Creaking doors - Wouter is spot on - it WILL be the checksraps, not the pins.

The noise is produced by the sprung catch inside the door - you can oil or grease 'the bit you can see' all you like and you won't cure it.

Either unbolt the checkstrap assembly and remove it (best) or remove the door panel for access. As Wouter says, use a quality grease (I use either copper grease or moly grease (CV joint stuff) - oil will last 5mins).

Strangely it is often a passenger door that gets worse if the car is often driven solo (lack of movement allows the grease to dry out).

(Hugh - you can use Dulux if you like - I don't mind - honest).


Mac.

Weird, was leafing through my new Frosts catalogue and saw a door pin removing tool (for nearly £20), then logged onto V3M and Mac shows me how to use one!

I had a mk3 passenger door off to repair a wing 10 years ago or so (altercation with a taxi cab), and I seem to remember a broken screwdriver worked a treat...

This is the kind of thing we should do at a meet - 1 tool to do 20 odd cars would make it more worthwhile

You're quite right Ronnie - hinge pin changes are a job that could easily be done at a meet.

If I get to a meet I could bring the tool with me - or failing that I would be quite happy to lend it someone who was going to a meet.

Mac.

Good point... I was thinking of purchasing one and getting some hinge pins actually, I've been inspired

Mac's Volvo one looks better quality - but this is the Frost one:

Hinge Pin Remover

20 quid seems awfully expensive for what it is - I think borrowing Mac's as kindly offered is a far better option!

I found this one for £11.08 after a quick google yesterday. However, I also hope to take Mac up on his kind offer instead. Unless of course we have a "V3M hinge fix" meet in the not-too-distant.

The Draper offering, apart from being cheaper, looks as though it would be easier to use when installing the pins. The 'Frost' device I'm sure works but it doesn't look good value to me.

Looks like both of them would be better at drawing the pins out than putting them back. Neither have a locating nipple to engage the new pin and I'm not sure how the Frost one would stand up to a seized pin.

Any one thinking of buying pin tool could do worse than the Draper - almost cheap enough to buy to do one or two cars only. (I'm sure the factory tool would simply be too expensive to consider - unless you're in a trade situation). Looking through my Frosts catalogue - none of their stuff can be called cheap, can it ?

Mac

Hehe, superb, I've been meaning to do this to Kar for ages, just wasn't going to bother with Fake, it looked too tricky to bother with. Cheers Mac and Gavin, I'll get one of those draper efforts on order.

Fake doesn't have the dust caps either... does that induce the grease to not stay in, therefore leading to more wear?

How you can remove lower hinge pin without that pin remover. I am pretty sure that it is possible because my father changed those pins and he didn't have that remover. But when he did it i was probably under 7 years old so i don't remember how he did it. And I am not able to ask how he did it. And if you can reply as soon as possible and if you have answer that i like to hear. I would be grateful

It is just about possible to get the pin out with a parallel punch but you run a very high rick of getting the punch stuck.

Be warned that cheap pin removers are a one use only job. I have broken loads of chepo ones.

Thank you for the answer. I am going to try that tomorrow. i hope that will do the trick.

I would recomend buying a cheap one just for this one off job. They are not expensive.

I have never managed to make a noprmal drift work.

I am going to buy somekind remover. But i have get this without it because firstly it is weekend every place which sells parts and tools are closed and i can't buy it right now. And secondly it is hanging from the lower hinge pin and i was stupid enough to take that top pin out first. and it can't be good for the hinge if leave door hanging from it for a week. My mates father has workshop but they haven't got that remover either.

Just tried to do this job with the cheapo Draper tool and got nowhere.

The tool itself is incredibly simple and probably not at fault. But it comes with only 3 removal pins. One is too large, one too small and the one that looks like it's right is only just too small. I'm pretty sure the little nut on the end of the removal pin is burying itself inside the hinge pin, splaying it outwards and locking everything solid. I got the hinge pin to move about 5mm but no more, and the tool needed a lot of force to get it back out (repeated hammering). i.e., the little nut was jammed in there really tight which it shouldn't be if it's working right.

Either that or my hinge pins are welded in there with over 20 years worth of weathering.

Ronnie mate, Draper blue straight handled jobbie! IMO a piece of **** I bought one, ended up getting the angle grinder out, but only as the car was a scrapper! Not impressed, I posted elsewhere about it....... You end up being so far from the pin the force goes through your arm! There was a pin in the set that works ok, but I agree, it seems a little too tight and does in deed need hammering out again!
Pete