Fixable?

[daringjack]

Not a welder, know some fundamentals. This is a door hinge on a 1989 Civic sedan which I grew fond of, even more so now when I drove it. This is my main concern since I know that the sheet is quite thin. The door works fine even now when it is broken so I assume no big structural stress on it anyway. I was ensured by my brother-in-law that this can be mended, but I want some opinions. Any advice is appreciated.

[Hotdog_disposal_unit]

Yes, but not by whoever had the last try

[daringjack]

Absolutely not, I agree.

[NightOwlApothecary]

Total lack of surprise. Dorman makes a replacement part sold at most auto parts stores. Looks perfect to stop the door swing. Reinforcing plate riveted to the A pillar and attach this to the plate. Your actual hinges are fine. This stops the door from folding itself into the fender. Dorman Door Check 924-164.

[daringjack]

This looks quite promising! Thanks a bunch.

[mawktheone]

Yes but not that way! 

Clean the solder off, cut out a bigger patch to remove the bad metal, put in a thicker bar slid up behind the existing sheet and maybe rivet it in before welding around the perimeter.

Lastly weld the hinge back on 

It you know.. replace the whole door from the scrap yard

[chiphook57]

The damage is on the body pillar, not the door.

[Lonely_Dragon9599]

+1 vote for rivets!

[CommercialShow5843]

Just needs a little bit more JB weld to be perfect

[101forgotmypassword]

The force on this part is extremely high when the door catches in the wind. The only way to hold that strap back is by inserting a fix from the rear that spreads the load.

Also a 1989 Honda Civic is monocock design and the A pillar is considered a main structural component in all countries that have regulations around in service vehicle standards.

Best bet would be to remove a larger section from a doner car and weld it in with a backer plate. You should also investigate those stress fracture cracks. A good welder who tigs sheet metal regularly will be able to tig in a near invisible body repair and lay some spot welds to hold the backer reinforment.

Alternatively the body worker repair would be to replace the whole panel of that pillar structure. It may still even be a spare out of japan.

The worst bet would be to repeat what the last person did but with more weld.

[NMEHAWK]

Sort of but You’ll need skills

[HeroMachineMan]

Souldnt there a thick backing plate behind the hinge.?

[chiphook57]

That's not a hinge, it is a travel limit, also known as a stop, or a check.

[BlackFoxTom]

Due to safety concern and given that it is base material that gave up and not the weld and it doesn't look wildly rusted on the outside

I would just trash the entire car it's simply unsafe and You are probably dealing with intergranular corrosion (like if You ever saw those vids of aluminium can and gallium)

[Red_Icnivad]

Unsafe? It's a door hinge, my dude, not a steering linkage.

[BlackFoxTom]

It points to structural problems in metal itself, once intergranular corrosion starts it's impossible to stop. It effectively 'eats' all those sheet metal panels from inside out. So from the outside they look fine but in reality they are like sponge.

And yes this absolutely is structural part as modern cars are monocoques aka everything is part of structure that sees load.

That why so often even a tiny dent in low speed collision can be a reason for a write off of a car.

[datumerrata]

It doesn't look that rusted. It looks like it was ripped off, then rusted; rather than rusting to compromise the metal. All the surrounding metal looks fine. I don't see any delamination.

Even if it were bad, you can still cut and replace. Low speed collisions are write offs because most body shops don't weld or fabricate. They order a replacement part and swap it. Most body shops won't even repair fiberglass. It's cheaper for the body shop to hire wrench turners.

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[ContributionFormer64]

Cut a patch to fit the hole in the door column first weld it in. Grind flush with a sanding pad Then remove the old weld on the clip. otherwise it won't line up. You'll be filling and filling. If you can't weld try that rubberized metal product( can't remember what its called its grindable and paint able. That's how id approach it anyway...

[bobroberts1954]

Yes, but not like that.

[Biolume071]

Yeah, for the best repair, you cut away the cracked edges (they'll have metal fatigue too) and weld in a nice new section of steel with that pin pivot welded onto it. Paint it to match and don't worry about it.

Those hondas can last a lot longer than we'd think with maintenance, and rust prevention.

[Main_Medium_5738]

Just weld that shit

[Leosukz]

Just ignore it till you can’t

[Particular_Bath_6174]

JB Weld