As the title suggests, this is a "How to" thread on Door Hinge bushing replacement. Our cars are getting old now and this is a common issue. my Car now has 96K on the clock and the drivers door bushings have seen better days. So this thread is to show how to do this with minimal tools and minimal equipment. I am no rich guy by any means and I live in a rental with a small one car garage. So for those thinking about doing this task in the future, follow along and I will show you the process on a 77 C3. This car has roll up windows and a remote side sport mirror. Other C3's will be similar.
First a list of needed tools.

A dremel rotary tool with a cut off wheel.
small floor jack.
2-3 ratchet straps.
5/16ths wrench.
Chevrolet door clip tool.
a standard pair of pliers.
#2 Phillips screwdriver.
5/64ths allen wrench.
5/16ths quarter drive socket and ratchet.
9/16ths socket.
3 inch extension.
Ratchet to suit.
med. sized punch.
Hammer.
Emery cloth.
Corvette door spring tool.
There are only 2 "Special tools". Both of which any C3 owner should have. The first, a Chevrolet door clip tool.

This is mine, I think I bought it when I was a teenager. I've owned a few Chevy's over the years.
the door spring tool is available from most vendors or you can make one up.

I've had this one for about 20 years.
These are not expensive tools. everything else is basic stuff.
This should be the complete list other than the bushings themselves. These are the same bushings used on numerous G.M. vehicles back in the day and are available all over the place with or without replacement pins. Most likely your pins will be fine unless you have major wear. However if you do replace the pins you will need to cut the top of the upper pin as will be seen further down in the removal process. But then you won't need to clean up your old pins and won't need the emery.
So to start with, this is the tight space I have to work with.

As you can see, pretty tight. no room to bring in any fancy door lifting equipment. And no budget for such nonsense anyway. however, I looked up and thought, this should support the weight of the door.

Yes, just a standard garage door roller frame. seems my door lines up perfectly with it right near the support.
So let's get started. First off, this door is going to be open for a while, so let's disconnect the battery so as not to have the courtesy lights run the battery flat. A 5/16ths wrench is needed to undo the ground cable.

Now with the battery disconnected. we need to remove the door panel to gain access to the lower hinge bolts. And of course there are a few things to remove before said panel comes off. My car has the sport mirrors with the remote adjuster on the driver's side. Let's start there. As you can see their are 2 Phillips head screws that retain the remote mirror adjuster assembly to the door panel, but also look closely just left of the toggle. note the set screw.

After removing the 2 Phillips head screws, using the 5/64ths allen wrench loosen but do not remove the set screw.
The frame can the be removed from the adjuster allowing it to be pulled through the door panel.

Next. using the Chevrolet door clip tool remove the window crank and lock ****.



Now, once the window crank and lock **** have been removed, we need to remove the door pull. It is retained by 2 Phillips head screws the upper one is a bit hidden.

Yes I know, but trust me, it's in there. the lower one is a bit easier to find.

Once off looks like this.

Now we need to remove the door latch handle. Just one Phillips head screw on the inside of the lever, remove the screw and slide the lever forward and off.


OK. now we have removed the door pull,window crank, door latch lever, mirror adjuster and lock ****. Now just 4 screws to remove the panel. 2 lower screws at the leading and trailing edges of the door. The trailing edge shown here, leading edge similar but a bit harder to photograph.

the upper screws at the front and rear of the panel.


Once all 4 of these screws are removed the panel can be lifted up and then away and off the door. making the lower hinge bolts accessible. Next we need to remove the small panel that covers the upper hinge bolts.

Remove these 2 screws with a 5/16ths socket and remove the panel to gain access to the upper hinge bolts.
Now we need to support the door and protect the paint. I used a few old towels. some use lots of masking tape. at any rate watch the area where door meets the body. and in this case. where the door will touch the wall. So now I am going to support the door at the hinge side with a small floor jack and a chunk of wood. note that the floor jack is positioned wheels and all to be pulled straight away from the car. I wrap a ratchet strap around the door using a towel to protect the paint. and another strap around the garage door support to adjust and hold the rear of the door up. Should look something like this.

OK .door supported and adjustable. time to remove all the bolts. Hang on. a little trick to mark their location. find a spray can of left over paint, any color as long as it contrasts. I had some left over red. Do this to both upper and lower hinges.

On reassembly you can match up your bolts perfectly. and if you need to adjust you will be able to gauge just how much you moved it.
Now on my car I have custom side skirts. so I removed them as their wasn't sufficient room to swing a hammer with them on.



I'm not certain if factory rocker trim is in the way or not. if not certain. remove them.
Now with door supported with ratchet straps and small floor jack and paint drying. remove the 8 bolts that mount the hinges to the door. and then slide the door away from the car 2-3 inches. That's all you need.
Using a hammer and punch drive the pin on the lower hinge upwards and out.

Once the pin is removed wiggle and then slide the hinge back into the door exposing the bushings. I drove them part way out with hammer and punch and then grabbed them with a ordinary pair of pliers and wiggled them out. replacing them with new bushings and a light tap with hammer to seat them home.

Now slide the hinge back into place and after cleaning up pin with emery, inset pin and drive it home. the splines on the pin will require that last quarter inch to be pounded home.
Now on to the slightly more fun upper hinge. the upper pins head will interfere with the body of the car as well as the hinge spring will put tension on the whole works.
Start by driving the pin upwards about an inch to a inch and a half.
looking down on the upper hinge pin in this position.

So, you can see the problem. Now get out the dremel and cut off 1/4 of the head.

like this.
Now unload the door spring with the spring tool and rotate the pin and remove.

In this photo you can see just how bad my upper bushings looked. once again slide the door side part of the hinge into the door. remove and replace the bushings. clean up the pin with emery and holding the spring back with the tool align the hinge parts and install the pin being very careful to not nick the body of the car. drive the splines home with a hammer and punch.
Slide the door back into place and install bolts. using the ratchet straps to raise the rear of the door and the floor jack to adjust the front of the door. install bolts lining up the paint marks.

Now, undo the ratchet straps and remove the floor jack. VERY carefully start closing the door. watching the leading edge first. If it's to far forward you can damage your paint. Be careful and watch and close slowly. if to tight. Stop, reset your straps and jack and adjust door slightly rearward. if all is good keep closing. close door completely if all is lining up. check not just the gaps. Mine where never perfect from new. check out how your window fits. if not correct. set up straps and jack and adjust as necessary.


On my car I knew my windows fit well. assuring that they still lined up properly was good evidence that the door was back where it should be. and it closes with a light touch. no need to "Slam" the door.
Now reassemble reverse of disassemble. With one tip. when installing the door latch lever. wedge a large screwdriver in like this to hold the mechanism about half open so as to get the screw started. once you have the screw started remove the large screwdriver and finish tightening the screw.


Well, there it is. took me much longer to put this post together then it did to replace my door bushings.

 

Thank you. Nice write up. I would add, if you have to remove the doors, I drill two 1/8" holes in each hinge through any shims and the door. Realigning the door to the hinge is easy, just put the shank of a drill bit into the holes. Jerry

 

Thank you for this write up! @4-vettes
read and seen quite a few..and assume this best method..Willcox agreed too but somehow he stated he didn’t cut top pin and did same process removing hinge at door? Not inside…
i will be doing this soon to passenger side.
couple quick questions for a 79 Power everything…
- this method of pulling door away..is there enough slack on electrical to not have any issues?
- napa carry these? Are the universal bushings?
- you just tension spring to install pins not remove?

thanks again..

 

In answer to your questions,
yes I left the door spring in place. Not much tension on it at all with door wide open.
These bushings were used on numerous GM vehicles in that time period. Highly likely NAPA would have them but I have no way to know without calling them.
As per the wiring for power windows. My car doesn't have them but as I stated above you only need to slide the door out 2 - 3 inches so I would think you would have that much slack but I can not say for certain. Perhaps you can pull an inch or so of wire through the grommet.
Make certain you have that floor jack on the bottom of the door securely, you don't want it slipping off.
Not certain about the Wilcox method. But have seen many others cut the head a bit on the upper pin. So it doesn't foul the front fender. Removing the hinge from the door piller looks like a ton more work than simply cutting a small bit off of the pin.

 

Thanks a million for this! I know my bushings are bad and are on "the list"

 

You are welcome a million. And in the photo's and text I do explain holding the spring tension back with a door spring tool.

 

Nice write up, I’ll be using this in the near future.
Thanks!