Early TJ Tailgate Hinge Rescue

[TJ4Jim]

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

 

[HornedToad]

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…

 

[Yourgodishere]

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.

 

[SkylinesSuck]

Heat from a pen torch.

 

[TJ4Jim]

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.