Stripped door hinge hole-

[dan42]

Aughh! I have a stripped door hinge hole on the passenger side (and one on the driver's side that's about to let go). Does anyone have any experience fixing them? I would think they would be a PITA because the hole should be straight when you retap it and not at an angle. What's the best way to do this?

[Sinister]

I thought one of mine was stripped but it was alright. What I was going to do if it was stripped, was take a longer then stock bolt and screw it in to the door, then get a nut on the end of the bolt and weld the nut to the inside of the door. If that makes sense. I'm sure somebody must have a better idea though.

[NevadaDVX]

I also have one stripped. I tried tapping it, but there isn't enough metal left and the still bolt wont tighten. So, I may end up getting a longer bolt and putting a nut on the backside of it. I have a 6x9 speaker hole at the bottom of the door so it shouldn't be too bad to do. Who's brainchild idea at GM was it to put fine thread bolts on the door hinges?

[dan42]

Originally Posted by NevadaDVX

I also have one stripped. I tried tapping it, but there isn't enough metal left and the still bolt wont tighten. So, I may end up getting a longer bolt and putting a nut on the backside of it. I have a 6x9 speaker hole at the bottom of the door so it shouldn't be too bad to do. Who's brainchild idea at GM was it to put fine thread bolts on the door hinges?

Yeah, I don't think that was one of the more intelligent engineering feats on our trucks. You think liquid metal (epoxy) would work for the nut on the inside of the door?

[Sinister]

Originally Posted by dan42

Yeah, I don't think that was one of the more intelligent engineering feats on our trucks. You think liquid metal (epoxy) would work for the nut on the inside of the door?

It might work. The only point to welding the nut is so you don't have to take off the door panel and put a wrench on the nut every time you want to take the door off.

[Shane]

this will probably require removing the door, but you could drill out the hole and tap it to the next larger size ...

[JimKshortstep4x4]

I have repaired them a couple of ways. Like Sinister did I used a little longer bolt with a nut welded to the plate. That works pretty well if you can get at the nut to weld it.
The other repair that I have done is to tap the hole for 7/16-20 thread. I ground the hex down on a bolt so that a 9/16" wrench would fit and thinned the shank to 3/8" so as to keep the adjustment play. I was able to do this with the door on but I did have to open up the hinge slot slightly to get the tap to go through.

Jim

[neba]

in the corner where there is no bolt hole, add one. remove all 3 bolts after supporting the door. when you swing the hinge closed you will have room to drill a 1/2 inch hole.remove the door trim and you can reach in and add a large washer and nut. it worked for me.

[El Jay]

I believe that I'd get some Permatex Thread Repair (Form a thread) and give that a try.
It'll handle bolts up to Grade 5 in strength. (I don't remember the torque specs because that varies with bolt size)
If it doesn't work for you, you'd be out about 10 bucks and less than an hour of your time.

[dan42]

Originally Posted by El Jay

I believe that I'd get some Permatex Thread Repair (Form a thread) and give that a try.
It'll handle bolts up to Grade 5 in strength. (I don't remember the torque specs because that varies with bolt size)
If it doesn't work for you, you'd be out about 10 bucks and less than an hour of your time.

Sounds interesting - the one on the drivers side is a pretty good condidate for that, but I don't know about the PS - it spins pretty freely.

[dan42]

I guess that's one good thing about speaker holes. I ended up getting a slightly smaller bolt and put a nut on the back. All I had to do was pull the speaker out. (The stripped one was on the bottom, thankfully).

[NevadaDVX]

double post

[NevadaDVX]

Originally Posted by dan42

I guess that's one good thing about speaker holes. I ended up getting a slightly smaller bolt and put a nut on the back. All I had to do was pull the speaker out. (The stripped one was on the bottom, thankfully).

Yea, this one already had 6' holes, so went ahead and put 6x9's in it. I didn't need a longer bolt, I ended up using the original bolt since it wasn't stripped, ran it all the way through, and put a lock washer and nut on the backside. Worked out great and no need for any kind of epoxy, just start the nut andhold it with a wrench. If not for the speaker hole, it would have been a bear. one thing though, my door is gutted with no vent window at the moment. Not sure if that would be a factor or not.