ODIron door hinge bushing update

[yolner]

I just wanted to share a few things I learned while adding bushings to my hinges. First, look over the original ODIron PDF to get the basic idea of what you're doing. Now here's what I did differently.

Supplies:
5/16" cobalt bit
3/8" cobalt bit
3/32" cobalt bit (for grease fitting)
#1 cobalt bit (for grease fitting)
1103K31 grease fittings (mcmaster carr)
nylon flanged bushings - $1.35 each and 2 per hinge (https://www.motionindustries.com/productDetail.jsp?sku=00000917)

In the ODIron instructions he says to drill out your male side of the hinge to 25/64. Unless the dimensions of the bushings changed since he wrote the guide that's not correct. Opening it up that much leaves the bushings loose. I used a 3/8" bit and that gave it a good tight fit.

Next I wanted to add a grease fitting. To do that I drilled a 3/32 hole into the hinge. Then I drilled a #1 hole .175" deep and inserted the self tapping grease fitting. When drilling into the hinge make sure you take small pecks and don't push too hard. It's easy to break a bit off and ruin the part.

The female side I drilled to 5/16" per the instructions and then opened up the spacing to 1.305 to allow the bushing collars to be inserted.

You can see the final product below. Just need to put a grease fitting cap on it.

 

[bonedoc]

Great write up. Thanks for the idea!! I replaced my hinges about 2 years ago. I assembled and installed the hinges with anti-seize in them. I would figure that you could just add the grease fitting if your hinges are tight. You wouldn't get the benefit of the bushing but be able to grease them would eliminate/minimize most wear.

 

[yolner]

Great write up. Thanks for the idea!! I replaced my hinges about 2 years ago. I assembled and installed the hinges with anti-seize in them. I would figure that you could just add the grease fitting if your hinges are tight. You wouldn't get the benefit of the bushing but be able to grease them would eliminate/minimize most wear.

Yes. This is probably a little overkill, but I have a mini-mill and like to play with it.

 

[rustystud]

Great write up. Thanks for the idea!! I replaced my hinges about 2 years ago. I assembled and installed the hinges with anti-seize in them. I would figure that you could just add the grease fitting if your hinges are tight. You wouldn't get the benefit of the bushing but be able to grease them would eliminate/minimize most wear.

That's basically what I did with mine. Drilled them out to 5/16" and installed a Stainless Steel bolt. Then drilled and installed a zerk fitting in the middle.

 

[Recovry4x4]

The original plans were correct for the bushings that he used. The McMaster Carr bushings are not the ones used in the kits he offered. For those folks who still have the kits, use the sizes indicated for a proper fit.