Best practices for taking off doors via hinge pin removal? I understand unbolting the hinges is discouraged.
I have done quite a bit of searching of the forum, the magazine archives, and the interwebs. Lots of talk about hinges and door adjustment. I'm not finding anything specific about getting the pins out. Are the directions in the factory manual the best thing going? No special P*** tool?! This doesn't seem like a great approach for a new car, much less one that has sat and rusted for 20+ years.
Porsche Factory Manual - 9 BO
The top seems like there is no good access no matter how I look at it. The bottom at least seems like a straight shot up at the pin, but no fun either I expect.
1960 356 S90 Sunroof Coupe
1970 914-6
2014 Carrera S
Dennis Vogel wrote: ↑Mon Nov 28, 2022 7:08 pmNo special P*** tool?! The top seems like there is no good access no matter how I look at it.
The bottom at least seems like a straight shot up at the pin, but no fun either I expect.
Dennis, there was no factory tool for the 356 series.
The factory tool for the 911/912 series was P 290 (below).
Jim Tidwell reproduces a similar device for attachment to common slide hammers... https://www.early911sregistry.org/forum ... 721-290-20
You may need to log in to the Early 911S Registry to see the pictures in this link.
I've never tried it on a 356, but it looks like they've made something similar in John's link too.
The only problem with common slide hammers is they usually lack a center stop for hammering in both directions.
The pins are knurled the head quarter inch which requires more force for that distance. Beyond that they should be no more than a light press fit. No special tools needed beyond a long enough drift. The lower one is held in by gravity, the upper one by a cotter pin. When faced with pins that are hard to remove and install, I unbolt the hinge and repair it. If you do it one at a time you can save most of the adjustment. Mounting and demounting the doors is a two-man job because of the small clearance. A floor jack helps.
I have a special set of pins with the knurling machined off which I use during restoration when the doors come on and off frequently. If you remove the lower one first, and if the drift is close to the pin diameter, the door will sag against the drift, holding it. Then remove the top pin (a small magnet will keep it from falling out) and the drift will fall out.
Thanks for the suggestions folks. The slide hammer is not the Porsche approach I was expecting, 911 or otherwise. I thought there might be something like the Eastwood tool. Perhaps a little more compact and with an Allen head bolt.
Credit Eastwood - Door Hinge Pin Puller
1960 356 S90 Sunroof Coupe
1970 914-6
2014 Carrera S
I've never had much of a problem driving them out with a long flat tipped punch. I do tape the edge of the fender and door just to be safe. Drive the bottom one up a half inch or so first to get a feel for the force needed to clear the knurled section of the pin. Use a big enough hammer to give them a decent whack, light taps won't accomplish much except increase the odds of a mishap. I use a big flat tip screwdriver on the lip of the upper one once its been driven down 3/8 of an inch or so. It doesn't take much force to drive it free the rest of the way.
Ron Roland’s book, Restored By Hand, on page 36 shows a diagram for making a set of tools to remove door pins that I have used multiple times with good success.
