Loose door hinge bolt?

[2xblueovalhybrid]

I've noticed that my driver's side door, once swung all the way open, "pops" and moves. After looking more into it, it appears the top bolt connecting the hinge to the door is loose and allows for some movement. The bolt in question is one covered in paint on the exterior of the door, but the locknut is inside the door itself.

Has anyone else encountered this issue? Can I, should I, just tighten the bolt myself? Or should I try and get the dealer to fix (for free).

Any threads/posts/similar issues appreciated.

Cheers

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[Montana]

Give it a good'n'tight torque! Do it! Don't even start off light, just do what tire techs do in the tire shops and full send it.

/s (Don't do that)

To be specific, which bolt are you talking about? Can you share a pic? I went and looked and still have no idea which one you are talking about. There is quite a few bolts there.

 

[2xblueovalhybrid]

Haha - I was VERY tempted to to just go in there and crank!

There are two hinges on the drivers door Top & Bottom - my issue is with the top hinge.

The hinge is made of two parts. There's the hinge on the door side (going from the door out towards the truck) or top part of hinge. It's shaped like an "L", with a bolt through the vertical part of the "L" connecting it to the door. (This is the problem part)

Then on the truck-side, there's the swinging arm hinge or the bottom part of the hinge. This is where the bottom or horizontal part of the "L" rests.

The bolt connecting that top swinging arm - the "L" - is just one large bolt covered in body paint that connects the top swinging arm hinge to the door - that's the one that's loose.

So when the door swings open, it pivots on the bottom hinge because the top is loose. Causing the top of the door to lean slightly away from the body of the truck.

THE TRICK: The only part of that fastener (bolt & nut) that I can have access to is the bolt head. The nut is inside the body of the door itself and would require me to take off the door panel and finagle my skinny forearm into an unnatural position to access. So, I could crank on that bolt head and have a 50/50 chance of fixing it - if not I'm SOL.

Outcome: After staring at it for what felt like hours (and trying to justify to myself, this was the occasion I had been waiting for to buy a pneumatic wrench) - I finally called my dealer's service department. They had an opening in 20mins - so I jumped in the truck and went over. I explained the situation, the service desk seemed to know exactly what I was talking about and warned me - if it was the nut inside the door frame itself, they'd have to send the truck to the body shop.

... 1 hour later

They just went in there and cranked the bolt - fixed.

No cost to me, all under warranty.

(I would send pics but the Mrs. is out taking it for errands [read: joyride]]

 

[Montana]

Haha - I was VERY tempted to to just go in there and crank!

There are two hinges on the drivers door Top & Bottom - my issue is with the top hinge.

The hinge is made of two parts. There's the hinge on the door side (going from the door out towards the truck) or top part of hinge. It's shaped like an "L", with a bolt through the vertical part of the "L" connecting it to the door. (This is the problem part)

Then on the truck-side, there's the swinging arm hinge or the bottom part of the hinge. This is where the bottom or horizontal part of the "L" rests.

The bolt connecting that top swinging arm - the "L" - is just one large bolt covered in body paint that connects the top swinging arm hinge to the door - that's the one that's loose.

So when the door swings open, it pivots on the bottom hinge because the top is loose. Causing the top of the door to lean slightly away from the body of the truck.

THE TRICK: The only part of that fastener (bolt & nut) that I can have access to is the bolt head. The nut is inside the body of the door itself and would require me to take off the door panel and finagle my skinny forearm into an unnatural position to access. So, I could crank on that bolt head and have a 50/50 chance of fixing it - if not I'm SOL.

Outcome: After staring at it for what felt like hours (and trying to justify to myself, this was the occasion I had been waiting for to buy a pneumatic wrench) - I finally called my dealer's service department. They had an opening in 20mins - so I jumped in the truck and went over. I explained the situation, the service desk seemed to know exactly what I was talking about and warned me - if it was the nut inside the door frame itself, they'd have to send the truck to the body shop.

... 1 hour later

They just went in there and cranked the bolt - fixed.

No cost to me, all under warranty.

(I would send pics but the Mrs. is out taking it for errands [read: joyride]]

Glad it was an easy fix. I'd still need a crayon in a pop up book to show me which bolt lol. The vertical bolt connecting the hinges or the bolt on the lower L portion into the door? It's likely the threads are built into the mount or a welded nut on the other side.

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