New here and struggling with my 1993 W250. My driver side upper hinge is totally shot and bent. The outside bolts are a piece of cake to get. Same with all the lower hinge bolts. But how about the two upper hinge bolts that thread from the inside out toward the door? (Terrible design, BTW ).

Not to be a ninny, but how in the world do you get to those two without taking the dash out? I can remove the bezel and cluster. I was thinking maybe a flex head 9/16" wratchet wrench, but before I even attempt this, has anyone here replaced their own upper hinges? If so, how did you get those upper bolts out?

If you solve my problem, I will not hesitate for a moment to send you a gift as compensation. I would really appreciate photos of this operation too (if possible).

Thanks ahead of time.

Jozef

 

Not yet, I have not. I agree very poor design. I say who ever designed it should have to work on it, after it comes off the assembly line.

 

LOL. Agreed.

I used to be a technician (various dealerships) and we always shook our heads over the "great" engineering that went into some of these vehicles.

Not that I don't love my truck, but to have bolts threading from the inside out is just screwy.

I did pay "Just Answer" to answer my question and one of the Dodge techs there solved my dilemma, so I'm good to go now. It was only $32.

I would advise all Cummins Dodge owners:

Do not hang on your doors ever.

Do not use your doors to get into your truck

Do not start or turn off your truck with any door(s) open

Do not let your doors swing open ever (e.g. hillside parking job)

Replace your hinge pins and bushings regularly (like every 5 years or so)

And as an aside...

Do not ever use your steering wheel to get into your truck. It breaks down the bearing inside the upper column there and then you'll have a wheel that flops up and down and won't "lock in".

PS: I'll post pics of the procedure when I get my painted hinges back from the local body shop. I am getting them painted to match before I install them because the NOS Mopar ones are black.

 

I had to take the cluster out to reach them on mine . .

 

I figured the bezel and cluster would have to come out, but this guy has an easier way. Hard to believe I know.

I even contemplated trying to get to them via the lower access hole behind the kick panel, but I'm not sure the wrench or wratchet can fit or whether I can get any leverage that way.

Anyway I'll try this other method and let you guys know if it's better. It's kind of a pain taking the bezel and cluster out. I hate that little string attacked to the drive needle. One has to be very careful with that little tinker toy...

 

If you're dealing with a worn hinge....

just change out the pin and the bushings.

You remove the bolts from the door so that the door moves away from the hinge, drive out the pin, replace the bushings, and put it all back together again.



https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...5&postcount=10


EDIT: I re-read your OP and you said it was bent up.... so

Never mind....

 

It's been a little while now but if my memory is right the ds can be done with a little dash disassembly but the passenger looked like dash removal. I started to put my dash back in before the doors were on but stop when I realized how hard it would make moving the hinges if needed(and it was). Its really easy if the dash is out.

 

you can loosen dash bolt near said hinge bolts and fit a ratchet in there after lifting up on the pad on the pass side

the dr side is a real pain but can be reached

 

Dooood...

I WISH I could just do the bushings and pins, believe me.

I already got brand new NOS hinges for about $50.00 ea. with shipping, so I don't need any hinges. But thank you to those who offered.

The tech I got an answer from said that the bolts can be reached without taking the dash out or even moving it. I suspect it's gonna take a really long extension and moving the wire harness to the power locks, etc out of the way.

We'll see.