Replacing Disco 1 driver's door hinges

[Disco Matt]

I need to replace the driver's door hinges as they've worn rather spectacularly. I have the parts, but I've no idea what I'll need to fit them (other than the obvious tools to undo the bolts). Has anyone done this before and could they offer some pointers? Is it a simple job to unplug the door electrics (thereby allowing the door to be lifted right off the vehicle rather than needing to support it throughout the job)?

[auf_wiedersehen_pet]

I've taken doors on and off but never just changed the hinges. Would it be possible to change one then the other so the door is never off the car - that way you don't have to struggle holding the door in place.
 

[ChrisW70]

I've got this job to do at some point, way I'm going to approach it is leave the door on and closed, with the wing off access to the Torx bolts should be fairly easy to replace one at a time.

[Disco Matt]

I hadn't thought about that. Only snag is that the bolts holding the lower edge of my front wing on will be pretty much one solid corroded lump after 14 years! I'm loath to disturb them in case I end up with sheared captive nuts and/or damage to the fixing holes.

Where are the bolts? I'll have a look when it comes back from the garage after having the battery drain seen to (think it's the alternator which was replaced less than a year ago).

[ChrisW70]

There's 3 bolts down the rear side of the hinge - you get to them through the gap between the a pillar and the door with the door open.
3 bolts out, philips screws out the top along the edge of the bonnet and depending how original the car is there are two retainer straps, one between the bottom edge of the wing and the front bumper and the other between the bottom of the wing and the sill finisher - if you have sliders and winch bumper these will probably have been removed.

I think, from memory, the bolts are into threaded holes rather than captive nuts.

[Disco Matt]

I'll have a look - I have a feeling that the retaining straps at the bottom have survived, or at least they're both still present even if I'm not sure what they're connected to!  :lol:

There is some sort of fixing at the front end where the wing panel folds to fit behind the bumper end cap too IIRC? I'll try drowning everything in Plusgas and see if it'll move.

[barmiebrumie]

Hi Matt,

I would do it the same way as Chris has suggested (10mm bolts inside wing/door), if you can get hold of some heat it will help on the retaining strap/bolts as these will otherwise twist & snap but can be fabricated quite easyily


John

[Range Rover Blues]

On a 300 the doors are bolted on with t40 torx headed bolts and adjusted with shims under the hinge.  I've snapped 3 bits trying to remove a rear door hinge.  You also need to check that the carcase do the door has not rusted because the hinges bolt to a reinforced section, later (300 onwards) LR products are not made fomr the same quality steel as earlier LRs and the doors rust badly inside out.  The door on ours dropped because the door is rusty allowing the hinge to twist away from the door.  Taking the dor off and wleding it will sort it out.

the electrics plug in just inside the 'A' post trim, 3 or 4 plugs that you can't mix up.  you do have to feed the loom through both skins of the 'A' post though, it is gromited in both skins.

I would suggest though that the concealed hinges are designed to lift apart if you remove a clip on each hinge, this makes lifting na door off a one-man-job rather that trying to unbolt hem whilst holding them up with your teeth.

[Disco Matt]

Mine is definitely due to wear in the hinges - you can see the movement if you pull up on the door handle. I have spare circlips for the new hinges and I suspect I'll need to take the old ones off in stages (the bit that bolts to the wing will block access to the bit attached to the door).

[Disco Matt]

If anyone else decides to do this, be warned: The "captive" nuts on the inside of the door are not actually attached to anything. They will instead fall down inside the door with a gleeful clattering noise, after which you'll have to dismantle the door to get the part back!

Next question, does anyone know how to hang a door? I've got the new hinge in but I need to get the panel gaps even, I pulled one of the shims out in an effort to get it to hang properly and now it's closer to the front of the space than the back.

My plan is to open the door, loosen the bolts re-insert the shim, then use a bottle jack and a block of wood to gently raise it before tightening them again, hopefully with the door at the right height. I'll also be loosening the wing bolts and trying to massage it into the proper alignment as I've now got uneven panel gaps either side of the bonnet.

On the plus side, I didn't find horrific amounts of rust on my inner wing!  :lol:

[Range Rover Blues]

I don't think the hinges are meant to adjust by loosening and sliding them, I think they adjsut by adding shims.  You move the panels out by shimming the A post and adjust the door gaps by shimming the door.

The door striker post does slide up & down/in & out.

[Disco Matt]

Hmm, see, the holes are much bigger than the bolts and there's a fair bit of play before you tighten them up. I'd see that as allowing you to adjust the fit slightly and lift the door. At present it closes properly but the gap between the wing and door is noticeably smaller than that between the back of the front door and the front of the rear door.

It definitely isn't rust anyway, the doors seem sound inside and out as does the A pillar.

[Range Rover Blues]

Maybe they do then :-k  Are the holes slotted?

Anyway, for the gap front and rear it you need to add the shims to both top and bottom hinges or remove them from the back door hinge.

[Disco Matt]

They're circular but they're bigger than the bolts - I'd guess by about 2mm or so. My plan is to sort the wing out first and then match the door to that and the back door. I'm not expecting half millimetre perfection but it'd be nice if it looked about even!

Thing is, if I take the shims out of the back door I'll just end up with a huge gap between that and the rear quarter panel as I'll have chased the gap all the way along.

[Saffy]

hijacking the thread for the moment....  the drain hole on drivers front door pillar (is that called the A post?) on our disco has enlarged from rust and I will be plating that and other bits and bobs this weekend. To get at it I think I need to get the door off. Interest to read above about clips on hinges... so are the front doors quick and easy to remove? its a series 1


edit: no worries - found the entry in the manual

[Disco Matt]

I didn't get as far as completely removing the door, so I didn't find all the electrical connections. The mechanical side is simple though - there's a pin holding the check strap which should tap out from below, then the circlip on each hinge.

I found that a folded Workmate with its legs deployed and a couple of blocks of wood on top made a perfect support to rest the door on while removing the trim and fishing the supposed-to-be-captive nut (more like a lump of metal with three threaded holes in) out of the door. In the end I only replaced the upper hinge, as by this stage my fingers felt like they'd had a fight with a threshing machine and I was getting fed up.

It still isn't quite right but I think I'll have to live with it. The door closes and latches perfectly, it's just a little bit misaligned with the neighbouring panels. If I re-insert the shim I'll have the old problem again of the upper door frame hitting the B pillar. If it gives more aggro it'll be a job for someone with more patience and experience in coachbuilding than me - I can do electrics, simple component replacement and painting, aligning big heavy lumps of metal is not one of my skills!

[Range Rover Blues]

To do the bottom of ther A post you might be better off removing the sill trim as it is a fire hazard.  With it removed you can repair about 6 inches of A post with the door open and the bottom of the wing released, you don't need to completely remove the wing.

[Saffy]

To do the bottom of ther A post you might be better off removing the sill trim as it is a fire hazard.  With it removed you can repair about 6 inches of A post with the door open and the bottom of the wing released, you don't need to completely remove the wing.

  did it this morning - just the other end of that sill to repair now. Didn't need to release the wing as the corrosion didn't extend far that way. Have ordered new plastic pegs to replace the sill trim - can't believe price on them! Door came off easy enough though was a bit reluctant to lift off the pegs without some wiggling. With plastic trim in foot well wall removed the 3 electrical multi plugs where easily unclipped and loom removed through the portals. cheers

[Disco Matt]

Had my sills sorted out a couple of years ago. The bloke doing it chopped out anything that looked remotely rotten (there were only a couple of holes after my exploratory prodding with a screwdriver) and welded 4mm thick steel box section in. With those and the tree sliders I think I have side impact protection!  :lol:

The door's still a bit low but there doesn't seem to be anything I can do about it. I have fixed the immediate problem though so I'm not overly worried.

[Saffy]

think ill do the box section thing  next time around. Car needs to be kept on road for Mrs to drive to work (else she'll have to use my defender  [-X [-o< ) and disco's MOT is just around corner so repair patch where needed will do for now. Will be doing all four discs and pads this weekend and that'll hopefully see it good for awhile.

[Range Rover Blues]

After nearly 2 years our TDi is back on the road (I'm doing my sister's now) and I fitted 60x100 box with a 3mm wall.  It isn't a perfect fit so I recomend anyone doing this to double check where the B post belongs before welding it on, I had to use a lot of shims to get the doors straight.

I took lots of pictures so if I get chance I'll write it up

[Saffy]

be interested n seeing a write up, guess sometime in future I may have to visit the sills.

[Range Rover Blues]

Be warned though, steps 2, 5, 7, 18, 21 and 42 will probably read "ring big Steve (Hairy Ass Welder) in a blind panic)