G2: DIY: Miscellaneous: Door Detent Rod Lubrication

The detent rod is the part of the door that holds it in its half-open and fully-open positions, and also prevents the door from opening too far. When the doors begin to creak or pop when opening and closing them, and greasing the hinges does not help, the next step is lubricating the detent rod.

1. Door Panel Removal

To access the detent rod, the door panels must be removed. Refer to G2: DIY: Miscellaneous: Door Panel Removal

2. Detent Rod Removal

The detent rod is held on by three bolts and a hinge pin.

A.

To remove the plastic cover over the hinge, pry out the two plastic clips with a small screwdriver and pliers. Pull the cover off of the hinge. You will need to stretch it out a bit to slide it over the rod arm.

B.

The hinge pin is held in place by a circular clip (sometimes called an "E-ring") on the bottom of the hinge (Note: The clip is not shown in these pictures, it has already been removed). Pry the clip off with a small screwdriver, be careful not to lose it. Tap the hinge pin with a hammer from below until it pops out the top, and pull it out with pliers. To make removing the detent rod form the door easier, put the hinge pin back in place gently, don't hammer it in. Close the door to the half way point to retract the detent rod into the door. Remove the hinge pin again. Do not swing the door open while this detent rod is removed or unhooked. Part of its job is to prevent the door from opening too far and damaging a hinge or body panel.

C.

Make sure the window is raised fully, and unbolt the front window channel, it is held in by two 10mm (M6x1.0) bolts. This channel does not need to be removed or pushed aside, but unbolting it will give you just enough room to slide the detent rod out.

D.

Remove the three 10mm (M6x1.0) bolts holding the detent rod to the door. Two of the bolts are on the inside of the door, the third is above the speaker.

E.

Remove the detent rod from the door. It may take some time twisting and turning it to get it out.

3. Lubrication

A.

Remove the triangular plastic shield. It should slide on and off easily.

B.

If your sliders are very dirty or covered in old grease and dirt, you may want to clean them first. Use a high-strength degreaser and toothbrush.

Liquid lubricants will not work, you will need to use grease. Some people have used White Lithium grease from a spray can, that may work for a short while but it quickly dries out and is more easily washed away by water. Thicker grease, like from a grease gun (shown below), is preferred. It is much thicker than White Lithium and will not wash away when the hinges get wet in the rain. The grease gun itself is not required.

These pictures show where to apply your grease. Apply a thick coat of the grease to both sides of the slider. You can push it in and out to reach other areas if needed. It is relatively easy to extend the rod by squeezing it together at both ends, as shown by the arrows in the picture below. The springs are very strong though, and is not quite as easy to retract. If you are unable to retract it by hand, you may place one end on the ground and tap on the other end with a hammer. A c-clamp or vise may also help.

C.

This picture shows a detent rod with a broken slider. It needs to be replaced, no amount of grease will prevent this one from poping when opening and closing the door. If yours is broken like this one, or just cracked, replace it.

4. Detent Rod Reinstallation

Refer to the pictures above if needed.

A.

Extend the rod to the half-way position, this will make it easier to reach the hinge once it's installed in the door. Replace the triangular plastic cover by sliding it back in place.

B.

Place the assembly back in the door through the opening. This will again take some twisting and turning to get it back in place and lined up.

c.

Replace the three 10mm bolts securing the detent rod. Two in the hinge and one above the speaker. There is no torque specification for these bolts, just be careful to not over tighten them.

D.

Close the door about half way and line up the detent rod into the hinge. Apply some grease to the hinge pin, slide it back in place, and open the door the rest of the way to extend the rod. Tap the hinge pin with a hammer until it sits flush with the hinge. Slide the E-ring back onto the bottom of the hinge pin. You may need to use needle-nose pliers to get it to snap back in place. You may now open and close the door a few times to ensure that they have quieted down. If they still creak or pop, you can try adding more grease, or replace them with new parts.

E.

Slide the plastic cover back over the hinge and press the two clips back in place.

F.

Replace the two 10mm bolts in the front window channel. Torque them to 6.5lb-ft (0.9kg-m or 9N-m).

5. Door Panel Reinstallation

Refer to G2: DIY: Miscellaneous: Door Panel Removal

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