door pin bushing clearance

[cgates30]

Can anybody who has replaced door pins and bushings comment on the clearance or allowable play for the door pins in the bushing? My pins measure 7.81 mm. Comments I've seen say to use a 5/16ths drill bit to open the bushing. 5/16ths is 7.93 mm. I used a lettered bit that measures 7.83 mm and the pin slides in freely and there's a slight amount of play noticed when wiggling it in place. Is this allowable or will it result in some door sag?

Is it better to be a little small on the bushing so the pin does not freely slide in?

[fintstone]

When I did mine, they were quite tight. Better tight than loose as they are brass and will wear in. I only removed enough material so that I could press the pins in with a struggle. The fact that they were somewhat loose is why I replaced them to start with.

[cgates30]

Originally Posted by fintstone

When I did mine, they were quite tight. Better tight than loose as they are brass and will wear in. I only removed enough material so that I could press the pins in with a struggle. The fact that they were somewhat loose is why I replaced them to start with.

That's what I was thinking. Other folks have said they used a 5/16th's bit to ream it out a little. 5/16ths would be smaller than 8mm by a small amount, but maybe that just makes it snug enough. I'll order more bushings and start over. Thanks!

[fintstone]

My replacement pins were slightly larger in diameter than the ones I removed...so perhaps that is the problem with doing them a set diameter. I would suggest putting a micrometer on the new pin and sizing the hole based on that. Since our cars are "handmade" a lot of thins have o be hand fit and measurements seem to be a bit variable. Here is an old thread on the task (you may have seen it).

https://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/370429-what-proper-reemer-door-hinge-bushings.html

It seems mine were 8mm. But, if you want an 8mm hole, an 8 mm bit is probably too big using a hand drill...especially in something as soft as brass as there is slop. I used a reamer but followed with some rolled up emery paper until perfect. They were really snug. I am not positive if it was necessary for them to be that perfect, but the job was so hard that I wanted to make sure it was worth the effort.

[eastbay]

Did you try to hang the door yet?
Reason I ask is I used a 5/16" drill to ream and it was a hair loose, but when I hung the door there is enough mismatch in all the angles of the hinge and bushings that it was very tight. Door had no hinge slop at all and never developed any.

[Dauner]

I had the same experience as eastbay when I did mine last winter. I spent a fair amount of time calipering the opening in the door and filing down the ends of the bushings. I had to take some off, and then per other threads did a very slight chamfer to aid in slipping the door back in. I only did my drivers door. when done, I could definitely swing it closed but it was tight. after a couple of months I have zero slop, but the door closes much easier now. I also had to adjust my striker a bit.
My door was particularly loose. I probably had close to a 1/4" of up/down play. After I had the drivers door dialed in perfectly, I also ended up adding a shim to my passenger door striker as it was not sloppy but not engaging perfectly either. both doors working great now.

I have pics and some videos. there is not a ton of documentation in the forum/youtube on the nitty gritty of getting to the connectors for newer cars with power mirror, windows, locks, how much work it is getting the pins out etc. action item for me to post the process. I made a video of the slide hammer process. need to trim it down a bit, but it shows the effort required for original 30 year old pins. Highly highly recommend the JimmyT P290 tool for 90 bucks. it's beautiful, and works great.