Alternate door hinges

Has anyone found anything else that fits? I'm loathe to pay over 200 quid for a few blocks of hinged aluminium and frankly I think the standard design of the hinges is pretty crap. There must be other hinges out there for cars or vans that will fit well enough and be an improvement over the originals

Or go for fit for life/fit once st/st jobbies from YRM. They're expensive but very, very good quality...

https://yrmit.co.uk/product/stainless-steel-front-row-door-hinges-land-rover-defender/

v8250 said:

Or go for fit for life/fit once st/st jobbies from YRM. They're expensive but very, very good quality...

https://yrmit.co.uk/product/stainless-steel-front-row-door-hinges-land-rover-defender/

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That's the problem, they cost silly money and I just don't have a couple hundred quid to drop on hinges that are the same design. There must be some for another vehicle that fit, maybe rear door hinges from a van?

What’s so bad with the original ones? The upgraded ones are exactly the same, just made from a more exotic material.

bluedog333 said:

What’s so bad with the original ones? The upgraded ones are exactly the same, just made from a more exotic material.

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They're a crap design and I don't want to buy the same hinges only to be faced with misaligned doors because they dropped again in a few years

the_wolf said:

They're a crap design and I don't want to buy the same hinges only to be faced with misaligned doors because they dropped again in a few years

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I am with you on that one. I bought a replacement set and they were as bad as the existing ones. I have an idea to add bearings to the assembly. At least then I can replace the bearings and not the whole hinge.

the_wolf said:

They're a crap design and I don't want to buy the same hinges only to be faced with misaligned doors because they dropped again in a few years

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Oh right, I didn’t realise they dropped significantly. What part of the design makes them drop? Is it just metal-on-metal wear? Maybe for a grease nipple like they have on diggers and tractors?

My Old Landy said:

I am with you on that one. I bought a replacement set and they were as bad as the existing ones. I have an idea to add bearings to the assembly. At least then I can replace the bearings and not the whole hinge.

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I've never seen affordable new hinges that don't already have unwanted movement in them. It's a joke

bluedog333 said:

Oh right, I didn’t realise they dropped significantly. What part of the design makes them drop? Is it just metal-on-metal wear? Maybe for a grease nipple like they have on diggers and tractors?

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Unsure, I think they're just insufficient for the job they're supposed to do. You can buy ones with greasable pins but again those cost a fortune. Companies make far better improved rear door hinges yet the front door hinges all follow the exact same pattern and i don't care if they're made from solid gold im not paying a fortune for what is basically two bits of metal with some holes in held together with a pin

bluedog333 said:

Oh right, I didn’t realise they dropped significantly. What part of the design makes them drop? Is it just metal-on-metal wear? Maybe for a grease nipple like they have on diggers and tractors?

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It's the low grade alloy they're made from. I ordered three sets of front door hinges from different manufacturers, all were carp, made from 1970's ships grade metal...remember late 1970's/early 1980's Lancia's made from recycled Russian washing machine tin? They reminded me of Lancia's [and I like old Lancia's]. It was this that made me look at YRM, though it took some days before I reached into the wallet.

I had thought about drilling out a new set a press fitting cylindrical sleeved bearings but buy time I'd completed this it's less cost to buy the YRM units + the route cause is the parent hinge metal [tin/porous alloy] that wears so new hinges stand no chance. If only they made pressure forged hinges they'd be fine...

Though many Landy Rovers need this 'slack' to make the doors align

The fact there's no actual bearing of sorts in there either really doesn't help and it's just a dry pin with no way to internally lubricate it besides the occasional spray of grease or WD40

Just a thought but the rear door hinges are a more robust design with easily replaceable hinge pins and ball bearings. I know there were very similar (if not identical) fitted to Series doors but the problem would then be how to mount the mirrors? I've never seen a rear door sag or end up misaligned and most of these also have to take the weight of the spare wheel too so would surely be a better and more affordable option

the_wolf said:

Just a thought but the rear door hinges are a more robust design with easily replaceable hinge pins and ball bearings. I know there were very similar (if not identical) fitted to Series doors but the problem would then be how to mount the mirrors? I've never seen a rear door sag or end up misaligned and most of these also have to take the weight of the spare wheel too so would surely be a better and more affordable option

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Before I go starting a new thread (products come and go in three years), what did you decide to do in the end?
Mine was a mil Landy from 1997 and the tops of those hinges are relieved to clear the capping.

There were series 2a door hinges with an extra bit/hole where mirror could be mounted. think they were usually on forward control types and military.
On my 2a I had a bit of angle mounted to the bulkhead windscreen bolt onto which went the standard round wing mirror, at least I could see things in it there.

the_wolf said:

They're a crap design and I don't want to buy the same hinges only to be faced with misaligned doors because they dropped again in a few years

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Sounds like you have the wrong vehicle tbh..... standard hinges should be good for 20-30 years. Hugely unlikely you'll find anything else that magically happens to have the exact same bolt patter, angles and open radius.