How do you change the upper door hinge on a 1993 Thunderbird?

Answer 1

It's not an easy process to replace the door hinges on the 89-97 Thunderbirds and Cougars, but if you are willing to do-it-yourself make sure you have a friend and a jack handy. You can loosen the two upper hinge and lower hinge bolts with a 13mm socket with a wobble or angle attachment between the fender and the door or the easier way I found when putting it back on was removing the fender well and you have a clear look and can get at the bolts with a 13mm socket. The had part is now getting at the inner nut that is attached to the stud on the bracket. The lower one is easy to get to, it is located by the emergency brake pedal. The upper nut is up behind the dash. You have to remove the dash tirm (2 screws) and the light switch can be removed with a pair of needle nose and by pulling forward. Next unbolt the side panel (2 screws / side that is against the door), unbolt the right side AC duct (1 screw) and remove it and the plactic vent. Once you remove these and a few other little things, you should see a an opening at the top of the fire wall very close to the door frame. Through that hole you can see a 13mm nut attached to the stud. The best way to remove this nut is to use a small 13mm stub wrench or a 13mm socket on a thumb driver (the small circle socket wrench). You can get in there with a regular box wrench but the small ones are better. Also you can try a socket with a wobble or angle attachment but it's a very tight space for it and I decided not to use it. If you have big hands it might be tight so you might need to make the opening a little bigger so you can but you hand through. Once you remove those nuts and bolts, remove the 13mm bolts from the door and pull the door out a bit so you can remove the hinges. To replace bolt the hinges top the frame first then bolt the door on. To line up the door, the easiest way I found was to loosen the bolts on the frame and close the door. Once the door is closed, you can tighten the frame bolts and nuts through the wheel well and by going through the window or passenger side to tighten the nuts. It's nut an easy or fast job, but what a difference the new hinges make. I purchase two set to replace both door but since only the driver door was affected and no one ever really used the passenger side, I'm going to put the other set on eBay. If any one needs the set of hinges that are brand new from Ford in the oringal parts box, email me at rshaker90@gmail.com and I'll put them up on eBay for you.