Caveat. I am an amateur and had not done this before.
Symptoms.
The door had dropped, which was noticeable on closing the door. Lifting the handle end of the door revealed that there was movement around the bottom hinge pin.
It seemed likely that the insert between the hinge half and pin and/or the pin had failed.
The door side of the hinge is welded to the door, so the door must be removed for access to the hinge and pin.
I decided the leave the top hinge alone as it seemed fine. If expense were no object, I would replace both top and bottom hinge halves and pins at the same time.
I purchased a hinge half and pin from Porsche with approximate cost of £50.
Process.
It would be advisable to disconnect the 12V battery.
Mark the position of the door in the door opening and the fixing bolts in the front wing to aid reassembly.
Protect the door and door edge and adjacent wing with masking tape to reduce damage to the paintwork.
Remove the carpet trim panel in the driver’s footwell that covers access to the rear of the front wing where the wiring harness passes into the door. I removed the boot release switch from the harness. Disconnect the door wiring harness under the dashboard after making access. There are two large connectors that can by pulled apart. Take care when passing them through the end of the wing as I damaged one of mine at this point.
Disconnect the door check strap by removing the pin. Mine had a torx fixing but it did not match the passenger side.
There is a rubber bellows that covers the harness as It passes through the door opening. This can be pulled free.
Support the door on the underside or have someone support the door while you remove the four bolts holding the half hinges to the A pillar. The door can now be pulled away from the car and the wiring harness pulled through the wing to separate the door from the car.
I used a ball joint separator tool to press the old pin out. It could not be moved with a drift and hammer.
The brass insert had disintegrated, and the pin was a little corroded. I measured the internal size of the hinge half at 9mm and the pin at 8mm diameter in case you can source a replacement insert.
I used the ball joint tool to insert the new pin from the top side as it seemed sensible, even though the old pin had been inserted from below.
Reverse the process to re-install. Check for door alignment against your previous marks.
Symptoms.
The door had dropped, which was noticeable on closing the door. Lifting the handle end of the door revealed that there was movement around the bottom hinge pin.
It seemed likely that the insert between the hinge half and pin and/or the pin had failed.
The door side of the hinge is welded to the door, so the door must be removed for access to the hinge and pin.
I decided the leave the top hinge alone as it seemed fine. If expense were no object, I would replace both top and bottom hinge halves and pins at the same time.
I purchased a hinge half and pin from Porsche with approximate cost of £50.
Process.
It would be advisable to disconnect the 12V battery.
Mark the position of the door in the door opening and the fixing bolts in the front wing to aid reassembly.
Protect the door and door edge and adjacent wing with masking tape to reduce damage to the paintwork.
Remove the carpet trim panel in the driver’s footwell that covers access to the rear of the front wing where the wiring harness passes into the door. I removed the boot release switch from the harness. Disconnect the door wiring harness under the dashboard after making access. There are two large connectors that can by pulled apart. Take care when passing them through the end of the wing as I damaged one of mine at this point.
Disconnect the door check strap by removing the pin. Mine had a torx fixing but it did not match the passenger side.
There is a rubber bellows that covers the harness as It passes through the door opening. This can be pulled free.
Support the door on the underside or have someone support the door while you remove the four bolts holding the half hinges to the A pillar. The door can now be pulled away from the car and the wiring harness pulled through the wing to separate the door from the car.
I used a ball joint separator tool to press the old pin out. It could not be moved with a drift and hammer.
The brass insert had disintegrated, and the pin was a little corroded. I measured the internal size of the hinge half at 9mm and the pin at 8mm diameter in case you can source a replacement insert.
I used the ball joint tool to insert the new pin from the top side as it seemed sensible, even though the old pin had been inserted from below.
Reverse the process to re-install. Check for door alignment against your previous marks.
