How to repair a broken door hinge on a Jeep Cherokee
One common failure point on the Jeep Cherokee unibody is the point where the driver’s door attached to the pillar. Often, the heat affected zone around the weld will crack allowing the door to pull loose.
It is best to make the repair before the hinge breaks completely loose. However, most don’t make it to me until they have completely separated.
Jeep has a repair kit available for this common failure. There is also a Technical Service bulletin to at describes the repair and the use of the kit. You may wish to check out this method before proceeding with the following procedure.
My preferred method of making the repair is to reweld the hinge in place. This can be accomplished with a small wire feed welder with minimal welding skills.
To access the hinge, you will have to remove the fender. If this is an off road Jeep, then you will not likely have to deal with the flares and inner liner. However for most, these parts will have to be removed as well.
There are three fasteners that hold the fender under the front fiberglass header. So, begin by removing the header. The front piece is held in place by two nuts on either side and four nuts along the top radiator support. You will have to remove the head light surrounds to access the nuts on either side.
With the header loose, slide it to the side. There is usually enough slack in the headlight wiring harness to move it enough to access the three fasteners. If not, remove the air box to access the connector. Remove the three torx head bolts securing the fender. I prefer to remove the three that hold the fender to the angle piece as it makes the fender easier to remove.
Remove the plastic rivets that attach the flare to the air dam. I have not found a way to reuse these so just cut them with a pair of dikes. There is also a sheet metal screw that holds the fender to a brace near the front. Remove this screw as well.
Next, remove the bolts along the top of the fender under the hood. There are two more inside the door opening. If the torx head strips while trying to remove these, you can drill the bolt head off using a ¼” drill bit. Use a good quality torx bit to minimize the chances of stripping the bolt.
There are two more bolts at the pinch seam at the bottom of the fender. Since these are exposed to salt and dirt, they rarely come off in tack. Save time by cutting them out with a cut off wheel. They can be replaced with any ¼ inch bolt and nut.
Separate the inner fender liner and pull it out. Often but not always, the liner will be attached to the bolts that hold on the flares. These small bolts are easily broken so use lots of penetrating oil and be very careful when taking them out.
With the liner out, you can see a brace that holds the fender. Remove the bolt from the flare connector to remove it. Carefully lift off the fender.
Now you can access the hinge mounting area. Close the door and make sure it is securely latched in the proper position.
If the hinge is not completely broken away, you can tap it back in place with a hammer before rewelding. In the more likely event that it is broken completely loose, you will have to compress the weather stripping to get the hinge into the proper position before welding.
One way to press the door into place is to use a 2×4 plank about eight feet long. Pad one end and place it against the door just below the mirror. Use a ratchet strap to pull it against the door. I hook one end of the strap to the free end of the board and the other end to the T slot in the unibody frame rail just below the door. Be careful to tighten it only enough to press in the hinge and not so much as to dent the door.
Use a grinder and wire brush to remove as much paint as possible from the weld area. You likely will not be able to get it perfectly clean but remove as much as possible for a smoother weld.
Now, tap the hinge into its correct place and weld. Mimic the factory weld by putting most of the heat on the thick hinge and only enough on the thin sheet metal to get good penetration. Start on areas that you were able to clean and work into the areas that still have paint. You will get some splatter but the paint will burn away and make a secure weld.
Once you have a good weld, let it cool and paint the area to prevent further rusting. Reinstall the fender, inner liner and front header.
