Door “repair” with a block of wood? More like door and hinge bending with block of wood. Driving the car into an Oak Tree would solve the problem also, but in a different way…
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I vote for a gallon of gasoline poured into the front seat and a match
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The camera on your phone could help a lot if you take pictures as you disassemble things…
That is what I have learned to do.
That probably means there’s a good chance that any plastic clips have broken. If they have, the good news is that those clips are still available from GM for less than $1.
Below are the GM instructions for door lock replacement. They’re not too helpful when it comes to showing the exact rod connections. As mentioned above, if necessary the other door can be used as an example. (Something weird going on with the picture posting. I couldn’t get the two to appear the same size)
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Instead of a piece of wood, a rag also works.
Tester
Thanks. Entertaining, at least. I continue to be puzzled by all these places selling pins and bushings but not the hinges. The only way to get the pins out would be to grind the tops off - and I don’t see the point of going to that much trouble since both the upper and lower hinges are pretty rusted. I’d be worried the not only the pins have worn down, but also the holes they spin around in too. Know what’s more fun than driving around holding the door (1 inch from being) closed while steering and shifting? Doing it in the rain when water is pouring in the space between the top of the door and the roof. Know what’s more fun than that? Trying to find a place to park overnight with all-night heavy, pouring rain and coming up with a solution for how to keep the door closed AND the water from pouring inside all night. Yeah…good times.
Unless I missed it, you still have not disclosed the year of your car. Cavaliers were made for 20 years give or take. In the early years 80s, they were probably pin/bushing. I can see OEM replacement hinges but who knows if they match your car without knowing the year…
I don’t know about GM but the 4 or 5 vechile’s I have changed the pin’s and bushing’s on were ford and dodge never saw the hole’s in the hinge get bigger the bushing’s are made of softer metal to prevent hinge from wearing out.
2001 2.2 5-speed manual coupe. 253K
Just keep at @Renegade. I feel sure you will find that problem sooner or later. And the problem is the pin wears the busing out and then wears the hole in the hinge out.
About those hinges @DJ44, certainly the dealers carry all such body parts. But replacing them might not be a DIY shade tree job.
But pickups aren’t to tough to repair for me @Tester. I’ve done those in my home shop working alone.
I am sure you are right about the pin wearing the hole in the hinge out but I don’t let it get that far when the door start’s to get soppy from the bushing I change it out while there is still some bushing left.
The people who force the door to close over boards and rags will eventually be looking at replacing the hinge and that’s a lot more work than many realize until it’s too late.
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Agree that is asking for trouble.I have seen people do that but I never did.
That’s one of the tricks-of-the trade.
Been fixing doors like that for years.
Or, a floor jack under the back of the door works good too.
Tester
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but how to get them off / new ones on?
Update. Between nearly constant rain, yesterday I was able to - for the first time ever (19 years) get the window crank and driver’s panel off. Loads of dirt, ,dust and mold. About half of the brittle plastic snap-connect things broke in half.There are 3 screws that hold the latch. 1 was totally gone, blown-away, destroyed/missing along with the actual metal piece of the car that the hole it goes into is surrounded by. 1 of them was normal and I got it out. The last one is stuck/jammed/wedged against the latch and will not move On to op that, it is completely rounded out inside. I tried every tool, attachment and pliers I had - nothing. Doused the whole area with WD40. At the same time, was able to peel back the plastic. No way to see the latch from the right eye I was able to peer in there with. Hole too small to fit both eyes and/or head. Tried to feel around with my hand - that resulted in my entire right hand and arm getting black, but no other progress. My thinking was that having the plastic door panel off would result in a way to loop some rope or something through holes in the door metal to help keep the door shut. Will be trying that tonight when more pouring rain is supposed to last all night - but the downside is that it is much harder to hold the door closed while driving now since all I have to hang onto is the sharp, filthy top edge of the metal door, not the plastic handle. To add even more enjoyment, just for curiosity and to completely eliminate it from consideration, I emailed the Chevy dealer to ask how much the parts would be - Here is the answer (labor not included):
Lower hinge $123.65 plus tax
Upper hinge $114.95 plus tax
Latch $208.23 plus tax
So yeah, that isn’t happening. Finally. It appears as if the three latch screws are unique, non-standard screws so I wouldn’t be surprised if they are only available for this one part and this one purpose. FML.
The screw heads are going to be torx, torx-plus, or triple square drive.
Tester
Rock Auto has that door latch for $49 however if the mounting surface on the door is damaged you might have to replace the door, usually less than $50 from a self-serve auto salvage yard.
I wonder if a complete door is available at a nearby junk yard at a reasonable price. With a little time, some sand paper and a rattle can of paint a junk door could look reasonably good.
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