Hey. Driver's side door on a 2001 5-speed manual COUPE (2-door) is causing problems. Damn near destroyed the latch and had to use a whole can of WD-40 to work it back in to shape but it is still all smashed-up inside. But the root cause is still there - the door sags like an old lady. Its got to the point where I hate to close it anymore but I am in and out of that thing 100 times a day. I have read a bunch of threads on here dealing with the topic, but still can't find the final definitive answer about whether you can get the pins out (they appear to be smashed-down and mushroomed on the ends and I don't see a clip anywhere) and just replace those pins for a few bucks - OR - you have to spend a lot more and replace the whole deal. The auto parts stores all seem to sell just the pins and bushings so I am confused. Just the latest crisis as I reach 198K coming up on 15 years with this car.
Current / ongoing problems - leaking coolant, leaking oil (clutch replaced 1 year ago - what a disaster that was), outside/recirculate door broken - real fun in the winter!, clutch pedal sometimes turns into a rock and doesn't move - most fun while driving. And about 100 other little things that make it like playing russian roulette every time I get in the car and turn the key.
But I didn't win the powerball last week so she's all I got.
Thanks for any info on the pins / door sag for this car - remember it's a 2001 coupe.
Thanks
My doors sagged too. U can make adjustments by loosening the bolts on the hinges but ultimately the pins need replacing. U need to grind the smashed pins off and replace with new
ReD RaiN
Bumping this up as I don't visit very often, but a cheap & easy replacement for the worn door hinges on a coupe is...the rear door hinges from a sedan.
They are used much less often, the doors themselves are lighter so they wear less, and they are a direct bolt-on
on the same side.
Easier access to change if you remove the front fender and swap one at a time. You'll still need to fidget a bit to align them properly so that the door seals against wind noise and water.
My website
Pete's Place
Pete has it right. Also, you could try to check the local yards for an entire coupe door matching your color if the damage to your door latch is too much. The yards are full of 2000-2005 Cavs these days. I think we are at "peak cav" for the 2000 to 2005 cavaliers at the moment at least for all of the yards here in the mid-Atlantic region and sadly now past peak cav for the 95 to 99s. In another 10 years or so for the most part I think there will only be the people here on J-body.org.
So I have been struggling with this problem for the last 2+ years. The spring falling out happened many years ago and found that no spring will stay in there anymore so the door swings freely - another reason I hate to have anyone drive it except me. Anyway, the intense impact that happens every time the door gets SLAMMED shut (and it has to be pretty much thrown with full force to shut it), has resulted in me having to tighten up the three small torx or hex bolts that hold the latch in place - and even then - the little locking, swinging mechanism inside the door that catches on the striker sometimes will get stuck in a position where it smashes against the wrong metal part and when that happens - it is not good or pleasant in any way. Well this happened yesterday and when I went to try and spin it back into the correct configuration in there, it would not move. I ended up having to get the tire iron out of the trunk and literally bend and break the actual painted metal body of the car door which surrounds the latch opening because the point at which the door has sagged and hits the striker has sunken so low now it is not even in the ballpark anymore of where it is supposed to be. I got on my knees last night with a flashlight and tried to inspect what exactly needs to be done to get the hinges off - and I still can't really tell. I have searched junk yard inventory and auto parts stores and see that this is going to be more of a crisis and problem than I thought. Add that I am alone and don't have anyone who can help with replacing the hinges even if I had new ones, and I am getting al little worried that soon - I will either have to get in and out of the car on the passenger's side (which will mean getting in, climbing in the back seat and then up into the drivers seat because it is a manual with a big parking brake and the stick shift in the way) or even worse - maybe the door will just literally fall off.
So my question is - for anyone who actually has hinges like mine on the 2001 coupe - can you tap out the pins and then unbolt the door and body-sides of the hinges or am I looking at having to grind off something. I don't even know whether a dealer, repair shop or body shop would be the place I'd have to go to if all else fails. What a pain in the ____. So many other things to worry about with leaks, broken CV joints, leaking rack, etc....this shouldn't even be on my list but I have to deal with it every one of the 20 or so times every day I get in and out of the car.
I have prolly spent about 3 hours searching everywhere - youtube, this entire site, a bunch of other sites, and every possible related Google search term about this problem. I didn't think there were many things that were this much of a secret anymore but wow have I either found nothing or found very sketchy and conflicting information.
Questions:
1. Is the problem that causes (and would fix) the door sagging strictly the pins and bushings or would replacing those fix nothing because the actual hinge gets worn down too?
2. Are the pins and bushings replaceable? I ask this because a bunch of places sell the pins and bushings for my make model and year (2001 cavalier) - so - for those people who say you can't replace just the pins/bushings, then why can you buy just the pins and bushings?
3. *IF* they ARE replaceable, then how the **** are you supposed to remove the old ones?
If u close the door to almost close then pull up and lift the door to close so it doesnt do more damage then its already done. Depends if the entire assembly is worn but prob just replacing the bushings should work. Did u try to align the door upwards a bit like i suggested? Ive also heard u can place a washer behind the hinge to raise it just enough. Either way ur gonna have to remove the door to replace the hinge. I imagine u just grind the mushroom part and the pins will come out. Replace with new pins. Shouldnt be that complicated
ReD RaiN
I have found that if I try to lift up the door when opening or closing it - the result is a guarantee that the latch gets spun and stuck in the most damaging possible position - where the metal part that is supposed to be hidden out of sight is instead the part that hits the striker - and is extremely unpleasant and very jarring. The thing that puzzles me about the theory that you have to GRIND off the pins to get them out - is that how can you go down the street to the auto parts store and buy brand new pins and bushings and install them if you have to GRIND them out to get them out? That just doesn't make any sense. It looks like (if you take a look at the photos from Autozone or Advance Auto for door hinge pins for my model) - that you should just be able to take a flat head screwdriver and pop them right out. But surely there is someone who has either done this, tried to do this and failed - or knows for sure. I went to turn on my AC compressor to test it last night - not even a LITTLE bit cool......nothing. Drier warm - blowing out hotter than ambient air temperature. Just another problem piled on the mountain. If my car fails the state inspection I am going to move to a state that doesn't have one. I hate this time of year (registration renewal for me is April every year which is a stressful nightmare since they can basically fail it for anything they want any time they want. It is such a scam.)
