Technical Refitting door hinge pin

[Yonatan]

Hiya everyone,
I have a 1993 3-door Uno 45 (999cc FIRE), and it keeps me busy and guessing quite a bit.
The other day the upper hinge pin on the driver's-side door fell off. I was wondering how I can refit it - does it need to be spot-welded, as I've been told?
Cheers in advance.

 

[Yonatan]

I put the pin back in its place, I don't know how well it will hold.
My understanding is that it's made of soft steel, so that striking it from both ends will flatten the edges so it won't slip out - is that correct?
On a related note, someone once told me it's possible to adjust the height (angle) of the door, as it currently doesn't close at the right height - I can see the door striking the latch when I close it. Anyone know if and how I can adjust the door angle?

 

[UNO-MK1]

My understanding is that it's made of soft steel, so that striking it from both ends will flatten the edges so it won't slip out - is that correct?
--
Anyone know if and how I can adjust the door angle?

Correct - If its a solid pin support the bottom of the pin and punch the top of the pin.
Sometimes you might see cross marks or lines on the pin from the factory punchings.

A worn out pin will cause a clonk sound when you lift the door with the handle.

There are only three reasons why a door will be wrong fitting.
1, the door had been removed and put on wrong.
2, the hinge pin is worn.
3, the door shell has sagged.

You have to identify what its story is before you can determine a suitable remedy.

gW

 

[Yonatan]

Wow, you made a diagram (and with different colors) - reminds me of old video games... Thank you!

There's 3 lines that converge in the center on either end of the pin, I suppose they're meant to keep the tools from slipping during the punch.

The pin was a bit rusty, I cleaned it with some WD40 and sandpaper, I don't think It's worn out though as it's a perfect fit. I can't hear anything when I lift the door by the handle, but when I open it there's the sound of the lock mechanism sliding against the latch.

I can't really tell if the door shell has sagged, it looks fine to me - the few bits of the door that can be seen under all the rust, that is. Just kidding of course, rust is a huge problem but the door's pretty much OK, just a few spots at the bottom.

That leaves the option of the door having been put on wrong. The poor thing's had its share of owners before I, and a few years back it was discovered the engine number had been removed (got quite the run-around from the MoT here)... so I suppose that's the most reasonable hypothesis. Is it a hassle to correct?

 

[PaulDrage]

Is it actually a problem? i mean, both my doors make a bit of noise when the catch hits the pin on the b pillar, in both directions, but i don't see it as a problem because the doors close, and lock fine. Do yours close and lock without having to slam them hard?

 

[Yonatan]

Is it actually a problem? i mean, both my doors make a bit of noise when the catch hits the pin on the b pillar, in both directions, but i don't see it as a problem because the doors close, and lock fine. Do yours close and lock without having to slam them hard?

That depends on what you'd call hard. It's not a terrible effort so it doesn't really inconvenience me much.
The pin on the B pillar doesn't slide smoothly into the recess in the catch, instead it hits the top of it, it's even made a tiny dent in the corner. I would like to avoid a big hassle (and spending) that can be prevented by a small hassle (and no spending).

 

[PaulDrage]

On mine, if you open the door, there is two screws - cross headed, in the catch, if you loosen them off, the catch can actually be adjusted a bit - at least you can on mine.

Give that a go..
Hope this helps a bit,
Paul

 

[Yonatan]

On mine, if you open the door, there is two screws - cross headed, in the catch, if you loosen them off, the catch can actually be adjusted a bit - at least you can on mine.

Give that a go..
Hope this helps a bit,
Paul

Thanks, I'll give it a go tomorrow when the sun's shining. Might snap a pic or two to better illustrate.
Cheers everyone!

 

[UNO-MK1]

- both my doors make a bit of noise when the catch hits the pin-

My doors make almost no sound when closing , and in fact they can be pushed closed with 1 finger. - easier than on my Jap car.

Most door closing problems can be attributed to wear - somewhere.

gW

 

[UNO-MK1]

--
I can't really tell if the door shell has sagged, it looks fine to me--

That leaves the option of the door having been put on wrong.--

Check your crack , err , gaps.
Open the door , but leave it against the body of the car, closed but not latched.
If the front fender lines up well with the bonnet (hood) then it might be reasonable to assume that there has been no front end damage and that all parts have factory correct alignment.

If thats the case , and the paint on the 'inside' of the door matches the body , you can again assume that its an original door , which must have fitted 100% at some time in the past.

Now check along the vertical gap between the door and the front fender.
It should be equal , and not too big and not too small.

If the gap is less at the lower of the door vertical gap then either of two things have happened.
Either the door has been refitted out of adjustment , or the hinges , or hinge mounts have bent (fatigued/sagged).

This can be corrected with adjustment of the bolts in their sliding plates at the hinge , but if you don't have enough adjustment , spacers (shims) can be put between the lower hinge and the door shell to lift the rearward part of the door up and correct the gap between the fender and the door.

Now ---
If the gap is perfect between the fender and the door but the rear of the door is still too low look for widening gaps around the window as you go rearwards , and narrowing gaps on the bottom near the sill as you go rearward.
If this is the case then the door shell itself has sagged.

The fix for this is to place a jack under the rearward part of the door and carefully jack the car up.
This is again with the door close to the body but obviously not latched.

The weight of the car will be on the door bending the rear of the door upwards.
Its not a thing for scared'y cats to do , and something to be avoided if the door has rust.(you will tear it off - but I have used this method several times in the past on various cars and it works well.

The word of the day , is ''carefully carefully''.

gW

 

[alexGS]

I use the technique that UNO-MK1 described - works well

The Uno hinges have a lot of possible adjustment, mostly at the bolts that hold the hinge to the body frame. The threaded plates move freely within the door pillar. There is a lesser amount of adjustment at the bolts that hold the door to the hinge. These threads are fixed in the door.

It is difficult to get at the bolts that hold the hinge to the body, because of the front wing (guard) being in the way. Having said that, some versions have 13mm-head bolts that are easier because you can use a ring spanner. Earlier models tend to have 8mm Allen bolts (hex-socket). Either type of bolt tends to be very tight!

It takes quite a bit of patience to adjust the door properly, as you also have to pay attention not only to the height and angle, but also to how far 'in' or 'out' the door is.

-Alex

 

[Yonatan]

Finally got round to taking shots of the problem, they should be attached to this post.

 

[alexGS]

Finally got round to taking shots of the problem, they should be attached to this post.

OK - that's the latch not lining up with the striker pin that's screwed to the B-pillar.

Your Uno is a 3-door - the 5-door front door striker pin has two cross-head screws. You can either move the striker pin downwards (loosen it with a 19mm ring spanner and you will find it has a great deal of free movement) or you can adjust the hinge.

Personally I think you will get the best results from adjusting the hinge, as it looks to me as though the door has ended up too low after the repair to the hinge previously. But adjusting the striker pin is a quicker fix.

There's no need to touch the hex-socket bolts that secure the latch to the door, as there's not much free movement available there.

Cheers,
-Alex

 

[UNO-MK1]

OK - that's the latch not lining up with the striker pin that's screwed to the B-pillar. --

Yes , and while one immediately notices the catch being wrong its not correct to assume it is the catch that is the problem.
Often it is from incorrectly adjusted hinges or a sagged door as previously mentioned.

You really need to identify the cause b4 making any adjustment.

Re-read the previous posts regarding the gaps around the doors.

gW