jogodlew

I have a 2003 chevy express with swing side doors and the hinges a very hard to work to the point that it looks like I am going to break the welds closing the door. I have tried spray lube with minimal sucess. Any tips?

beckeruti

my dad has that van too
and the same problem
he took it to the dealer and the cut the old ones off and put a new one on
it cost him a thousnad bucks almost for just one door
he just doesnt use them anymore
i have seen someone drill holes and put a lube thingy in it so they can lube the inside part

good luck

golfer

Get used to it , same thing for my 00 van, common problem.

irishcream

well boys have i got the solution to your problem, i'm friends with a guy in winnipeg manitoba who has the exclusive on some new hinges and greasable hinge pins, you can purchase a set of two for 25 dollars canadian, the come stainless so they don't really need painting and many shops can install them in an hour or less, or he sells the pins by themselves but if you are gonna buy new pins might as well get the new hinges too. drop me an email to jsmurphy@mts.net or shakersandmovers@mobility.blackberry.net and i'll hook you up with the number. no more black stains on the side doors from spraying the hell out of them.

04ExpressVan

I have heard of contractors putting zerk fittings on the hinges, too. I will be doing that to my '04 this summer (hopefully).

Michelin_Man

And I thought I was the only one with bad hinges. This issue makes me crazy. My 2003 G2500 does it now, and my previous 1999 G2500 did it. My 1994 G1500 shorty van had the side slider which always seemed to break the latch.

130,000 trouble free miles on my 5.3l 2003, and these hinges are the only issue I have ever had with it.

Irish Cream - I'll be in contact about the new hinges!!!

shayneneal

I can't believe how many people have had this problem. Every summer the weather warms up and we spray the crap out of the hinges. This helps moderately but I noticed the rear side door (which hasn't been opened in about 8 months) damn near needs a pry bar to get open much at all. I am going to check out these new hinges too - maybe a project for next year - right now I am dealing with faulty AC lines in the front and back of my van.

Be thankful that your only problems revolve around pulling harder on your door.

Shayne

Michelin_Man

Well, since I don't own a welder to remove and replace the hinges, I used my chess-club brain to full effect and thought about how I could lube the pin, without destroying it trying to remove it.

I ended up drilling a hole in each section of latch where the pivot pin went through. Just the bottom hinge, as the top hinge worked fine.

A small 1/8" hole, and then some penetrating lube and let it sit. Come back 20 minutes later and I have my new door back! Swings easily, closes very easily and with just a nice push like when new. I re-lubed with some nice Motorex chain lube, RTV sealed the holes and so far its been great! Plus - I can relube when they stiffen up again.

One happy van!

rich_in_the_D

I may have stumbled across a fix!!! My doors were so hard to close that I too thought that I would break the hinges off. It got to the point where I would push the door to close it, and it would get to about 80% closed, then spring back open some. I tried WD40 (only added to dirt build up, then some liquid white grease (made a huge mess that stuck all over my paint), and nothing seemed to help. Then I decided to try to clean off the grease and grime with GoJo. Miraculously, the GoJo Cream penetrated the hinge and cleaned off all the grease and grime. I then used a very small flat screwdriver to dig out the remaining grime from between the joints of the hinge (surrounding the pins). I then carefully sprayed some more liquid white grease on the hinges and used my fingers to work it into the hingse. Viola!!! the doors began swinging so freely, that I can just push them a little and they slam shut. It is amazing. Try it and et me know if it works for you. but remember to wipe off the liquid grease right away!!!

masterK

also we have the same problem with those f** doors.
we customized the van like WCC, so there are always more then 4 people onboard.
this is why we NEED those doors for them to get in.
we live in holland, so everything about the van is expensive.
(gas is about 1.60 and rising)
now we have driven so long with this problem, that de doors are pointing to each other, they won't close anymore.
the hinges are bent as far as they can go.

what is that gojo you're talking about?
anyone has an idea how to bent the hinges back to it's original state?

thanks in advance!