Eric,

Thanks for your reply.  That plastic thing you found inside the spring is probably what I called a bushing.  I think now it may be what is called on Bentley 58.21 an Upper hinge link seal – with the cap part broken off so that what’s left is the part that fits down inside the spring, like a sleeve between the spring and the link.  If you have that and the rubber parts, I think you can rebuild it with just a new spring.

Your experience with the new hinge adds to my leeriness about the aftermarket hinges.  GoWesty warns that their hinge (out of stock anyway) will not work with their bearing upgrades, so something different in their design.

gp

From: Eric Caron
Sent: Tuesday, January 26, 2021 9:47 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Slider Hinge

On my original spring I found some strange plastic thing inside the spring that was starting to come out.  It had the rubber on either side of the spring. 

In the end I could find no way to rebuild.  I put it in my spare parts and would love to rebuild it so that it was strong again. 

Now that I think about it I think GW had a new version.  The problem is it didn’t fit my 85 door correctly. They sent me the used one and that fit.  So the new one had questionable manufacturing details.