Harold 4x4
Active Member
Hi all, anyone changed a bottom tailgate hinge?
Last edited:
Pawl
Well-Known Member
Yes, I did ours a few months ago - as it had lots of play.
Huge improvement afterwards - it's much easier to shut the door, only 1 hand now required !
It can be done without removing the door & by 1 person.
The possibly challenging part is to decide what to do about replacing the very large "pop" rivets which are used to help retention of the hinge. The rivets have a 4.8mm shank that goes in the rivet gun head - much bigger than the standard 3.2mm !
I've bought the special rivets & a large lever operated rivet gun, but not actually installed them yet - as I've been lazy & the hinge appears well retained purely by the the 2 M8 bolts.
Hinge replacement is not too difficult. Obviously paint the replacement hinge well before you start the job so that the paint & laquer are nice & hard
Remove the circlip retaining the door stay - then you can open the door further to get a drill at the 2 very large rivets. I ended up having to use a grinder on the rivet heads as they started spinning while drilling.
Door card needs to come off to get access to the 2 bolts holding the hinge to the door.
Get some strips of softish wood to support the door while you remove / replace the hinge.
Huge improvement afterwards - it's much easier to shut the door, only 1 hand now required !
It can be done without removing the door & by 1 person.
The possibly challenging part is to decide what to do about replacing the very large "pop" rivets which are used to help retention of the hinge. The rivets have a 4.8mm shank that goes in the rivet gun head - much bigger than the standard 3.2mm !
I've bought the special rivets & a large lever operated rivet gun, but not actually installed them yet - as I've been lazy & the hinge appears well retained purely by the the 2 M8 bolts.
Hinge replacement is not too difficult. Obviously paint the replacement hinge well before you start the job so that the paint & laquer are nice & hard
Remove the circlip retaining the door stay - then you can open the door further to get a drill at the 2 very large rivets. I ended up having to use a grinder on the rivet heads as they started spinning while drilling.
Door card needs to come off to get access to the 2 bolts holding the hinge to the door.
Get some strips of softish wood to support the door while you remove / replace the hinge.
Harold 4x4
Active Member
Thanks, I did mine yesterday...Having a large barn and rafters to strap the weight of the door made it easy as a one-man job.
It was a much simpler job than I anticipated, and yes, the two large 'rivets' were the only concern. I also used a grinder to get rid of the existing two. Fortunately I had a couple of large pop-rivets handy for the refit.
It was a much simpler job than I anticipated, and yes, the two large 'rivets' were the only concern. I also used a grinder to get rid of the existing two. Fortunately I had a couple of large pop-rivets handy for the refit.
