Xantia Estate door hinge - a repair!!!

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Robin
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Xantia Estate door hinge - a repair!!!

Post by Robin »

Here we go folks. I can confirm that a repair is possible without resort to welding or paintwork and can be done by yourself. I have to assume that your hinge has NOT broken away completely and is still in place. Behind the pillar is a liner of very tough steel approx half a millimetre thick. The hinge is supposed to be welded to this by spot welds which have either never taken properly or have broken away. There are only two spot welds so it is not a high stress point just a bracing weld but important non the less.
It is important that whatever method you use you clamp the inner and outer panels firmly together. This is what aligns the hinge properly.
The pictures I have could be useful but my broadband is down just now so a word or six is all I have on offer right now.
I bolted my repair but after cutting 50mm dia holes from the inside to gain access to have a look at what was involved I am convinced that the repair could be effected using 6mm dia high tensile pop rivets. This bit possibly is not DIY because you normally need power rivetters for ones this size.
I took my door off and with some help it possible to move it back against the wing without having to disconnect and remove the wiring loom entirely. It does have a bit of slack, not much but a bit. It will need to stand on blocks.
My finished result is a wonderfully aligned door feeling more rigid than it has for a long time.
Good luck. Took me about four hours but that included some very careful stripping and drilling odf the door post.
Robin.
Kered
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Post by Kered »

Robin,
Jolly well done!![:D][:D]
I recently changed from a hatch to an estate and have been concerned over this issue. Photographs are eagerly awaited.
Thanks for your efforts and the sharing of them.
Derek
sheldon6
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Post by sheldon6 »

Robin,
I have the same problem on my 98 estate, do you think that it is possible to clamp the hinge without cutting those large holes?. i would greatly appreciate the pics you can email them mark.jones@dsl.pipex.com
thanks
Robin
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Post by Robin »

Mark, Derek. I am certain that you can drill and clamp with large blind or pop rivets without cutting the large holes in the pillar. I only did this in order to explore what was inside.
If you prefer bolts and washers or plates then the only way is to cut access holes in the pillar.
Pictures when I am back up and running on my own PC which BT tell me should be next Friday[:(!]
Another gremlin dealt with thanks to this forum. [:D][:D]
sheldon6
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Post by sheldon6 »

just to update those concerned, i have just mended my door hinge and the only reason that i tackled it was the fact that you dont have to remove any of the wiring. All i did was remove door and place on tyres, drill two 12mm holes in hinge taking care not to go through the inner plate, I found that with the weight of the door removed that the hinge sat nicely and did not bother to clamp it at all. i them removed my ancient arc welder from the shed and filled up the holes with weld. rehung the door and voila shuts perfectly and you can,t see the welds. I would be happy to perform this surgery on your car for a nominal fee if not to far from the Bristol area.
Mark
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Post by Yawler »

Having read all the above, I started to take the door off - but
the lower hinge pin sheared and I'm left with the lower half of it only, so now I can't get the door off.
So, Instead, I took off the door trim and drilled an 8mm hole right through the hinge & various layers of metal, right into the car, having first moved the carpet, sound proofing & wiring out of the way inside & put a pieve of wood there for safety's sake. Then I cut a piece of M8 studding and poked it in, put a nut on the outside of the hinge, a humungous washer on the inside, tightened it all up and BINGO - problem solved!
So don't even try top take off the door, just take off the outside trim & drill through the hole. Needs a long drill, though - I started with a 6mm drill (smaller drills weren't long enough for the pilot hole, enlarged the hole with an ordinary 8mm drill, but it wasn't long enough to go right through. I had a long 8mm masonry drill in the shed so used that (slowly, they don't like getting hot!) to go right thriugh two more layers of thin steel.
Apart from the abortive attrempt at removing the door, total job time was about an hour.
Only thing is, I've now only got half a hinge pin in my lower hinge........ Will be fun if that breaks too - better keep it well oiled!
Thanks a lot for your information in Andyspares - a really useful forum!
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