Just replaced my sagging door hinge -- what a difference.

[tfvesquire]

Hi All:

I am still in the process of cleaning up my first Q (1998 Pearl White) and just replaced the drivers front door lower hinge last night. The door was sagging really bad to the point that the latch was beginning to cut into the plastic covering on the door jamb catch. Plus, it was starting to wear away the paint on the lower jamb as well. I will post some photos when the weather gets a little better here. I haven't even driven my car since I brought it to Illinois!!

I purchased a replacement hinge from a local dealer ($40.00) because although the online Infiniti dealer was a little cheaper($26.50), they wanted $9.00 to ship it ground (4-7 business days). I got my part the next day.

I talked to Bullitandy about fender removal since he had started to part his 97 out and besides the headache of trying to remove the front part of the fender without removing the bumper cover, everything went smoothly. FYI, you have to be really careful to hold the edge of the bumper cover down to access several bolts. I was able to carefully unbolt and pop out the first 2 feet or so of the rocker panel with no resistance. Remember, there are two more bolts under there holding the lower fender lip.

Trust me, DO NOT try and replace your front door hinges without removing the fender. You will not only damage your paint, but you could end up rounding off one of the hinge bolts trying to unbolt it at a weird angle. I know it's a PITA to have to remove the fender, but you will thank me in the long run, especially during door adjustment. After primering and spraying the hinge (it comes in a nice shade of silver steel) with a can of off white paint I had lying around (not a bad match and who will see it anyway) I was ready to undo the original one.

I left the door shut completely to allow the lock catch to hold the door in position. Then, I took a pencil and lightly traced around the old hinge on the jamb and the door. On the two spots that bolt to the door, there is only one hole slightly elongated, so as long as you bolt the hinge straight up and down, you should be fine, but follow your traced line. Next, I attached the hinge to the door first and snugged the bolts down, but not tight yet. Then, I bolted the hinge to the jamb and snugged them as well.

After that, I noticed the door still banged against the door latch and was slightly lower than the rear door, so I loosened up the top bolts and tried to align it better. Still no good. I then tried to place a jack with a rag under the edge of the door and slowly jack it and unloosen one hinge bolt at a time. Still no good!! Finally, I tried unloosening the inner door jamb bolts and snugging the outer ones, then slowingly jacking it up and got it just right. I checked the alignment with the rear door and roof line. It lined up with the rear door, but the latch was still hitting slightly.

Now, I went about adjusting the door latch catch. It also took awhile, but I finally got it into position to get that original Q45 door click that we all appreciate. The rears were fine, but I adjusted the passenger front latch and now all four doors open and close like they should.

I think the PO was using the drivers door to assist them in getting in and out of the car. I looked at the old hinge and the brass bushings were almost all squeezed out of place -- causing the slop. In my opinion, nothing is more satisfying than doors that open and close smooth and correctly. I know detailing is great and new tires make the car ride smoothly, but every time you get in and out of your car, you will be reminded that your doors are just a little off. Take the time and adjust them and I guarantee you will fall in love with your Q all over again.

I will post more as I finish one project at a time. Almost finished with the rear window tint removal. Will post suggestions, tips and newly made up cuss words soon.

Take care and keep 'em clean.

Ted
Modified by tfvesquire at 8:39 AM 1/22/2008

[maxnix]

Nice job! With pictures, we will have an article.

First time on a FGY33 that I can recall. PO must have been 300 lbs.

[tfvesquire]

PO was not necessarily large, just too lazy. I see some people using their doors for support and the bushings definately take a beating. I would have snapped a few pictures, but I just wanted to install the hinge asap in my semi-warm garage. Plus, I don't think I can post attachments with photos until I have 50 or more posts. Still working on that.

If anone has any questions or runs into any snag, drop me a PM or email and I will try to help out.

Thanks.

[Haitian_King]

Good info.

I recently attacked my door strikers during a 3 hour break between classes. I headed down to the student parking lot and grabbed my trusty ratchet screwdriver. I'd done the door striker adjustment before, but the proverbial "cat" just kept coming back in the form of an un-flush door. It would close and stay tight the first time, but as luck would have it, that would be during on of the infrequent periods where I would have passengers in the rear. After a couple of openings/closings, the door wouldn't be tight against the door jamb anymore. It would close enough to seal against water, but during a drive, there would be more than average road noise. God forbid it was raining. I could hear the sound of the tires on the wet pavement, and I found it to be quite uncomfortable to listen to for long periods of time.

I loosened the screw holding the striker in about 3/4 of the way. I adjusted the striker to where I wanted it. (In this case, UP and IN towards the interior.) I then began to tighten the top striker screw. I fastened it about 1/2 of the way and proceeded to do the same to the bottom screw. I alternated tightening them to ensure a uniform tightness, all the while I was holding the striker in its new position. Once they were tight, I stood (up until this point, I was sitting on the rear seat) and gave each screw a curse and tightened the holy hell out of it. I tugged on the striker and it didn't budge. I gave the door a light push, and it closed and latched perfectly with a satisfying chunky sound and crispness. I gave it a test opening to see if it would loosen the striker, and it didn't. The unlatching of the door was satisfying as well. It had an authoritative "chunk" to the sound. I loved it.

I repeated the procedure on the other door and it worked just as well. I'm quite happy with the way it looks. The cabin is considerably quieter now also. The only thing that's bugging me is that I seem to hear my engine a lot more. Hopefully that's not a sign of something evil to come.