DOOR HINGE REPLACEMENT
*Courtesy of clemr2 from the MR2 forum.
After 15+ years of use, most driver side
doors are beginning to sag. To see how bad your door is sagging, open the
drivers side door about 8-10 inches, and lift up on the end of it. If it
deflects any, then the door is sagging. Compare it to the passenger's door,
which shouldn't be near as bad.
Door Hinges Part #s:
Price is $28 each from Jay Marks Toyota
1) Open the door all the way and place a
floor jack (with padding to protect door) under the centre of the door.
2) Remove pin that holds on the "brass
coloured lever thing in the middle that keeps the door from opening too far".
Use pliers to close leafs at bottom of pin while pushing up though hole.
3) Remove 4 (12mm) bolts that hold door to
hinges. It would be helpful to have someone to help balance the door on the
jack, but it is doable alone (I did it alone). I had to used a 1/4" drive
ratchet because I couldn't fit anything bigger. PB Blaster and a 36" long pipe
(cheater bar on ratchet) were needed to "persuade" the bolts to come loose.
4) Slide door on jack away from car.
5) Without the door on, mark the location
of the hinge, so that installation is easier. You can get to the 4 (12mm) bolts
that hold the hinge to the body without removing the wing or any wing bolts. I
was able to fit the 1/4" drive ratchet to loosen two of the bolts. The other two
require a wrench (non-offset works fine). PB Blaster was again helpful.
6) Remove hinges and clean off the old sealant.
7) Put new hinges on in the same position as original and tighten bolts.
8) Roll door on jack into position and put
bolts in. This step requires help to get door into position.
9) Put middle lever back in and slide pin back into place.
10) Check door operation. Mine was still
low. You cannot get to the hinge-to-body bolt with door on, so you either have
to remove fender or door to adjust door position. I figured since I just had the
door off, it would be easier to remove those 4 bolts again instead of removing
the wing. I removed the door, and tilted the bottom hinge up. When I tried
putting the door back on, it would not line up with the bottom hinge (it was
tilted too much). Adjust the bottom hinge back down a little, and put the door
back on. Fixed the problem. Door closes perfectly now.
11) I then adjusted my striker plate to
raise the closed door position slightly (to get a tighter seal with the window closed)
68720-17010 Upper LH (US Driver)
68740-17010 Lower LH (US Driver)
68710-17010 Upper RH (US Passenger)
68730-17010 Lower RH (US Passenger)
