Early TJ Tailgate Hinge Rescue

TJ4Jim

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Came up with a process to simply and cheaply save and upgrade our early OEM tailgate hinges.

Pressed out the pins from the bottom up and chucked them in the drill press for a cleanup with emery cloth.
Set the hinge up on the drill press and re-bored the hinge pin opening from 3/8 to 1/2 dia, drilled out very easy.
Media blasted and used a self etching primer.
Pressed in the new sleeve bearings and filed the ends to match the hinge base.
Pressed in the original 3/8 pins from the top down and mounted everything back up to the tub.

I ordered 4 - 3/8 dia by 1" long bronze sleeve bushings from McMaster for $12 plus ship. https://www.mcmaster.com/catalog/129/1409/6381K455




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Good write up! It’s funny I was literally wondering this morning if anyone had ever done a how-to for refurbishing the tailgate hinges. Lo and behold…
 
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Any good tips for removing the torx bolts that hold the hinges on. I have successfully twisted 4 torx sockets. Still have one that has a Torx head stuck in the bolt(don’t need help figuring that out). I have successfully removed the top hinge, wire brushed, repainted, and reinstalled. I can’t seem to break the bolts on the bottom hinge.
 
Any good tips for removing the torx bolts that hold the hinges on. I have successfully twisted 4 torx sockets. Still have one that has a Torx head stuck in the bolt(don’t need help figuring that out). I have successfully removed the top hinge, wire brushed, repainted, and reinstalled. I can’t seem to break the bolts on the bottom hinge.

On this Jeep we were blessed by having each bolt came free without effort but the last Jeep was a nightmare, Had to use the impact driver on several, then drilled out 2 nasty ones and welded a nut to the remaining stem. Seems like there are numerous different experiences with the process. Good Luck.
 
Hello and best regards from Hungary! My old TJ has a little problem again. For months the tailgate has only been able to be moved with a lot of force - oiling the pins has not brought any improvement.
Do I need to replace the pins and how do I do it - do I have to unscrew the whole hinge? And where can I buy the 3/8 dia ... I haven't found anything at Rockauto. Is there a "quick and dirty" solution - I don't want to invest a lot of money at 300,000 km.
Is it easy to change the pins ???? - well, it's certainly not easy ...
Greetings from Hungary
(one of 7 TJs in Hungary)
 
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Hello and best regards from Hungary! My old TJ has a little problem again. For months the tailgate has only been able to be moved with a lot of force - oiling the pins has not brought any improvement.
Do I need to replace the pins and how do I do it - do I have to unscrew the whole hinge? And where can I buy the 3/8 dia ... I haven't found anything at Rockauto. Is there a "quick and dirty" solution - I don't want to invest a lot of money at 300,000 km.
Is it easy to change the pins ???? - well, it's certainly not easy ...
Greetings from Hungary
(one of 7 TJs in Hungary)

Jó napot!

The pins only need get cleaned up and they really need to be removed to press the pins out. I used a Harbor Freight 12T press. If your setup with proper tools it's a simple process.

Yeah oiling doesn't do much good.
 
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Any good tips for removing the torx bolts that hold the hinges on. I have successfully twisted 4 torx sockets. Still have one that has a Torx head stuck in the bolt(don’t need help figuring that out). I have successfully removed the top hinge, wire brushed, repainted, and reinstalled. I can’t seem to break the bolts on the bottom hinge.

So we have spent the last 4 days battling this exact issue. In the end, I had to drill off the heads of the Torx bolts so that I could release the hinges from the tailgate. The Torx bolts on the body side of the hinge came out with a lot of manipulation with a ratchet, but the ones on the tailgate would not budge. After drilling out the heads and pulling the hinges away from the tailgate, it was evident that there was quite a lot of rust that had occurred inside the tailgate and I was never going to be able to remove the bolts. I eventually had to cut the steel bolt holding plates out of the tailgate. Please see the attached images. I will now have to work with a bodywork specialist to weld plates back into the tailgate so that I can fit the new Rugged Ridge heavy duty hinge that ti have bought for my jeep.

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BE3444D1-F56A-43B7-9C6D-84F4B84E93BC.JPG
 
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So we have spent the last 4 days battling this exact issue. In the end, I had to drill off the heads of the Torx bolts so that I could release the hinges from the tailgate. The Torx bolts on the body side of the hinge came out with a lot of manipulation with a ratchet, but the ones on the tailgate would not budge. After drilling out the heads and pulling the hinges away from the tailgate, it was evident that there was quite a lot of rust that had occurred inside the tailgate and I was never going to be able to remove the bolts. I eventually had to cut the steel bolt holding plates out of the tailgate. Please see the attached images. I will now have to work with a bodywork specialist to weld plates back into the tailgate so that I can fit the new Rugged Ridge heavy duty hinge that ti have bought for my jeep.

View attachment 550318

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I was going to suggest getting a used tailgate as they're out there but then I noticed your location. Good luck
 
I was going to suggest getting a used tailgate as they're out there but then I noticed your location. Good luck

Thanks, We have managed to weld in some square tube and will drill through to put the bolts in to hold the tailgate. Pretty pleased with the result. We have since painted over and once the hinges are on, won't be able to see the damage

4df2d1ac-4a99-43ec-903b-b69fc0cb04bd.JPG
 
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Came up with a process to simply and cheaply save and upgrade our early OEM tailgate hinges.

Pressed out the pins from the bottom up and chucked them in the drill press for a cleanup with emery cloth.
Set the hinge up on the drill press and re-bored the hinge pin opening from 3/8 to 1/2 dia, drilled out very easy.
Media blasted and used a self etching primer.
Pressed in the new sleeve bearings and filed the ends to match the hinge base.
Pressed in the original 3/8 pins from the top down and mounted everything back up to the tub.

I ordered 4 - 3/8 dia by 1" long bronze sleeve bushings from McMaster for $12 plus ship. https://www.mcmaster.com/catalog/129/1409/6381K455




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I would pay for this service. I have one stiff, cranky and really squeaky hinge. Lubed the hell out of it and still annoying as all heck.
Sucks to be stiff and lubed and still not work how it should....
Only thing more annoying is the seat belt webbing that gets pinched when you close the door.
 
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Thanks, We have managed to weld in some square tube and will drill through to put the bolts in to hold the tailgate. Pretty pleased with the result. We have since painted over and once the hinges are on, won't be able to see the damage

View attachment 550980

Not exactly stacking dimes but better than I can do, and functional! Not easy having a TJ overseas. Good on you for adapting and overcoming!
 
Any good tips for removing the torx bolts that hold the hinges on. I have successfully twisted 4 torx sockets. Still have one that has a Torx head stuck in the bolt(don’t need help figuring that out). I have successfully removed the top hinge, wire brushed, repainted, and reinstalled. I can’t seem to break the bolts on the bottom hinge.

If the bolts are on the tailgate side, there is a good chance that they are rusted into the metal and will snap before cracking their bond (see the pictures I posted in the prior post on this subject). To get the hinge off the tail gate bolts I had to drill off the heads of the bolts with a bigger drill bit. If they are on the body side keep spaying with lubricating oil and try small turns to looses and tighten. There is a bracket exactly the same as the one for the upper hinge, on the bottom one holding the body side bolts. You can access it by the rear wheel well. You will just have to remove the plastic shield. It would be worth spraying that bracket with oil too.