# Garage Door Hinges.



## sennen523

Hi All,

The hinges on one of the garage doors have "seized" on my Savannah (2010). I have tried getting WD40 into the hinges but with no improvement. Door is seized closed, luckily.

Has anyone had this problem? We are in Spain at the moment so will probably have to wait until we are back in the UK for repairs.

Regards,
sennen523.


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## andrewball1000

Yes I have. It was the upper hinge on my garage. I tried everything for over a year to no avail. In the end I took the whole door with hiinges off and tried again on a bench with penetrating oil etc and a pair of pliers. Again no joy.

I then took the hing off the door and put it in a vice and had to drift out the hinge shaft. There was a residue of something in the hole which I (manually) cleared with a twist drill. Immediately it was right as rain. Wish I had done it earlier.

Good luck.


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## sennen523

Thanks for the advice Andrew.
sennen523


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## drcotts

Hi Sennen
Yes this happens especially when you use certain products to wash the van as they strip all the lubricant out of the hinge. It can also damage the van as it flexes the bodywork if you force it.

You can remive the door like andrew says or if its not too bad make a little pool of plastecine around the hinge stuck to the van anf fill it with penetrating oil and let it soak overnight.

when you finally get it free remember to keep it sprayed with WD every so often.

Phill


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## Jimbttaylor

*Garage Door Hinges*

Hi We have a 2011 Mohawk. 
The garage doors seized like yours. 
The hinges seized so tight that they flexed the walls so be careful. 
This is nothing to do with cleaning as ours was a new build less than a month old. 
The hinges need removing and the pins and hinge body sanding. 
Use a bonded lubricant like molycote after cleaning. 
The problem is steel into ally and the hinge body not having the paint cleaned out of the hinge pin holes. 
The dealer had to use brute force to knock the hinges off. 
Not nice to watch on a new van.

Hope it works out ok.

Jim


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## andrewball1000

*Re: Garage Door Hinges*



Jimbttaylor said:


> The dealer had to use brute force to knock the hinges off. Not nice to watch on a new van. Jim


Yes I needed a lot of force to get half hinge with the pin apart but I would not describe it a brute force. Put the half without the pin in a vise, the heavier the better to stop it springing, then use a steel rod/drift of slightly less diameter on the pin and clean firm taps/hits with decent weight hammer (claw or club).

Mine hung on till the end but when out there was no need to remove any metal from the pin or increase the hole size as it was then quite free. I just cleaned the pin, and the hole by twisting a drill bit of the sames size in my fingers to get the deposit off the sides. There was surprisingly little and the pin sipped back freely and has given no trouble since. It is amazing how binding such a little deposit can be.


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## UncleNorm

As far as I am aware - and I always stand to be corrected - WD40 should not be used to lubricate our motorhome hinges. There is an ingredient which a) removes any existing lubricant and b) actually swells the plastic element of the hinge, thereby making it tighter. 

I use either a silicon or teflon spray on our hinges. Many of us will have used silicon furniture polish on curtain rails to make the curtains run better. Some of us might have used teflon spray on bike chains, tread mills, even on belt sanders!! :roll: :wink: 

As I said... IASTBC! :roll: :wink:


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## sennen523

Hi All,
I have a 2010 Savannah. I would strongly advise anyone with an Auto-Trail which has garage doors such as the Mohawk, Savannah and Chieftain to have the hinges checked and lubricated (dismantle)in the first year of warranty.

One of my door hinges is almost seized and it look as though I will have to pay out for a complete new frame and hinges at a cost of about £400. My Savannah is two years old next month (May 2012).

Regards,
sennen523.


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## celticspirit

Hi we have an Autotrail Delaware 2011. Our garage door hinges became very stiff after a few months. It is easily remedied by removing the top hinge and lifting the door off the bottom pin. We cleaned the hinges and lubricated them with olive oil. Had no problem since.


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## beagle

I'd also suggest taking the hinges off and checking the pins and lubricating them while van is fairly new. 

My gas locker door stuck when the van was five years old and to make matters worse I couldn't get the hex bolts loose as they too were stuck.

Eventually I broke the driver bit off, so it was jammed in the bolt which I then had to drill out, together with a couple more stuck bolts. Very awkward, as I couldn't open the door very far for fear of creasing the bodywork. 

Having got everything done the door was so much more free than it had ever been, so all worked out in the end.


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## Ozzyjohn

UncleNorm said:


> As far as I am aware - and I always stand to be corrected - WD40 should not be used to lubricate our motorhome hinges. There is an ingredient which a) removes any existing lubricant and b) actually swells the plastic element of the hinge, thereby making it tighter.
> 
> I use either a silicon or teflon spray on our hinges. Many of us will have used silicon furniture polish on curtain rails to make the curtains run better. Some of us might have used teflon spray on bike chains, tread mills, even on belt sanders!! :roll: :wink:
> 
> As I said... IASTBC! :roll: :wink:


I agree - WD40 is primarily a Water Displacer. It isn't really a lubricant.

Regards,
John


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## sennen523

Hi celticspirit,

You certainly did the right thing by removing the hinges and lubricating as soon as they started to became stiff. One of my doors started to become very stiff while we where in Spain. I tried spraying the hinges with all types of oil etc but of course this doesn't get to the root cause.

At the moment the bottom hinge is friction seized onto the hinge pin and have used a lump hammer to try to knock it off with no success.
It looks as though I will have pay out for a new frame and hinges.

New owners beware, get the hinges lubicated by removing the doors!!

Thanks,
sennen523.


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## Dill

One part of the hinge on our van is riveted to the frame, and two small coach bolts with a square nut that runs in the alloy channel on the door side. This is a job I will be doing next week, so are you saying you had to drill out the rivets to remove the hinges or is yours a different fitting. 

Regards

Dill


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## sennen523

Hi Dill,
On mine, the main body of the hinge (longest bit) is riveted to the frame. As you say, you can remove the door by removing the small screws which screw into the square nuts that are in the door channel.
The hinges with pins, then pull out of the main body of the hinge.

My problem is that the bottom hinge is seized into the main body of the hinge.

Hope this makes sense?

sennen523.


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## DTPCHEMICALS

UncleNorm said:


> As far as I am aware - and I always stand to be corrected - WD40 should not be used to lubricate our motorhome hinges. There is an ingredient which a) removes any existing lubricant and b) actually swells the plastic element of the hinge, thereby making it tighter.
> 
> I use either a silicon or teflon spray on our hinges. Many of us will have used silicon furniture polish on curtain rails to make the curtains run better. Some of us might have used teflon spray on bike chains, tread mills, even on belt sanders!! :roll: :wink:
> 
> As I said... IASTBC! :roll: :wink:


You are correct Norm do not lubricate with WD40.
It is howwever alleged to free stiff joints.
Mum in law rubs her knees with it every day. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

I use a copper anti sieze. No problems.

Dave p


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## fastanlite

Thanks to the OP for bringing this to everyones attention, and to all the tips on how to stop/ cure the problem.
I did my hinges immediately on reading this post and thankfully managed to get all the hinges seperated and copper-slipped, so thats another problem solved.


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## Dill

sennen523 said:


> Hi Dill,
> On mine, the main body of the hinge (longest bit) is riveted to the frame. As you say, you can remove the door by removing the small screws which screw into the square nuts that are in the door channel.
> The hinges with pins, then pull out of the main body of the hinge.
> 
> My problem is that the bottom hinge is seized into the main body of the hinge.
> 
> Hope this makes sense?
> 
> sennen523.


So am I right in thinking that when the black plastic caps are removed from the top and bottom of the hinge pin, one can grab the pin with pliers etc.

Regards

Dill


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## sennen523

Hi Dill,
No you won't be able to do that. I'm not sure how your hinges are mounted. Does the Chieftain have 3 hinges?

Mine has 2 hinges ( side fitting, not top as with gas locker).

1. Pencil mark the bottom hinge and remove allen screws that attach to the door.

2. Vertically lift the door & top hinge out of the main frame mounted hinge.

3. Pull the bottom hinge & pin out of the frame mounted hinge.

4. Clean pins and housing and grease.

I STRONGLY RECOMMEND THAT ALL SIMILAR DOORS HINGES ARE LUBRICATED LIKE THIS, INCLUDING THE GAS LOCKER DOOR EVEN IF NEW. (some locker doors hinges are of a plastic material and not so critical for lubrication).


Please PM me if you need any more help.


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## sennen523

Hi DTPCHEMICALS,

Is the "Copper Anti-Seize" a form of grease and available, eg., Halfords etc.?

Regards,
Al.
sennen523.


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## Dill

sennen523 said:


> Hi Dill,
> No you won't be able to do that. I'm not sure how your hinges are mounted. Does the Chieftain have 3 hinges?
> 
> Mine has 2 hinges ( side fitting, not top as with gas locker).
> 
> 1. Pencil mark the bottom hinge and remove allen screws that attach to the door.
> 
> 2. Vertically lift the door & top hinge out of the main frame mounted hinge.
> 
> 3. Pull the bottom hinge & pin out of the frame mounted hinge.
> 
> 4. Clean pins and housing and grease.
> 
> I STRONGLY RECOMMEND THAT ALL SIMILAR DOORS HINGES ARE LUBRICATED LIKE THIS, INCLUDING THE GAS LOCKER DOOR EVEN IF NEW. (some locker doors hinges are of a plastic material and not so critical for lubrication).
> 
> Please PM me if you need any more help.


Hi yes the chieftain has three hinges, but by the look of them they are different than what you describe on yours. Just rang Brownhills and they say you have to drill out the rivets to remove the hinge from the frame, then unscrew hinges from the door frame. The in a vice knock out the hinge pins and lubricate. Looks like another busy week end.

Ref Copper grease, you can buy it from Halfords, it also comes in a small tube about the size of toothpast.

Regards

Dill


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## DTPCHEMICALS

sennen523 said:


> Hi DTPCHEMICALS,
> 
> Is the "Copper Anti-Seize" a form of grease and available, eg., Halfords etc.?
> 
> Regards,
> Al.
> sennen523.


Halfords or any engineering supplier, car accesory shop.
It is even available in aerosols.

Copper or alluminium anti seize high temperature lubricant.
You will only need a small tube to do all of your hinges.

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_203941_langId_-1_categoryId_165705

Dave p


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## Dill

Sorry guys for the late reply. Well what an easy job this turned out to be. The part of the hinge that is riveted to the van doesn't need to be removed, this is the part with the hinge pins fixed to it. Simply undo the screws on the door one at a time and pull the other part of the hinge up away from the pin. Its just the plastic insert that gets tight on the hinge pin that causes the problem. The inside diameter of the plastic insert is 5mm all I did was to run a 5mm drill down it and lubricate and hey presto. 

Sennen523 you say your problem is that the bottom hinge is seized into the main body of the hinge. If the hinges are the same as mine it shouldn't be a problem to get them apart. 



If you would like me to take some photo's let me know.

Regards

Dill


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## menis

Hi Dill, This problem has just started on my Mohawk -your offer of photos would be of great help (if I'm not too late in asking ?!)
Menis


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## Dill

Hi Menis we fly to Florida on Tues for three weeks, will not have the time before we go, but I will gladly send you some photo's when I return. 

Regards

Dill


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## sennen523

Hi menis,

If you need any advice with your Garage Doors you are very welcome to PM me. I know Dill is going to send you photos when he gets back.

My Savannah has the same hinges as the Mohawk but smaller sized doors.

Regards,
Al
sennen523.


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## menis

Hi Al,
Thanks for your reply.
Following all the advice on here and using Dill's diagram, I've sorted the hinges !
Hope you get yours sorted under warranty,
Menis


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## sennen523

Hi menis,

Glad you have sorted the hinges. The "seized" hinge was sorted by my dealer by removing the main body of the hinge from the frame. It was not done under warranty. (was in 2nd year warranty, new 2010).

I have since removed and greased the other door and also the gas locker door. As you know, easy to do as Dill as described.

Did your doors go very stiff and was the hinge pins "tight" in the holes but pulled out OK?

Thanks,
Al


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## Dill

Hi Sennen 523 and Menis. 

Glad you got the doors sorted. I guess no need for images, photo's now. Sennen I cannot understand why your doors where very stiff and the hinge pins "tight" in the holes but pulled out OK? 

Regards

Dill


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## menis

Three of the pins came out fairly easily, but the fourth needed a little more force (I.e. hitting with a nylon mallet) and some 'working' back and forth. All are now free and easy ! 
Thanks for all the info and help,
Menis


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## sennen523

Hi Dill,

I was interested how bad the hinges had got on Menis's doors.

On mine, the bottom hinge had completely seized and no amount of force would free it. (even a BIG lump hammer). Any more force would have damaged the frame and bodywork of the van.

The other hinges came out quite easily with a bit of working back and forth.

I will be greasing them all a couple of times a year from now on. 

Thanks Dill and Menis for your comments in this thread.

Al.
sennen523.


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## cosage31

Try this Tips:

Remove the nuts from the bolts holding the hinge to the door. then
Remove the retaining clip holding the roller and shaft to the hinge. then Insert the old roller and shaft into the new hinge. After that
replace the retaining clip.

Try the door to make sure it operates smoothly and that the new hinge doesn't bind.


Try it if will work... 

 


Garage Door Repair Oakton


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