After about an hour of hammering on the door hinge pins on my 1937 Ford, I cannot budge them. I am trying to remove the top pins to put in the Hinge Mirrors. Is there some sort of tool that I need? I don't have alot of room to use a sledge without hitting the door. Any suggestions??
bob drake sells the tool also , works good. i would also suggest some heat , but it sounds like you have a finished car and may not want to ruin the paint
Tape up your door around the hinge, just in case the hammer or punch slips! Also try a little PB Blaster, let it soak overnight.
we tried the Drake tool and it just bent , I am sure it would push out pins that were going to come out anyway with a hammer and punch, its the pins that are stuck, rusted, wedged in that are the big problem beaulieu
The Drake tool works great but you have to make sure the rust is dissolved. Try using some B"LASTER PB penetrant, you can get it a Auto Zone. It works better than anything I have ever tried.
My drake tool bent.........Used PB and heat this time. Worked like a champ. The pins stick in the hinge part on the body. Work the door open and closed to work the PB in that part.
My hinge pins in the '31 were not very friendly. Don't know about '37's but in the '31 they have this knurled area just below that head that holds them really well in place. Not wanting to spend the $ and wait the time for MAC's to ship the tool, I ended up drilling them out.
Well. I tried to use a c clamp and make my own tool but it did not work. I will order the tool on Monday. My car is finished so I did not want to completely ruin the paint. Give me a week to get the tool delivered and I will post the results. Thanks
The best penetrating oil I have ever used is Gibbs Brand ( www.gibbs brand.com ) . The screws in my top door hing were in there for 60 years ,couldn't budge them even with a hammer on impact driver . I sprayed them with gibbs let them sit 2 or 3 days and they came right out. That is the secret ,be paitent let the stuff work on the rust! It's not cheap $20 for a large spray can but it works better than any thing else I have ever used. Last resort: Cut the head off the pin ,spray the penetrant on it , let it sit, get some one to support the hinge under the pin, with a good size block of steel with a hole in it, and hit down on it with a drift pin the size of the pin so you don't do damage to the hinge. Good luck!
I have been using Kroil for a few years, it does work - like any other pentrant, give it a day or two (or more) to do its thing.
I always grind the head off, drill down into the pin past the knurled area. This releases pressure form the knurls. I then drive em out with the stem of an old auger bit that is the same diameter as the pin. I hold the hardened driver in a small vise grip. Lube is still required and if you maked the area first you can still CAREFULLY do this on a finished car. In my hunt for T doors I did this to prob 10 sets of hinges with not a single failure.
On ones we've had that were way stuck, we used and Air Hammer with a small punch bit - worked every time. Always soak in a good rust penetrant first. I use a German product called Rost-Off available from the Wurth sales guy that hits the body shops.
I have changed out a few hinge pins and the press is the easiest way to get the pin out without damaging the hinge or loosening the rivets that attach the hinge to the door or damaging paint. Use your favorite penetrating oil (mine is PB Blaster) let it soak in. spend the 30.00 or so for a hinge press. As you are pressing the pins out do not horse the press. Put pressure on it and let it sit for a couple hours, this should not be a timed job or your gonna make more work for your self. The press comes with different length pins that as you press the pin out you change the the length of the pin and if you horse the press it will jam the pin into the press by bending it. My press came from Bob Drake and it is average quality The hinge pins have been in there a while and are splined at the top to keep from popping out. That spline is usually where they stick (by design). I personally would avoid using a hammer and a punch because it loosens up the door hinge rivets and creates bigger issues. Once you get the pins out use a micrometer to measure the pins. I think they are .278 inches, inspect for wear. Drivers door should be the worst since it gets the most use. If your pins are really bad you may want to get an oversize pin for that door and a precision drill bit to clean up the wear on the inside of the hinge. Heat also works great but if you have a good paint job it is not an option. As with most things in life a little patience and planning goes a long way!! S
The EASTWOOD COMPANY also sells the tool to remove door pins. I have one and have used it on many doors. works great!
we used a hair dryer , eds red ( acetone atf ) and a can of dust off , heat he pin with the hair dryer ( won't mess up paint ) till its hot , squirt in the eds red and then take the can of dust off invert it and spray the liquid on the pin to chill it and it will shrink it a little ( or use dry ice ) , can do this a couple of times per can . the shrinking should break the rust bond and allow the oil to seep in better .
x2 with hotroddon. But I taped cardboard on the door and tape on the hinges. Hold the pointed tip firmly against the bottom of the pin so the tip won't walk. All after several applications of your p-oil.
I've been going to do a "how to pictorial" for a while. Just haven't had a job in the shop for some time that I could use. Biggest problem is driving from the bottom with a stuck pin is that you are turning the pin into a Rivet, not to mention the groves if it's worn badly. I never go from the bottom! I also never use the pin press. I go from the Top and it's easier than you might think. I use my Morgan slide hammer. Most often I can even re use the pin if it's in good shape. So the way it works is it Pulls the pin out. Not drives it out. What I do is take the end cap off the Morgan tool and drop in a 3" 5/16 bolt in the end cap. Have a helper hold the slide hammer with the end of the bolt on the clean head of the door pin. Weld the bolt to the pin head. The heat of the weld shocks the spline on the pin into submission. Using the slide hammer now "Pull" the pin up and out. Works every time and never damages anything. I don't remove the old door pin from the bolt, I just weld the bottom of it to the next door pin. Once done grind the welds and separate the pins. Dress the heads and re use. It's way easier than you think. The Wizzard
I always just grind the head off and drive them straight down.. No heat, no penetrating oil, just a hammer and a punch.. Have done at least a dozen pins and they all came out.. Maybe I'm just lucky...
Not all hinge pins are created equal. Many have a larger dia. and serations to keep them locked in place. You can't drive that part through the next section.
Yes you can.. All of mine had the serations.. They came right through.. This is not rocket science.. The hinge metal must be stronger than the pins because they came out fairly easily and the serration area was now the same diameter of the pins.. One body I did sat outside for a long long time.. I've tried all the other methods and for me, this was the easiest way to remove them...
I think you're lucky-I would like to see photos of that because none of the pins I've ever seen would do that, particularly if they've "ledged" the door. But, I haven't seen every pin ever made for sure.
I've also heard of using candle wax but not sure how you go about getting it into the pin area. I've been hitting mine with PB Blaster for a couple of weeks in anticipation of removing them for hinge mount mirrors.
For the sake of not arguing about the different abillity's of driving a hammer (some larger others) think about this. When stuck in place an object is more willing to move when pulled than when pushed. Pushing against resistance causing swelling, that's how you make a rivet tight. Pulling causes stretching. Stretch something round and it get's smaller in dia. or at the very least does not get larger in dia. The Wizzard
I like this idea, but it is dependent on the weld holding up. I think the heat from welding is part of the advantage, but do see the value of pulling it out (slight stretching) vs pushing (slight mushrooming).
I like that idea, pulling and stretching. I have some to take out on a 36, but they are soaking, have not even tried getting them out yet. Glad this came up done.
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