Door hinges!

[XLR8]

I think I'm gonna be sick...

The hinges on my C5, driver side have been squeaking and getting worse over time. I was planning to take it to Kevin during my next break in 2 weeks and have them replaced because they were really getting bad.

Last night I made a run for a few groceries and when I got out of my car, the door didn't swing right. Uh-oh. I got out and the door wasn't hanging right at all. I couldn't see very well in the parking lot and since I could tell it was hanging up on the front fender, I didn't want to cause any (more) damage so I got what I needed and headed home.

I manuevered my way in and out of her as gently as possible to try not to cause more (gulp) fiberglass shavings showing up in the bottom of the sill.

I went out this afternoon and shot a few pix. I haven't touched the door again because I'm afraid I'm going to stress crack the fender.

I'm taking it to Kevin tomorrow. Dropping it off at the shop and then riding to work with a buddy.

My poor baby. :cry
Anyway... a few photos. And a damage report after I get it.
Jane Ann

 

[ernestD]

wow! never saw that before!Looks like your fender is loose.Good luck with your repairs.

 

[Toms007]

Ouch! I hope it can be repaired easily.

 

[timfitz63]

Also hope it can be easily repaired! An annoying development for certain! hnoes

Yes, please be sure to let the rest of us know how the repair goes, and whether there's something insidious we should be watching for...! Did you notice any symptom(s) other than the hinges squeaking...?

 

[BigJimZ16]

Based on the bottom gap of the door, I'd say that the bottom of the fender broke loose. Ouch...

 

[shark454]

Wow I've never seen that on a C5.

 

[Mac]

Jane Ann, were you doing "Dukes of Hazard" style jumps?

-Mac

 

[PreacherNutshot]

Jeez, that's horrible. Keep us up to date on what Kevin determines happened.

 

[vett boy]

Wow ,thats bad enough for me to close my eyes and stick my head in the toilet .In other words that does not look good .

 

[XLR8]

Wow I've never seen that on a C5.

Leave it to me to discover how to do something nobody's ever seen. :eyerole

:L

Jane Ann, were you doing "Dukes of Hazard" style jumps?

-Mac

No. I'd already finished those for the night. :L

Jeez, that's horrible. Keep us up to date on what Kevin determines happened.

Will let everyone know when I know something.

One suggestion I'd make is this: if you think your hinges are getting worn and the door harder to pull closed, check it out sooner rather than later.
I wish I had. ;squint:

Wow ,thats bad enough for me to close my eyes and stick my head in the toilet .In other words that does not look good .

No need for anything so final vettboy... I'll have her back on the road and ready for another trip to the fancy eatin' place when you're ready.

 

[XLR8]

In the meantime, the lil red truck is my DD now.

Going from that Chevy V8 to a little 4 banger is taumatic! :ugh

 

[killain]

Hinges wearing out.

It looks like your lowere hinge is broken. It's a professional body shop job. And should be replaced along with the upper one as well. I personally use a can of 'White Lithium Grease' along with that I use a small acid brush ( you get them at home depot or hardware) and I have a tube of chassis grease, which I use to liberally to coat all of the hinge, the hinge pin, springs and any of the moving parts in the upper and lower hinges.

But looking at yours, it looks like you broke the lower fender flange- Repairable with a kit from Ecklers. Never let a small squeek turn into a full blown door hanging problem if you can help it. This is going to cost you some money. A can of lithium spray grease $4.99, a tube or chassis grease cost about $2.95, an acid brush - $150

You open each door and spray a lot of the lithium grease into the hinge pin area, folllowed by another heavier coating of the chassis grease. Noise will be gone and if it starts again, redo the greasing job, and do both doors. Whenever you wash the car, or it rains, over the years, dirt and water pours down onto the hinges, they need to be re-greased twice a year. If your hinge pin is broken, you can get a kit that has the new pin and two brass hinge pin guides. They are also very cheap and can salvage a shot hinge by replaceing the worn portion of the hinge pin area.

 

[Toms007]

Wow Killian, that is some special type of acid brush! :L

 

[XLR8]

Bad news. The hinge isn't broken. The door is. Apparently that's the fiberglass shavings I saw on the sill after it happened.

Kevin is home sick, so Nate's working on it for me. He took it to a bodyshop he's familiar with and they told him it couldn't be repaired. The door will have to be replaced and of course repainted to match the car ('98 Light Carmine Red Metallic). Quoted him $2800.00 complete replacement.

I had him take it to a bodyshop I have experience with (I work with the guy's wife). Same verdict. Can't be repaired, must be replaced. Quoted him $2200.00.

[Expletive Deleted]

 

[XLR8]

Oh yeah. I forgot to mention my truck broke down on the way home tonight. I had to sit on side of the highway for about an hour waiting on a towtruck to take it to the shop.

I had to rent a car for work the next couple of days.
I'm fresh out of vehicles.

ad :L :eyerole ;squint:

 

[XLR8]

Wow Killian, that is some special type of acid brush! :L

I was wondering about that too. :L WTH is an acid brush? otfl

 

[vett boy]

That is not good news ,bummer.

 

[killain]

I was wondering about that too. :L WTH is an acid brush? otfl

Ah, well I don't know about your past experiences, but as a welder, we often used them for flux and other coatings. But I'm sure you've seen them. They are about seven inches long with a steel handle with rough bristles and you open a tube of chassis grease ( This tube goes into a formal grease gun), but your only going to use the end with the plastic cap on it, remove the plastic cap, and dip into it and use the grease to coat all of the hinges and their moving parts.

But of course, that's of little interest to you at the present time. Good luck !

Also : Since it's your drivers door, you have two or three stickers on the door jamb, the vehicles VIN and all about where it was made and another about the tires and inflation pressures and such. I'f in fact the door is going to be junked, I know a company that will reproduce the exact sticker, all the information as it is on the present stickers, but, You have to use a digital camera and take good phots of each sticker. The company check the VIN # to who own's the car and so long as your the owner of a family member, they'll reproduce the door stickers.

 

[navy2kcoupe]

Oh yeah. I forgot to mention my truck broke down on the way home tonight. I had to sit on side of the highway for about an hour waiting on a towtruck to take it to the shop.

I had to rent a car for work the next couple of days.
I'm fresh out of vehicles.

ad :L :eyerole ;squint:

JEEZ, Jane Ann.......................you are sure hard on vehicles! If you lived in North Carolina, Junkie would be happy to see YOU coming!
Good luck getting it fixed! Did anyone say that this was a common occurrence on C5's?????? I might have to start watching my doors a little closer.
Andy

 

[timfitz63]

Major bummer! :ugh

Did anyone say that this was a common occurrence on C5's??????

I personally haven't heard that this was a common occurrence on the C5, and don't recall reading it anywhere in this thread. It would be nice to know more about exactly what caused the structural failure of the door; was this a manufacturing defect that finally gave way, or did something accidentally get wedged in there...?