Old, sagging hinges are not only frustrating, but they can cause damage to the door, cab, door catches, door striker, or the weatherstrip. Not to mention they make the truck feel old – don’t replace your truck or slam your doors just because of the hinges!
Probably the most important body fix to a `72-`93 Dodge Ram Pickup Truck is to replace the lower door hinges. This restores the smooth, solid and tight operation of the doors and eliminates sagging as well as the need to slam the doors shut every time.
The Old Hinge after it was removed. Estimated 300k or more miles and more than 27 years of use on this hinge.
What to buy?
The door hinges on a 1972 to 1993 Dodge Ram D-Series or W-Series Pickup Truck are the same as the following vehicles:
–>1963-76 A-bodies, all, incl, Darts, Duster, Valiant, pre-’70 ‘Cuda, Scamp, Demon, Swinger, etc.
–> 1966-70 B-bodies, all, incl. Road Runner, GTX, Satellite, Charger, R/T, Super Bee, SuperBird, Coronet, etc.
These hinges are usually available on Ebay (try checking here and search for “hinge”). The ones I found have replaceable bushings, nylon lined torsion bar saddle bushings, and toothed rollers. They also have a nice rust resistant silvery zinc coating.
Hole after initial drilling process that is required. All threads are removed and the hole becomes just a "thru-hole".
Just one simple modification for each hinge is required to get them to fit Dodge Trucks; one of the threaded holes on the hinge which bolts to the truck body must be drilled out. Using a stepped titanium coated drill bit works best for hogging out the hole. Final touch up is done using a 3/8 inch dia. round file.
This is all shown in detailed photos which I have included in the gallery below. Good Luck!
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- Removing and Replacing the hinges can be done with the door still attached to the truck, if you are careful. Support it with jack stands using wood between the door and the stands. Varying amounts of wood will be required depending on the height of your truck. CAUTION! Don’t bump the door while only one hinge is attached, you may damage the door or the upper hinge!
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- Closeup view of the 3-ton Jack Stands I used.
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- What my old hinges looked like installed on the truck…. PS side shown.
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- Here is the arrangement of ratchet, extension, swivel and socket I used to get the hinges off. PS Side shown. Notice also the oval cutout in the interior facing panel – this has a plastic plug… just pop it out to access the two hinge bolts through the body.
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- Use masking tape to protect the door and fender. Then, insert the socket/ratchet/extension/swivel combo from the bottom going up.
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- Another view of how I inserted the tool to remove the bolts.
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- PS Side door with lower hinge removed.
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- PS Side door, looking at the cab, with lower hinge removed.
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- View from the interior, PS side, showing two bolt holes accessed from the inside of the truck.
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- The Old Hinge after it was removed. Estimated 300k or more miles and more than 27 years of use on this hinge.
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- Another view of the old hinge.
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- This is a photo of the old hinge showing the “hole” in place of a threaded hole on the new hinges. The new replacement hinges must be drilled out to mimic the original Chrysler design. I guess some Mopars need the threaded hole, but the trucks use a thru- hole.
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- Comparison of hinges – the upper hinge has not had the threads drilled out… while the lower hinge has had the threaded hole drilled out and enlarged/slotted somewhat.
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- First photo of the drilling process – you can still see some of the threaded metal before it has been removed.
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- Another photo showing the drilling process. Notice the type of stepped drill bit being used. This worked a lot better than progressively larger straight bits.
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- Hole after initial drilling process that is required. All threads are removed and the hole becomes just a “thru-hole”.
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- Oops! First pass at drilling wasn’t enough! Hole requires more enlarging. I didn’t want to remove too much so I enlarged the hole in two or three tries until I got them just right. If you remove too much metal the bolt won’t be able to do its job.
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- This shows the hinge placed back in the vice for one of my hole enlarging iterations.
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- Here I am using a round file to touch up and enlarge the hole.
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- Now the hole has enough material removed.
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- This shows the hinge with the appropriate amount of material removed. Re-install the hinges using the same process you used to remove them, using the same ratchet, socket, extension and swivel arrangements
Copyright Kris Wickstead ©2010 or as of web page posting date. Do not reproduce this page for commercial use without permission. Always use good sense, the proper safety procedures, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and safe equipment. Follow all manufacturers instructions. For informational purposes only. Not a guarantee of any kind. Use information at your own risk.