Squeaky Car Door

NailbunnyPD

Its a 99 Honda Civic coupe, and the driver's side door is squeaking when opening or closing. It stops when the door is half open, where there is little tension and the door seems to sit in place. Opening further or closing again will start the squeaking. Its a really atrocious CREAK, like a large dying animal.

How can I fix this squeaky car door on my own? I have access to a Pep Boys and various hardware stores. I can see a bar attached to the door frame, and it enters the car door. I assume this needs to be lubed, but I am not sure how or what kind of product to use. Do I need to force lube into the space, or can I just grease that bar and hope for the best?

L Ron Howard

Grab some WD-40 and spray the crap outta your hinges and every moving part on your door.

Wouldn't hurt to do the locking mechanisms for your car either, so that it opens and locks better.
Or or your other door(s) and hatches and etc. while you're at it.

bowen

Also keep in mind WD-40 will only fix it temporarily.

L Ron Howard

Never had a problem after I've WD-40'd my doors.

schuss

You should probably set it on fire and blame whatever ethnic group is nonexistent in your area.

bowen

L Ron Howard wrote: »

Never had a problem after I've WD-40'd my doors.

Was probably the way I did mine.

Djeet

WD40 is a solvent, u want a grease (think petroleum jelly, not acetone). Guys at autozone ought to be able to steer u right. Medium to lightweight, good for painted surfaces.

NailbunnyPD

Thanks Djeet. Any tips on where I should apply the grease? I don't think its the hinges based on when I hear the noise. Is it safe to apply to that bar and get some inside where it enters the door?

badpoet

Spray white lithium grease is what you want. Spray the hinges, and then make sure you spray the little strap that prevents the door from opening too far (provided your car has one).

Djeet

I think that bar you're speaking of is probably the source of the squeak, and it should be greased. Like badpet says, I believe it's there to prevent the door from opening too far. Use a light coat, though a bit too much probably won't hurt with use it'll likely accumulate more gunk and could drip and get a bit messy.

EggyToast

WD40 does wear off over time, as mentioned above. If the squeak is due to dirt or grit or something, the WD40 should fix the problem and help work out whatever is in there. If the squeak is metal-on-metal, you need a lubricant, like lithium grease. You can even use bike chain grease if you have it around.

It's really common for doors to get squeaky, and after I sprayed white lithium grease on the hinge in my '98 corolla, I noticed that a lot of my friends' and family's cars had similar-looking hinges. It's pretty common.

Donovan Puppyfucker

That little bar is actually called a check-strap. And yes, it's there to stop the door opening too far. Also it may have undulations in it that hold the door open at certain angles, thanks to the fact that they act as soft-stops when they pass through the spring-loaded rollers that the check-strap runs through in the door.

I strongly doubt that this is causing the squeak.

Your hinges are gritty. Whether this is from corrosion or the ingress of dirt, doesn't matter. Ideally, you'd replace the hinges, because once it's started, it'll come back again and again.

Now, seeing as you can't get any clean grease into the hinges without taking the hinge pins out (which can be very difficult, and would cause the door to fall off the car), you're going to have to try to clean the grit out in situ.

So, WD40 the living hell out of those hinges whilst swinging the door open and closed, wipe 'em clean after, and if you want, spray 'em again with something a little further along the lubricant side of the cleaner/lubricant scale like Penetrene, Rocol or Mouses Milk. These will need to be reapplied every couple of weeks, or more regularly in dusty/wet conditions.