boxburn

At some point in the last year my passenger upper hinge snapped right out of the body which I welded back up and all seemed okay. Today I felt a drop when I opened the door and sure enough, it's getting ready to snap out again.

I have seen the Chrysler bulletin with the hinge strengthening kit and am wondering if they are still about, or if anyone has seen any methods of strengthening up the frame where it welds to. A strengthening kit would be nice but if I need to do a bit of chopping and reinforcing of the body, it can be done.

Thanks

Jeepwalker

Are you saying the metal on the door post (body side) has cracked and pretty much broken off?

If so, it could be b/c there are two layers of tin (for strength) and the outer layer you can see was welded but the inner layer behind it was and is still cracked. Therefore only one layer of tin was doing the work and isn't enough. I've experience a similar thing on other vehicles. The fix might be to cut a larger section of the top layer off with a cut-off tool say 8" or 10" long or so, then weld the inner tin section where it's cracked. But at that point, you might as well cut the inner tin and re make a piece out of heavier GA ...like 16 ga or thicker, weld that in, and then re-weld on the outer skin. Make sure you drill a few 5/16" holes in the outer metal skin before you install it, above and below the hinge ..maybe even behind it, so you can weld the two layers together -- for additional strength. Grind down the welds and install the hinge. Once the hinge is reinstalled, there should be enough 'beef' back there to handle the stresses

Also make sure the hinge is well lubricated and doesn't bind or catch.

ijeeep

There is a post with pictures somewhere on the web showing a door frame hinge repair using a tall wide doubler inside the door frame. It was well thought out out and nicely done. FWIW a reasonable facsimile of the Chrysler kit should be easy to fabricate.

OldTires

Here is the bulletin in case you don't have it. I was thinking of getting it for my passenger door, but it is still holding on, and I keep forgetting to ask the dealer whenever I go there for other stuff. The door check is the issue when it gets old and binds, it pushes out when closing the door.

DustyWagoneer

Hooligan Offroad door braces.