I'm getting ready to put some compartment hinges on my 06. Any suggestion on how to lube the rubber hinge so they slide on easiers?
JL Lewis
Yep go to Napa and buy the tire soap it won't dry out and will not harm the rubber.
good luck
JL -
Before lubing, make sure you clean the tracks thoroughly. Several folk have had really good luck with a .22 rifle barrel cleaning brush.
Main thing is not to use any petroleum-based lubricants, as they accelerate the rubber's deterioration.
Dawn dishwashing liquid (supplemented w/ a spray bottle of water), the lubricant electrician's use to pull wire thru conduit, and even KY Jelly have all been used, too.
Make sure you have a helper to assist holding the bin doors as you slide them on (put hinge on chassis first).
Don't forget to replace the screws!!
FWIW & HTH. . .
;)
PS: If you don't want to do this again, you can order stainless steel hinge kits from a fellow GMC owner who's developed them: edannbus@aol.com is the contact info for Ed.
K Y Jelly...Cable
I'd go with the stainless steel replacements
After replacing those rubber hinges every couple years, we just bought the stainless hinges. Unless the door is really straight, like any of these old doors are, the rubber is a real pain to feed down that track. The door that was the hardest to do will be the first to rip the new hinge rubber apart. We have two doors that have been done twice in six years. If you are going to do the rubber, the KY jelly or hair gel seems to work best.
Don and Cary
GMC107
Neoplan AN340
I would go with anything that does not harm the rubber. Some products may dry out the rubber, stick with the tire lube. A rubber hinge should last quite a number of years with normal use. I have some on our Eagle that I know are over 6 years old and look pretty good. I have only had to replace the rubber on one door, and it was not difficult, even did it by myself. No rust to contend with either! ;D
Paul
The real key is to stretch the rubber as tight as you can and put the retaining screws back in to hold the stretch. This will take out the slack that would otherwise bunch up as you slide the door on the hinge.
dg
Thanks all of you for the advice on the rubber hinge lube. I never thought of the tire soap. I just happen to have about a gallon of it. I've replaced these before but never found an easy way.
Thanks
JLL
I just redid 3 of my 4903 doors. Cleaned channel with 25 cal brush. Amazing how much gunk came out. Then lubed the channel with Astro-glyde. ( Dallas' Idea), Lubed the hinge and pulled into place. About 30 minutes to install, about and hour to remove and clean old . Astro-glyde is pure silicone and water soluable. Works better than any other thing I have tried.
Big john
It matters if you get the right kind of rubber.
I got some hinge material with my bus and when I used it to replace some hinges it only lasted a few months.
I bought new material from IBP and haven't had to replace any of them in almost four years.
As has been posted, it makes life much easier if you use those tiny screws to hold the hinges in the body before trying to slide on the doors. Use them in the doors also to keep the doors from moving and hitting adjacent doors.
A problem I have seen is if you use 1 gas shock per door, this will shorten the life of the rubber hinge. The shock pushes up on one end of the door, putting pressure on that end of the hinge. This will cause the hinge to start tearing on that end. Jack