broken weld - 850 front door hinge

rdnzl · Post by **rdnzl** » 30 Mar 2011, 20:23

Greetings all.

First post here - search yielded little or no info.

My '95 wagon has begun making snapping noises when opening and closing the front driver's door. Lubrication of the pivot points on the hinge had no effect. I was at my indie mechanic's place for something else and asked him about it. He pointed out movement at the weld to the car body, said it was a "weak point" on these cars, something he had seen before, and was caused by owners allowing the door to hit the check too hard too often. Said further that the only solution was to have it welded, and that it was "an act of God" to get to it, and that it would only get worse......

Anyone have any experience with this, and better still, have any good words to relate about effective (and hopefully inexpensive) remedies?

Thanks in advance

Bruce

Post by **jimmy57** » 30 Mar 2011, 20:26

The doors on these cars comes off VERY easily. The welding needed is easy with door off. Dremel with a grinding stone bit will clean it up for weld and a little clean up grinding once weld is made.

rdnzl · Post by **rdnzl** » 31 Mar 2011, 03:10

That's encouraging!

As I don't weld, I'll have to get it to someone who does, and see if they feel the same.

In one post I read while searching, I thought I read something about a nearby electrical feed that could be damaged by excessive heat....any insight here?

Post by **jimmy57** » 31 Mar 2011, 07:08

the weld is made near the connector for door. You weld in stages so the heat buildup is low and the connector can be covered by a wet cloth.

Post by **erikv11** » 31 Mar 2011, 09:24

This is a common problem and there is a common way to fix it with hand tools (did it this way myself, on my own car).

Plus the other day someone posted a variation on it, see this post and the linked thread:

http://volvospeed.com/vs_forum/topic/14 ... r-pop-fix/

rdnzl · Post by **rdnzl** » 31 Mar 2011, 20:08

Hey, thanks for the steerage.

I'll check to see if mine's a candidate for the hand tool treatment - sometime soon - we're supposed to get 12" + of snow over the next 24 hrs - sheesh! Enough already! With no garage, this can wait until it's all gone - whenever that may be......

Post by **renns** » 31 Mar 2011, 20:39

erikv11 wrote:This is a common problem and there is a common way to fix it with hand tools (did it this way myself, on my own car).

Plus the other day someone posted a variation on it, see this post and the linked thread:

http://volvospeed.com/vs_forum/topic/14 ... r-pop-fix/

I've got welding equipment in my shop, but still decided for the bolt solution. That A-pillar sheet metal is very thin, and I thought it might be better to distribute the loads under a bolt head and large flat washer.

The link above shows a method using self-tapping screws. Rather than self-tappers, I drilled straight through, and used 1/4" (6mm) bolts with nuts and washers in the same location as the failed spot welds. The rubber plug on the first pic can be popped out to allow access to fit the nuts to the end of the bolts. As access it tight, I used some tape to temporarily hold the nut on the end of my finger. A little dainty finger work to get in position, and the bolt can be tightened from the outside to pull the assembly back together.

Be careful when re-installing the door. It's much easier to do with a second person to assist with alignment of the hinges. Also, be sure to have some soft clean surface available to set the door down on once removed.

If you have basic hand-tools and a drill, this is an easy 1 hr job at most.

Post by **erikv11** » 31 Mar 2011, 20:47

I think renns' method is better than the self-tapping screws. There is a second thread linked from the one I gave above, and it has pictures for the method renns describes, I used the bolt and taped finger method too.

rdnzl · Post by **rdnzl** » 01 Apr 2011, 19:59

Thanks, guys

Following the above links and others subsequently found, I did find the bolt and nut solution.

I agree. I'll be more comfortable with that than with self tappers.

Mars · Post by **Mars** » 01 Apr 2011, 23:33

Today mine busted but on the door side, it ripped the metal to shreads