The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Doors door hinges

I've tack welded the pin for many years. It is a very good way to secure them. Often the washer (spot welded beneath the hinge piece) will separate and that leaves only a small bit of metal for the hinge pin serrations to grip as the washer will just spin after that. My experience has been you will hear the driver's side or feel it not working as well because you use that door most often. On the passenger side you may not ever know there is a problem until the pin rusts in the strap hole and then it just won't work any longer and you have to force the door open and repair it.

Many automotive hinges today use a high tech plastic bushing (probably Delrin which is self-lubricating) that of course won't rust and wears very slowly coupled with a stainless steel pin that does not ride inside a strap hole like the old style did. Some bushings are thin, machined to the same size as the pin and sort of fragile looking and others are fatter and resemble a stepped faucet washer. I've thought of trying to find some Delrin bushings that could be used on the AD hinges so that the strap hole could be drilled larger than the pin and wouldn't be prone to seizing. My experience has been a lot of people mean to lubricate them, but don't always do it. Lubriplate or that thick red motor assembly lubricant is good. It tends to stay put and lasts a good long time. Not too easy to force through a small hole, however.