Early series XJ front door hinge breakage tip

If you own an early (pre-Mopar, I think) XJ then you may have, if not
already, door hinges that have broken loose from the door frame.

The cause is from the bean counters, most likely, saying the weld on the
fourth side of the hinge ... the door opening side, was more expensive than
seam sealer ... even thought the jig locating it probably would not have
prevented welding ... wire and CO2 are just so expensive . . . .

The bad part is they could have left holes in the body skin metal for the
hinge mounts and welded to the heavier gauge "A" pillar substructure

My 89 has that problem, soon to be welded back on, on the driver's door.

Over a year ago, to slow down the breakage, I loosened the upper hinge from
the door proper to gain room, drilled thru the hinge into the door frame
with a bit sized for tapping 3/8" threads (5/16") then carefully drilled a
clearance hole in the hinge only (I went with 7/16" for a bit of adjustment
room).

Then I ran a 3/8" NC tap into the holes drilled and cut threads but you
could also run a dog point self-tap body bolt in as well.

This "temporary" repair has held up in daily driving and some light
off -roading until a month ago when the hinge finally broke off completely.

But the bolt kept the door from coming loose enough to do damage to the
other hinge or fall off completely, but I'll be welding up both hinges.

--
Budd