tool made just for that one job?

SAVE THE

 

[Tom Bryant]

Yes. Ecklers sells it for $16.95?? I think. I may be wrong. It is a large screwdriver that the first 3 inches on the blade end is bent at 45 degrees. Simple but effective. It would be a bummer of a job without it. Something I'll probably never use again unless I open a door hinge spring installation booth at Carlisle. Should be worth 10 bucks a pop plus the spring.

Tom

 

[Bob Chadwick]

You are a lucky dog. Even the shop couldn't get my spring in place. Turns out the bend was bent ever so slightly and when you closed the door it would pop out. A new spring and problem solved.

 

[Tom Bryant]

I can see that a wrong bend would create a problem. I compared the new with the old before I tried it and it seemed exact.

 

[Bob Chadwick]

The old was long gone when I got the car. And the bend was ever so slightly off.

 

[Vette79]

This is one task I dread doing ever again. I remember doing my drivers side door last year and also remember using some bad language and throwing a couple of tools. It didn't take long but it sure was a PITA!

 

[minifridge1138]

Does the door spring make the door close, or hold it open?
(yeah, i know it is a dumb question)
:bash

 

[Tom Bryant]

There are 2 detents. One is open and the other about half way. With a broken spring it just swings freely.

 

[Yoda]

Does the door spring make the door close, or hold it open?
(yeah, i know it is a dumb question)
:bash

As Tom said..
It is too Hold the Door Open, at Half way or Fully Open. The "S" spring keeps the door from wanting to close, esp. when parked on a slight upgrade (car facing uphill )

Bud

 

[geekinavette]

I picked up one of these little goodies for door springs:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=95344

Makes door springs a breeze to install and no prying against paint necessary.

Bill

 

[Tom Bryant]

How does that work? It looks like a coil spring compresser.

The The bent screwdriver for the S spring on the Corvette just sticks through the bottom loop and you turn it a little. You never touch anything other than the spring.

Tom

 

[geekinavette]

HAH! Ya know I never even looked at the Corvette springs! I've done several other Chevys, Camaro...etc. These are completely different!

Well anyways it works beautifully for coil door springs. :L

 

[Tom Bryant]

A lot cheaper than the bent screwdriver too. I was just thinking that your tool would work great on C1 trunk lid/deck lid springs.

Tom

 

[geekinavette]

Should we be in the "screwdriver bending" business?

Yeah I'd think that would work well for any small coil spring...that would fit anyway.

 

[Yoda]

Should we be in the "screwdriver bending" business?

Yeah I'd think that would work well for any small coil spring...that would fit anyway.

Good Old Harbor Freight

They call it a pry bar

This one sells for $3.99​

You can buy a whole set (different lengths) for under $15.00 Guess we could buy a bunch and undercut the aftermarket vendors :eek I wasn't going to say anything, but I got my "special" screwdriver from Harbor Freight when I did my "S" spring a few year ago ..... . HEY No One asked

Bud

 

[geekinavette]

Yeah you can find some good deals there...but have to be careful too cuz some of the stuff they sell is just CRAP.

 

[Tom Bryant]

They are 12 bucks at ZIP. That is probably about what I paid at Ecklers. Oh well. Live and learn.:L

 

[21Again]

Door hinge spring needs to be painted before installing

If you want to keep your new spring looking like the original spring be sure to paint it first to match your car. This is actually an inspection point for NCRS points.