Broken door hinge - advice please (1 Viewer)

[GJH]

Our habitation door (combination of door and flyscreen which can be shut completely or just have the flyscreen shut) is held onto the vehicle body by three hinges (as shown in the first photo) each of which has five pieces. On each hinge the top, middle and bottom pieces are riveted onto the van body, the second down is screwed to the flyscreen and the fourth down is screwed to the door. I assume a pin goes through all five sections to hold them all together.

As we were leaving to come home today from our weekend away the door wouldn't shut and I discovered the reason was that the section fastened to the door on the lower of the three hinges had broken. The second picture shows it (marked HERE) after I had removed the two screws holding the broken off bit from the door.

It appears that a build up of muck/lack of oil had caused the piece to seize up and it has snapped when closing just the flyscreen and not the full door.

Two questions:
1) Are the hinge pieces easily obtainable and, if so, where from?
2) How can I release the pin in order to fit a replacement hinge piece once obtained?

Graham

 

[Terry]

Hi Graham you can buy them from
http://www.olearymotorhomes.co.uk/
you may have to phone if not on web --simple to fit
terry

 

[GJH]

Thanks Terry, found them there. I also did a general search and found them at Link Removed a fair bit cheaper.

Having never done anything with rivets I assume it's just a matter of drilling out the old rivets and attaching with new rivets. Looks like I'll have to buy a pop rivet gun as well as the hinge

Graham

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[Terry]

Hi Graham just get a big drill bit and drill the head off - not all way through - then you can either use rivets or self tappers :thumb:
terry

 

[rainbow chasers]

When putting the new one back together, get some silicone grease and apply a thin layer to the pins. THAT IS ALL!

 

[GJH]

Thanks again Terry. Just about to ring up and order - make sure I get the one that opens the correct way

Graham

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[scotjimland]

Hi Graham

invest in a decent pop rivet gun .. sooo useful around the van, better than self tappers which invariably work loose or you over-tighten and end up stripping the hole and they fall out .. oh:

sorry for going off topic .. but while I have your undivided attention,

I was looking for family tree software that can print out the whole tree .. mine is hosted on Tribal Pages, I can download the GED file and pdf.s of individual branches of ancestors or descendants but can't do a whole tree .. is there such a beast ?

cheers

 

[GJH]

Thanks Jim & RC.

Jim you have a PM.

Graham

 

[vwalan]

graham, after a while you will wonderhow you got through life with out a pop riveter. useful for all sorts of repairs even putting press studs on .repairing belts buckles ,they even work well in wood or plastic . ifworking on the van get pealing rivets they peal like a star behind and spread the load.
have fun you will be looking for jobs to play with soon. cheers alan.

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[GJH]

Thanks Alan. I've often looked at pop rivetters and never bought one because I've never found a use before. Looks like I've missed out on a whole lot of fun in life

Graham

 

[hallii]

Cheap pop rivet guns are not up to the big sized rivets, you have to pay a bit (lot) more for one to do a proper job.


Your local caravan / moterhome/ body repair workshop will have one and the right rivets to do it.

It might work out a lot cheaper than buying a proper gun that you will only use once?

Hallii

 

[william peat]

door hinge

Our habitation door (combination of door and flyscreen which can be shut completely or just have the flyscreen shut) is held onto the vehicle body by three hinges (as shown in the first photo) each of which has five pieces. On each hinge the top, middle and bottom pieces are riveted onto the van body, the second down is screwed to the flyscreen and the fourth down is screwed to the door. I assume a pin goes through all five sections to hold them all together.

As we were leaving to come home today from our weekend away the door wouldn't shut and I discovered the reason was that the section fastened to the door on the lower of the three hinges had broken. The second picture shows it (marked HERE) after I had removed the two screws holding the broken off bit from the door.

It appears that a build up of muck/lack of oil had caused the piece to seize up and it has snapped when closing just the flyscreen and not the full door.

Two questions:
1) Are the hinge pieces easily obtainable and, if so, where from?
2) How can I release the pin in order to fit a replacement hinge piece once obtained?

Graham

hi not sure if your hinge is of an elddis but if so i had the same trouble the door hinge seized up i bought another fo £20.00. drill out the rivets and use screws.

william

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[GJH]

Cheap pop rivet guns are not up to the big sized rivets, you have to pay a bit (lot) more for one to do a proper job.
Your local caravan / moterhome/ body repair workshop will have one and the right rivets to do it.
It might work out a lot cheaper than buying a proper gun that you will only use once?
Hallii

As it happens the van is having its mechanical service at the moment. Just been speaking to Paul, the mechanic, and he says he'll lend me a gun if I need one

hi not sure if your hinge is of an elddis but if so i had the same trouble the door hinge seized up i bought another fo £20.00. drill out the rivets and use screws.

william

Thanks William. Yes, it is an Elddis. I've read somewhere else that, as the hinge disassembles, someone was able to just replace the broken part without removing the whole lot. I've ordered the hinge so I'll see what options I have when it arrives.

Graham

 

[GJH]

Well, after due consideration - and a good day at Sunderland History Fair yesterday - I felt I simply couldn't miss out on all the good times promised by Alan.

So, off we go this morning to the local branch of Machine Mart. Disappointing at first because being mindful of Jim's advice "invest in a decent pop rivet gun" my first thoughts obviously turned to Blackspur or, at a pinch, Draper - and Machine Mart had nary a one of those makes :Sad:

No matter though, talked to a very helpful salesman and explained my total ignorance of all things rivet gun and what I needed it for and he sorted me out - which means I am now the proud owner of a Stanley MR77. I thought, well, why not go for the best they had - and Shiftzz would love the shade of yellow, which is a great match for the car he's lusting after

The biggest guess was the size of rivets needed but the salesman was again very helpful, lending his experience to my ignorance with guidance on the likely size needed. Just to be on the safe side I bought a couple of packets of rivets, 11mm and 16mm - they're cheap enough and I'd rather have them in than have to go back.

Only cloud on the horizon (literally) is that it's been raining ever since we left the shop so I haven't been able to do the job - and I can't even find anything wot's broke to have a play :Sad: Never mind though, got a busy few days coming up but it will be something to look forward to if I can't get it done until later in the week

Graham

 

[estcres]

Seized hinges

We had a similar experience with our 1998 BESSACARR and were told by Swift that no replacements were available so of we went and trawled round the various dealers (Brownhills, Swindon, they do have their uses!) until we found a current make and model that were using the same hinge, we then e.mailed Eldiss and they told me who the local dealer was and the price (£24 for all 3).

We ordered them and they duly arrived after about 21 days. We then fitted them by drilling out the existing rivets and fitting new ones with a decent pop rivet gun. Placed some silicon around the fittings when we fitted to ensure the chance of damp creeping in was greatly reduced. Also put some WD40 on the actual Hinge Pin.

The reason for our hinge breaking was the door caught a gust of wind, slammed shut and the hinges actually twisted slightly which, over a period of time, snapped one of them.

Hope this is useful for anyone in the same position.

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[GJH]

Thanks. Very useful.

The cause of the part on our van breaking seems to be muck and not realising that more attention to lubrication is needed. Of the five sections this is the one which is fitted tight to the hinge pin, the other four sections each having a plastic sleeve by the looks which allows them to move on the pin.

I''ll certainly use some silicon and make sure the need for lubrication is checked regularly.

Graham

 

[GJH]

Well, rain stopped this morning so out I went to do the job. Hardest bit was drilling out the old rivets to get the old hinge off. New one went on pretty easily.

Even more importantly Jill reckons it's a nice, neat job - and for the first time since we bought the van 4 years ago the hab door doesn't creak when opened and closed

That rivet gun is a pretty good piece of kit - though I'm glad I had a practice with a bit of scrap before using it in "anger". I'll be looking constantly now for all those uses that Alan promised it would have

Many thanks once again to all who helped with advice.

Graham

 

[papabear11]

Hi,I’ve had a similar issue recently and found it impossible to obtain a spare until I came across this fella that made them.Billsunhinged59@outlook.com

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[LesW]

Hi,I’ve had a similar issue recently and found it impossible to obtain a spare until I came across this fella that made them.Billsunhinged59@outlook.com

This was twelve years ago, they've probably fixed it now.