Got Options?

Good I thought I wasnt the only person to notice this.... I looked all over for recalls but because its not life threatening "I guess" there is no recall on the hinge. My previous cars would not think of getting into a bind such as this but OH WELL. I got the same quote from the dealer and basically my driveway does not have the tools for this fix so its off to the dealer, I will let people know how affordable and recoverable that problem goes. hehe

Yes the disposable BIC lighter analogy is great but this item is worth thousands and would be a shame to throw away due to a stupid single HINGE assembly... GEEEzus. I guess I wont be needing the pics but thanks again.

Got Options?

Luckily through the dealer you can order door hinge assemblies and pins that are stainless steel now and you can grease them. So good going on the redesigns Chevy.

The bill wasnt bad at around 575 bucks for replacing one set of side door hinges and therefore if anyone is driving around with a busted hinge or 2 its worth taking it to the dealer. They have an induction tool for heating and removing the pins that cannot be accomplished with hammer and chisel, heating by torch or by drilling it out.

Happy days now that its fixed.

lunghd

That's $575 ya shouldn't have had to pay, one original design team that was paid too much, and one redesign engineer that shouldn't have been paid at all. (My hinge was replaced by the dealer as a condition of purchase... and he screamed bloody murder about the cost once he found out it wasn't a bolt in hinge. Don't blame him.)

They'll never improve the quality if we're willing participants in buying disposable vehicles.

Got Options?

Chevy should have picked up the tab for that fix since it was entirely based upon a hing pin with the wrong material and design.

But the dealership probably feels as though they dont want the hassle and risk of job security to ask Chevy to fix the problem and pay for it. Since this vehicle is a 2002 they are not worried about reputation on it since they would just recommend a newer vehicle.

But if CHEVY is listening out there, an apology and a check either or both would repair alot of damage there, hehe.

These companies are tightwads when a few dollars of their cost would repair years of bad reputation damage.

USA 1

I posted this in another thread, but this is where it should have gone.

I have a fairly successful routine that I do to keep the hinges free and smooth. I soak the hinges for a couple of days with penetrating oil. Wipe the excess off to avoid damaging the paint.

Once the hinges are well oiled I swing them back and forth a few times and re-spray with silicone spray. Swing the doors until you feel them freeing up. Spray again with penetrating oil.

Next I take a tub of white lithium grease and work it into the hinges with my fingers, 360 degrees, liberally applying the grease around the pins and joints. Be careful of sharp metal to avoid cuts. Work the hinges again after applying the white lithium and you should feel a lot more freedom.

Now spray the hinge again with penetrating oil. This thins the white lithium, and the grease and oil mix together. Work the hinge until it stops squeaking. (sometimes 50 or 60 swings on the door!) You should notice a stream of rusty oil dripping from the hinge. Wipe this away and clean the hinge area completely.

Apply another heavy coat of white lithium grease to the hinge, completely covering all openings of the hinge and especially where the pin is exposed. Keep it covered with grease to keep water from entering the hinge joint. Wipe away excess grease and rust, then wash away all oil, grease and lubricant from the paint.

I do a heavy duty lube up in the spring after winter and in the fall just before winter. It's a 2 day process with the pre-lube but it's nice to have free swinging doors. I just spent 3 hours maintaining my hinges yesterday. ALL doors, not just the side ones.

To maintain the hinges through the summer I use RemOil with teflon on the hinges to keep them opening freely and quietly. Usually each time I wash the truck. Once you have the pins lubed up real good your maintenance time is cut drastically. Just stay on top of them and you shouldn't have any issues.

Phil Salisbury

I have a 2001 Chevy Express 2500 with the same issue with the side cargo doors. I applied the same method as to lubricating the hinges ( drilling the holes and using PB Buster ) and after using the PB on the hinges applied over the course of a day, the hinges are finally working freely, BUT, at a cost.

The lower right door hinge snapped off at the bottom hinge point and the upper hinge point stayed intact, so the lower right door hinge is pivoting on the top with the pin seized. At this point I really don't care how the door are opening, all I care is that they are opening.

At some point down the road I'll shell out the money for the factory replacement hinges to replace all of them, but for now, there working and that good enough for me.

PapaNix 07 Xpress

On a different, but related note, I just had the "retainer" on the passenger side barn door break, so the door swings all the way out when opening. Will head to the dealer to see how bad ($$) it will hurt.

Thank you to all for the heads up on hinges. Mine are solid - so far - but I will begin routine lube cycles as recommended here!

Perhaps Pacific NW weather is more forgiving...

Got Options?

Situation totally remedied and now the Van is turning into the dream vehicle that I had in mind for it. Side cargo door rear is fixed from the dealer they needed special tooling for that. Front doors both driver and passenger were making a loud clicking noise. Removed the stabilizer that prevents the door from bouncing and now they open and shut quiet and silky, very nice. Cargo doors only have a small issue with jiggling over bumps and making some noise but perhaps new molding would soften them. Reducing inside noise significantly with the removal of shelving units, and storing everything correctly. There was a squeek in the driver seat that was removed by tightening the hold down bolts both to the frame and floor. Now its very quiet.

As a side note I recommend these new stereo/video screens with a backup camera on the rear plate, its a nice feature when you enter reverse to see out the back well from your video screen. I also like MP3 and Radio touch selections. I have gotten over the plastic panels issue since the fasteners are so easy to deal with, and hopefully if I ever need to replace them someone will sell 2002 panels. Some new paint on the interior and what was a pure cargo van is shaping up to be a great hobby vehicle. White is very easy to match paint color thankfully. Any rust issues in the cargo area were dealt with nicely with a paint scraper and some Duplicolor Bed Liner spray. Sandblasting too expensive.

Enjoy your vehicles mine is shaping up, like the extra durability of the 3500 and as a car owner for the last 20 years and even with SUVs nothing compares to the utility space of these things in relation to a small trunk hehe.

djanspach

Lung -
Would love to see a pic if you could snap one for me.
I'm trying to help out a lady down on her luck that has a snapped upper hinge. I thought I could "fix it in place" maybe by welding it back together. Its welded allright - just at the pin.

I'm stunned to think the fix is to weld in new hinges.

Thanks
Don

lunghd

Will try to get those for you tomorrow.