Rees Posted July 21, 2007 Share Posted July 21, 2007 We have a Mirage 5000 fitted with fly-screen inner door to main caravan door. The fly screen door can be separated from the main door which can remain open whilst the flyscreen is in place. Problem: this year whilst in Germany the hinge of the fly screen door developed a very loud creaKing when opened and closed (disturbing all the neighbouring campervans each time!). The hinge of the main door did not creak. I tried to remove the creak by oiling the door with thin machine oil, then I appled WD40, then Vasaline (petroleoum wax). No result. Finally, I applied silicon oil spray and eventually after use the creak disappeared (presumeably after the silicon oil had penetrated). When I visited a van dealer he said that they normally remove the door and redrill the hinges and that this was the only way such a creaking sound could be removed. Seems expensive to me. But that will not be necessary in our case. The hinges are made of aluminium with nylon/plastic. When trying to oil the door I took out the small stopper at the top of the hinge but unfortuantely lost it. How can I obtain a replacement (at present I have a small blob of Bluetac in it!). Without such a stopper rain water will enter the hinge. Any experiences of removing such creaks from fly screen hinges door will be appreciated. I now notice that a similar hinge on the driver's door is also stiff and needs lubrication. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted July 21, 2007 Share Posted July 21, 2007 WD40 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted July 21, 2007 Share Posted July 21, 2007 Hi Rees I'm afraid that in my experience with this type of door/ screen WD40 doesn't always work, I have tried. The problem is that the alloy hinge portion 'cold welds' (I understand that is the term) to the steel spindle that goes through it and the creaking noise is in fact from the steel spindle being rotated in what should be its fixed location at either the top or in my case more so the bottom of the hinge at its fixed location and that is where the noise was coming from. The problem is there is little you can do without removing the hinge from the door frame and stripping it into its individual componants, during the course of which freeing off the 'siezed' hinge. Then reasembling after adjusting the locating portion of the hinge to more tightly grip the spindle. Now the removal of the hinge would be a fairly easy job were it not for the fact that the frame side is pop riveted with steel rivits to the frame and these have to be drilled out and replaced, the door side is screwed. Again in my case removal was not a problem as eventually the rivets pulled out of the frame forcing a more permenant repair than using WD40 as I had been. The hardest part of stripping the hinge was removing the pin from the 'cold welded' part without damaging the aluminium which is gold anodised making handling without damage very difficult. Just my experience Bas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michele Posted July 21, 2007 Share Posted July 21, 2007 Basil, Did that solve the creaking ? After you had done all that or are you still with the creak? It never ceases to amaze me howmany we have if its not the cab doors it the plastic (dont know the name) bit that goes around the windows that the consentina blinds pull in they creak like mad and the heki makes aracket & the oven hob top we put a tea towel in it drives you mad . I think I will resort to blu tack soon. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted July 22, 2007 Share Posted July 22, 2007 I like custard in my doughnuts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted July 22, 2007 Share Posted July 22, 2007 michele - 2007-07-21 11:18 PM Basil, Did that solve the creaking ? After you had done all that or are you still with the creak? It never ceases to amaze me howmany we have if its not the cab doors it the plastic (dont know the name) bit that goes around the windows that the consentina blinds pull in they creak like mad and the heki makes aracket & the oven hob top we put a tea towel in it drives you mad . I think I will resort to blu tack soon. :D Hi Michele, Yes it did resolve the creak, but I now have a note to WD40 the hinges before and after use and after every wash. Probably overkill but I decided that it was such a nasty and time consuming job to do I am not risking it happening again. I can't help with the other noises you have as we have not experienced/ haven't got the product other than possibly the hob which in our case made rattling noises which I cured when I realised that one of the small rubber 'feet' at the front of the glass lid was missing. I bought two, one for a spare and realised they had changed the design to make them more effective (larger surface area in contact with the hob surface) and changing them both stopped the noise. However your van is much newer than ours so I would have thought that you would have the latest design available. Bas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyishuk Posted July 23, 2007 Share Posted July 23, 2007 WD40 might be melting the plastic, and making it more sticky. Try a more viscous lube like teflon (or a cheap alterniative olive) oil. Rgds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted July 23, 2007 Share Posted July 23, 2007 Hi Tony, No there is no plastic in the hinges being reffered to only alloy with a steel rod hinge pin. My experience of WD40 is that it has no detrimental effect on plastics anyway I've used it for decades on my bikes and cars without ever a problem. I also use it to keep the black trim clean and tidy on my vehicles. I find that both Silicone and Teflon sprays have a tendancy to leave thick and sticky residue after a couple of applications that kind of gooeys everything up. Bas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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