I feel extremely stupid..

[gigabit240]

Ok... So heres the deal.. I had my car door open and backed into the side of my garage... I have no clue how I did it, I guess I just wasn't paying attention. The car doors hinges appear to be bent out of place and the door is pushed in forward.. Nothing has snapped or is broken, but i'd like to know how to bend the hinges into place so I can close the door... flame all you want i know it was the dumbest thing ever but i really need to try and get this fixed asap... any ideas?

[AZhitman]

Ouch.

That's a structural thing. If the door jamb is compromised, there's not much you can do.

How about some pics of the damage?

[bigbadberry3]

Breathe, don't do anything rash. It sounds very fixable if you bring us some pics and patience.

[gigabit240]

Ok here's a couple pics of the damage









Ok.. so I feel like it isn't to bad because nothing is broken, just bent. I feel like if I can carefully bend it back into place it should function properly. Any ideas?

If you need more pics i'd be glad to upload. Thanks guys

[AZhitman]

I can't tell from the pics whether the hinges are bent or the door pillar (where they attach) is bent.

Go compare the shape of the hinges and the plane of the door frame to the other side and report back.

If the hinges are bent, I'd recommend removing the door, remove the hinges, and go get a pair at a junkyard. This way, you're not compromising the strength of the hinges (OR bending anything else while trying to "fix" it).

Once you remove the door, it should be pretty clear where the damage occurred. Don't half-a$$ it.

[gigabit240]

All of the hinges look the same except for the middle one. The middle hinge is bent out of place.

I did a search about an hour or so on how to remove the door. I have no clue where to start at removing it. Do you have to take the trim off to remove it? does the Fender have to be removed as well?

[Hoffman5982]

Was the fender out of place before this accident? It looks messed up where it meets the A pillar. Sucks that we have to learn from mistakes. Good luck, I hope it just ends up being the hinges

[gigabit240]

No the fender is just bent upward a lil bit. The door still is level with the car and it closes.. It's just pushed forward and out. I know the hinges are fine.. It's just that middle piece is bent outward... I just have to figure out how to remove the door.. Each time I do a search, all i get is instructions on removing the door panal and glass removal.

[alms24sebring]

Tried to find a pic of Chris looking back while backing up at the gas station, but its a good alternative

Ok seriously, the advice given is good. Hopefully the frame part isnt bent

[costa_rican13]

yea fram is gona suck if it is... that means youll have to cut and weld.

[240sxAli4Life]

Ouch! Hopefully its just bent hinges, and nothing major. How fast were you going when you were backing up?

[Armstec_S13]

if it pushed forward and out, check where the hinges connect on the door, may just be the door part bent, need pics of the door fully closed, you sure its not just the fender pushed in where the door hit it? may not be the door at all

if ya can post a video on youtube and give us the link.

[gigabit240]

Ouch! Hopefully its just bent hinges, and nothing major. How fast were you going when you were backing up?

Oh I was going quite slow actually.. in fact I eased into it and just didn't notice my door was open cause i was reading the mail i had just grabbed... anywhoo... I got some pictures with the door closed. I know the door is being pushed out by the middle adjustment hinge.. The fender is defiantly smashed inward though from the side of the door hitting it...I doubt that the fram is messed up.. I really think the hinges are out of line. I still have faith that I can fix this myself If I could be pointed in the direction of how to remove body panels so I don't mess that up somehow too..









Thanks guys for your help so far. It is appreciated

[Morph]

Your good bro, my friend had the same thing happen except it was another car instead of a building, and we had to replace some hinges and it was fine.

Dont feel bad we all do dumb crap, hell most of us have 240's.

[gigabit240]

Your good bro, my friend had the same thing happen except it was another car instead of a building, and we had to replace some hinges and it was fine.

Dont feel bad we all do dumb crap, hell most of us have 240's.

Ok thank christ.. I'm gonna see if I can replace the hinges then. I'll look at the fsm again for the fender removal I guess. I'll check back in if I have some more Q's or once I finish.. Whichever comes first.

[240sxAli4Life]

If i were you i would go up to your nearest body shop, and have them look at it and have them tell you whats the problem. Thats free at most body shops. Let them give you a quote, and tell them ill think about it, and if its something that you can do save your money and do it yourself.

[AZhitman]

^ Good idea.

Door removal... Definitely need to pull the fender first. Start with the bumper (it's self-explanatory).

Here's the FSM chapter that deals with removing the door. http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/240sx/1996/bt.pdf

Have a friend there to help support it as you remove hinges (go get new hinges first!)

[gigabit240]

^ Good idea.

Door removal... Definitely need to pull the fender first. Start with the bumper (it's self-explanatory).

Here's the FSM chapter that deals with removing the door. http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/240sx/1996/bt.pdf

Have a friend there to help support it as you remove hinges (go get new hinges first!)

Ok so its body shop first thing tomorrow then. Thanks for the link and the help guys.

[gigabit240]

Ok so i went to the body shop and they told me that i could fix it myself by just replacing the hinges. They're both bent inward slightly causing the door to be hunched forward by a few millimeters. I don't have the hinges yet, but I was able to bend the door enough to get it to close completely. Seriously it's only off by a few mm..

Thanks again.

[240TKE128]

Good to hear, be glad the fenders didn't get warped to had a buddy of mine do a similar thing to this ended up replacing front fender on top of the hinges.

[R!CH!E]

damn glade to hear its fixable

[fiznowler]

I probably have a set of those hinges laying around. I just parted out an s14. If ya end up needing let me know and I will send em to cheap.

[gigabit240]

I probably have a set of those hinges laying around. I just parted out an s14. If ya end up needing let me know and I will send em to cheap.

pm'd