dave6666
Enthusiast
I know, you're probably thinking do we really need pics on how to lube the door hinges? And should you really be telling lies about oiling the hood so it won't stay up?
Well, as many people as there are that seem absolutely stunned when they find out their battery is in the wheel well and the coolant level check is too, then I'd be willing to bet that these items might surprise some people too. So then, we have the out-of-sight out-of-mind door hinges, or in the case of the hood, stuff you may have never realized would help you operate it more easily.
Door Hinge Lubrication
It just makes common sense to lubricate a hinge, and your door hinges are no exception. They are expensive when they wear out ($400), and when replacing it you'll be force-fed a class in body alignment techniques. Just a little oil every now and then will add to their life.
First, pop the hood and you'll see the hinge cover. One per side of course. 5 screws to remove it, with 1 that will require the door to be open to get at it. If the screws are stock, a 5/16" nutdriver will work.
Important Tip!!!
***Keep track of shims that may be behind the covers. You'll need to put those back where they came from. They may stick, they may fall, they may...?***
Up close of hidden screw.
Shims.
Shims stuck to cover.
Once the cover is off your hinge should look something like this, and hopefully not covered in shiny little metallic bits that is your self-destructing hinge.
Next step is to clean and lube the mechanism that holds the door open. The arrows point to the flat spring plate on the left, and the aluminum cam on the right that rides on the spring plate. Take a shop rag wetted with some WD40 and clean those surfaces until shiny like in the pic. If you find yours are rough, scratched, or any other undesirable surface finish, you are making progress toward an eventual hinge replacement!
After cleaning these surfaces you need to use a little grease on the cam surface. I like Bosch distributor grease as it is really sticky and hangs around. At minimum use a synthetic grease like green wheel bearing grease. You do not need but a small amount. Too much and you make a sand and dirt magnet out of it.
Next will be to oil the hinge pin itself. Now you can just hose it down with WD40 if you like, but that won't last long. I use a 30wt motor oil in a pump oiler and once again, just small little amounts will do. Put a shop rag under the hinge to catch drips.
Work the door a couple of times to distribute the oil and then all you need to do is put the hinge cover back on. Watch the shim placement if you had any, and don't over-tighten the screws. They can strip and/or crack the plastic cover.
If you resisted the temptation to buff and wax the hinge cover the marks from the screws should provide easy realignment to the car. You might open the door slowly the first time to double check that you don't have a rub somewhere.
Hood Mechanism Lubrication
Important Tip!!!
***Do not oil the hood hinges unless you want to carry a stick with you to hold the hood up when open***
Anyway, there are a couple other areas that I've noticed help with opening and closing of the hood.
First off would be the latches right by the headlights. I've closed my hood before and then later noticed one side has popped up a bit. Although I could probably adjust the stop bumper I decided my first line of defense was to make sure the latch had nothing restricting it from snapping shut. Like being dry from no oil. So give them a little shot of WD40 with a rag held in front to keep from dusting your front fascia with oil.
These things...
Another area on operating my hood that I noticed needed improvement was getting it to disengage the guides when initially lifting it up. I'm even tall and have a great vantage point, but I was concerned that the wiggle and shake thing was not good.
So what I did was clean all of the guides and their receptacles once again with a WD40 soaked rag. It may take some work, as mine had some really gooey sticky mucus like crap on them. If after cleaning they look rough or scratched or whatever then you may want to consider replacement and/or aligning your hood properly. One of mine had a very light spot that I groomed with a razor blade a tad to smooth, but they were otherwise OK.
Lastly what I did was gave the guides (plastic blades) on the hood a thin coat of the Bosch grease. Now when I go to lift the hood up the first bit no more wiggle and shake is needed.
No need to grease the roller as well, it rolls...
Clean these surfaces good, like down inside the bracket.
Well, as many people as there are that seem absolutely stunned when they find out their battery is in the wheel well and the coolant level check is too, then I'd be willing to bet that these items might surprise some people too. So then, we have the out-of-sight out-of-mind door hinges, or in the case of the hood, stuff you may have never realized would help you operate it more easily.
Door Hinge Lubrication
It just makes common sense to lubricate a hinge, and your door hinges are no exception. They are expensive when they wear out ($400), and when replacing it you'll be force-fed a class in body alignment techniques. Just a little oil every now and then will add to their life.
First, pop the hood and you'll see the hinge cover. One per side of course. 5 screws to remove it, with 1 that will require the door to be open to get at it. If the screws are stock, a 5/16" nutdriver will work.
Important Tip!!!
***Keep track of shims that may be behind the covers. You'll need to put those back where they came from. They may stick, they may fall, they may...?***
You must be registered for see images
Up close of hidden screw.
You must be registered for see images
Shims.
You must be registered for see images
Shims stuck to cover.
You must be registered for see images
Once the cover is off your hinge should look something like this, and hopefully not covered in shiny little metallic bits that is your self-destructing hinge.
You must be registered for see images
Next step is to clean and lube the mechanism that holds the door open. The arrows point to the flat spring plate on the left, and the aluminum cam on the right that rides on the spring plate. Take a shop rag wetted with some WD40 and clean those surfaces until shiny like in the pic. If you find yours are rough, scratched, or any other undesirable surface finish, you are making progress toward an eventual hinge replacement!
You must be registered for see images
After cleaning these surfaces you need to use a little grease on the cam surface. I like Bosch distributor grease as it is really sticky and hangs around. At minimum use a synthetic grease like green wheel bearing grease. You do not need but a small amount. Too much and you make a sand and dirt magnet out of it.
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
Next will be to oil the hinge pin itself. Now you can just hose it down with WD40 if you like, but that won't last long. I use a 30wt motor oil in a pump oiler and once again, just small little amounts will do. Put a shop rag under the hinge to catch drips.
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
Work the door a couple of times to distribute the oil and then all you need to do is put the hinge cover back on. Watch the shim placement if you had any, and don't over-tighten the screws. They can strip and/or crack the plastic cover.
If you resisted the temptation to buff and wax the hinge cover the marks from the screws should provide easy realignment to the car. You might open the door slowly the first time to double check that you don't have a rub somewhere.
Hood Mechanism Lubrication
Important Tip!!!
***Do not oil the hood hinges unless you want to carry a stick with you to hold the hood up when open***
You must be registered for see images
Anyway, there are a couple other areas that I've noticed help with opening and closing of the hood.
First off would be the latches right by the headlights. I've closed my hood before and then later noticed one side has popped up a bit. Although I could probably adjust the stop bumper I decided my first line of defense was to make sure the latch had nothing restricting it from snapping shut. Like being dry from no oil. So give them a little shot of WD40 with a rag held in front to keep from dusting your front fascia with oil.
These things...
You must be registered for see images
Another area on operating my hood that I noticed needed improvement was getting it to disengage the guides when initially lifting it up. I'm even tall and have a great vantage point, but I was concerned that the wiggle and shake thing was not good.
So what I did was clean all of the guides and their receptacles once again with a WD40 soaked rag. It may take some work, as mine had some really gooey sticky mucus like crap on them. If after cleaning they look rough or scratched or whatever then you may want to consider replacement and/or aligning your hood properly. One of mine had a very light spot that I groomed with a razor blade a tad to smooth, but they were otherwise OK.
Lastly what I did was gave the guides (plastic blades) on the hood a thin coat of the Bosch grease. Now when I go to lift the hood up the first bit no more wiggle and shake is needed.
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
No need to grease the roller as well, it rolls...
You must be registered for see images
Clean these surfaces good, like down inside the bracket.
You must be registered for see images
~juli
