I know this is old territory, but this is a different twist. My driver’s side lower hinge was goose-loose, so I pulled it and removed the hinge pin for replacement. I found that besides the pin, the hinge itself was worn so much that a 5/16” pin wouldn’t fix it, so I had to drill the hinge out to 11/32”.
For a new pin, I hopped on the lathe and turned the shank of a long 3/8” bolt down to 11/32”. I turned the head to about ½” diameter and then rounded it to a brazier profile to match the head of the original pin. At first, I left it long enough to heat & beat the shop head into shape, as previous posts have shown, but my level of talent is such that anything I do involving a torch and red metal usually doesn’t end well, so I thought I’d try a different method:
After shortening the pin to just past flush with the bottom of the hinge, I drilled into it about 1” and threaded the hole to ¼-20. Then I turned the head of a slotted ¼-20x3/4” truss-head screw to about ½” diameter and rounded it to the brazier profile as well. I soldered the slot shut and then turned it smooth with a file and emery cloth. After assembling the hinge, I used JB Weld on the threads and screwed the now brazier-headed, non-slotted screw into the pin. A little OD paint finished it. Now the hinge is tight, and the door doesn’t drag on the bottom anymore.
This might sound like a lot of work but it’s not really. The hardware is inexpensive and if you have access to a lathe and drill press, it’s only about a two-beer job, maximum, including re-mounting the hinge.
(Sorry the pictures are 90 degrees out of phase. They go in straight up but come out sideways...??)
