Door hinge preventative maintenance?

[Mojave34]

Hi new to this forum and also new to being a first time Jeep owner. I just purchased a 2022 Jeep Gladiator Mojave. Still new to the Jeep Wave, I’m watching videos and reading lots of articles. Still having lots of questions and trying to get the best advise. Anyway I am trying to get the best advise on the door and hood hinges. This is the first time I owned a vehicle with the hinges on the outside of the vehicle. Can I get some advise on what is the best product to use i.e. weekly/monthly. Their are many products out there like lithium grease, WD-40, silicone grease, anti-seize grease, but don’t most of these products just attract dust? Are the hinges all steel, are they aluminum, do they have bushings or plastic liners? With all this being said and asked, what advise can I get? Sorry for how long this is but first time post and just trying to give enough info. Thank in advance for all the help and info. Really excited to be apart of the Jeep family.

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[MrZappo]

They are lined with a plastic (delrin or delrin like sleeve). Any simple grease will do and more importantly wont do harm ... I used a waterproof lithium grease.

If your concerned about corrosion, than something like corrosionx or corrosionX XD would also work fine ..

Dust ? Just dont go crazy and you will be fine ...

 

[dcmdon]

WD40 is generally not the best idea as a lubricant. Its not terrible b ut there is better stuff.

For what its worth, Delrin is very slippery on its own.

 

[sass JT]

Actually they are not lined with plastic or derlin… you need to change them out to them if your planning to take care of your doors. They are a metal… definitely not aluminum. That’s one of the first many mods I did to my gladiator… you can pick them up from TMRcustoms or Kentrol.

personally, I use a white lithium grease on the inside of them during winter to keep the squeaking down but I do take my doors of regularly and clean the hinges.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

WD40 is generally not the best idea as a lubricant. Its not terrible b ut there is better stuff.

For what its worth, Delrin is very slippery on its own.

WD40 is not a lubricant anyway.
I recall when my wife first got her quilting machine many owners were saying "lube this with WD40" or "clean and lube the bobbin case area with WD40" and the company came out with "NO! WD40 is not a lubricant and washes the oils away"
It's a temporary lube at best, it's a water displacer (thus the WD part)
I clean with WD40 then lube with the appropriate lube (sometimes I swipe my wife's quilting machine oil - it's clear, clean, doesn't stain and handles high rpm moving parts so I figure can't hurt things like Jeep parts.


Generically speaking -
I don't do anything with hinges - door or hood for the first months and then use something like a silicon spray where things are metal-to-metal or even a graphite spray (MESSY! Mask things off) It dries and forms a lubricating coating. I used to use it on planter parts where a rubber seal spun against a flat steel plate.
Be aware that nylon or plastic lined hinges can be damaged by some lubes or greases.

I have a white lithium grease I have used on things I restore that have plastic or nylon parts. Some of my work has been in service a lot of years - it all still works.
But any sort of grease will attract dust, extremely fine grit particles that can actually lead to faster wear than doing nothing

 

[jac04]

I like Boeshield because it dries to a waxy film.

 

[dcmdon]

WD40 is not a lubricant anyway.
I recall when my wife first got her quilting machine many owners were saying "lube this with WD40" or "clean and lube the bobbin case area with WD40" and the company came out with "NO! WD40 is not a lubricant and washes the oils away"
It's a temporary lube at best, it's a water displacer (thus the WD part)
I clean with WD40 then lube with the appropriate lube (sometimes I swipe my wife's quilting machine oil - it's clear, clean, doesn't stain and handles high rpm moving parts so I figure can't hurt things like Jeep parts.


Generically speaking -
I don't do anything with hinges - door or hood for the first months and then use something like a silicon spray where things are metal-to-metal or even a graphite spray (MESSY! Mask things off) It dries and forms a lubricating coating. I used to use it on planter parts where a rubber seal spun against a flat steel plate.
Be aware that nylon or plastic lined hinges can be damaged by some lubes or greases.

I have a white lithium grease I have used on things I restore that have plastic or nylon parts. Some of my work has been in service a lot of years - it all still works.
But any sort of grease will attract dust, extremely fine grit particles that can actually lead to faster wear than doing nothing

I was trying to be nice. Back when I was young and dumb I used to use it on guns. It goes on too thin and then all the lighter solvents evaporate leaving a nasty not very slippery film.

It is the BOMB for cleaning things where you want to leave a bit of a film behind. Stuff where brake or contact cleaner would leave it too clean.

This is what makes it so excellent at driving out water, the light stuff blasts the water out and then a think film is left behind.

I'm no expert on Jeep hinges, but if they are truly metal against delrin, I'd probably leave them dry and just clean them every once in a while. Especially if the delrin bushing is easily replaceable.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I was trying to be nice. Back when I was young and dumb I used to use it on guns. It goes on too thin and then all the lighter solvents evaporate leaving a nasty not very slippery film.

It is the BOMB for cleaning things where you want to leave a bit of a film behind. Stuff where brake or contact cleaner would leave it too clean.

This is what makes it so excellent at driving out water, the light stuff blasts the water out and then a think film is left behind.

I'm no expert on Jeep hinges, but if they are truly metal against delrin, I'd probably leave them dry and just clean them every once in a while. Especially if the delrin bushing is easily replaceable.

WD40 is fine to spray on saws hanging up in the garage, cleaning stuff, I've used it on the magnetos of antique engines and tractors after a rain got things wet- it displaced the rain water and things ran again.

With very little care, modern hinges should last decades. it's the old steel on steel or steel on brass bushings that give way after 30 years. Clean is the best defense. It's the fine dust that kills things, it's abrasive. Don't believe it, let some kid write their name in the dust on your car - it's there until you buff it out. It's why you never clean the acrylic cover of your turn table by simply wiping a rag over it.

 

[dcmdon]

It's why you never clean the acrylic cover of your turn table by simply wiping a rag over it.

Ha. I used to blow it off with canned air then spray pledge on it before wiping. But I'm a bit OCD that way.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Ha. I used to blow it off with canned air then spray pledge on it before wiping. But I'm a bit OCD that way.

Exactly. When I had my car sprayed by the body shop I asked about their personal preference for cleaning it - he said blow the dust off, then rinse the dust off before you ever take a cloth to it then use a cloth like a microfiber that will remove the dust and not just wipe it around.
If you could keep the dust and dirt out of hinges, they'd last for many years. That's why I don't like oils and greases that turn it into a grinding compound.

 

[dcmdon]

Exactly. When I had my car sprayed by the body shop I asked about their personal preference for cleaning it - he said blow the dust off, then rinse the dust off before you ever take a cloth to it then use a cloth like a microfiber that will remove the dust and not just wipe it around.
If you could keep the dust and dirt out of hinges, they'd last for many years. That's why I don't like oils and greases that turn it into a grinding compound.

So again, I'm totally new to Jeep.

My thought would then be to spray it out with air or maybe carb cleaner when I take the doors off and leave it at that.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

So again, I'm totally new to Jeep.

My thought would then be to spray it out with air or maybe carb cleaner when I take the doors off and leave it at that.

Avoid carb cleaner near any paint or finishes and some plastics..........
I keep "canned air" around. I use it when servicing my wife's sewing machines, quilting machines, computers, etc. Good for blowing dust off of things.

All this reminds me - I need to buy some more graphite spray........... used the last of it on some car window regulators and tracks I was servicing.

 

[dcmdon]

Ive got some powdered graphite. Probably great for the hinge since its totally dry. Other than the messy streaks it will leave when it rains. ha.

 

[CaptNkllm]

If you plan on any offroad driving then I would use some 3m wrap clear on the face of the hinge barrel ... keeps the rock chips from getting to the paint

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