How to Replace Chevy Door Hinge Pins

If the hinge pins in your Chevy vehicle's door become bent or otherwise damaged, this will affect the door's alignment and put a strain on the rest of the body. Some newer vehicles don't even use hinge pins, but special bolts or screws that require a professional mechanic to repair. If your Chevy vehicle does use hinge pins, it is possible to replace them, but this is a difficult task that will require two people.

Instructions

1

Open the door and balance it. You can use jack stands, but place towels on the stands to keep them from scratching the paint. You will need an assistant to brace the door when you remove the pins.

2

Disconnect the door's inner trim panel if the door has any lights or power controls in it. Pry off the power controls or disconnect the window crank, unscrew all the panel's mounting screws (they may be concealed under trim) and lift the panel off its clips.

3

Disconnect all the electrical connectors within the door (you should have to peel back the watershield to reach them) and carefully pull the wires out of the door. This is a precaution to prevent damaging the wires should the door accidentally fall off.

4

Remove the spring in the door near the upper hinge. This requires a special tool, available from auto parts stores, that compresses the spring for removal from the detent mechanism. You can also use a pry bar. Use extreme caution.

5

Drive the pins out of the hinge with a punch and hammer, starting at the door's lower hinge. Position the punch and hammer so you hit the hinge at its pointed end. Generally, the hinge pins point upward on the lower hinge and downward on the upper one.

6

Line up the hinges and drive the replacement pins into the hinges through the holes. The pins must be installed so that they point in the same directions as the old ones. Insert the upper hinge pin first.

7

Replace the detent spring. If you didn't compress it before, you will need the compression tool now to compress the spring. Insert the spring in between the door and detent mechanism, then loosen the compressor's screw so the spring slips into place.

8

Reconnect the wires within the door and the door's trim panel in reverse order of removal.