Creaking / Cracking noise on opening the door

[2into1]

My van has developed a painful cracking noise as I open the driver's door. I wondered if you could help?

There are few discussions on the T4 (5) forum and I've tried the fixes there. (Taking off the roller cap to grease / tightening the 13mm nut on the hinge) but it has persisted. It has clearly occurred in the past as the hinge area is coated in PTFE grease.

I've worked out noise is coming from the roller that glides around the serrated plate on the hinge. The roller is moving but is quite tight and has no vertical play. The one on the passenger side is less tight and has a little vertical play.

On the troublesome driver's side, the roller has a vertical line shown below.

Either the passenger doors roller doesn't have such a ridge, or if it does, it is hidden out of sight (180 degrees).

So it would be a big help if someone could look to see if their rollers show such as vertical ridge. I'm trying to establish if mine has worn the ridge, or if it has just turned itself around.

I can temporarily get rid of the noise, or change the point at which it makes it's horrible noise, by rotating the roller with a pair of mole grips, but it seems to return after a few days, with the vertical ridge again on show.

 

[SimonB]

I've just checked mine and the whole of the roller moves as I open and shut the door. The only ridges I can see are the curved ones on the bar it rolls against which hold the door at set degrees of "openess".
It might be that the roller is a bit stiff and not rotating smoothly. Are you able to take the tension off the roller by opening the door fully and levering it away from the guide with a piece of wood or similar, that won't mark the paint, and get the roller spinning freely with lithium grease?

 

[Rich20]

Looking at the roller it looks like wear has taken place which has caused that ridge. I would imagine that will make the door hinge creak and not "notchy". A few months ago I had a grinding noise on opening the passenger door and found that the roller was not rotating and by taking off the plastic cap, freeing it up with WD40 followed by white grease, it all moved freely. The amount of crud that came out when the WD was pumped in was amazing. It was not done at the recent service either, only grease sprayed sound the hinge area.

 

[ArunAlec]

I had a similar creaking. It was due to the roller not rolling. I managed to get it moving with a bit of WD and grips. I haven't had a chance to check for the ridge but I wouldn't have thought it would be the cause of the problem.

 

[soulstyledevon]

Mines started doing the same.
I have a list of California jobs to look at over Christmas, this being one of them.
Please tell me if you find a solution

 

[sidepod]

I literally couldn’t sleep knowing my door shuts were like that.
Clean it. Strip it. Polish it.

2into1, you’ve let yourself down.

 

[WelshGas]

The ridge has been caused by the roller seizing up and then being worn down over time.
You will not be able to repair it. If you want a permanent solution then replacement is the only option. New or 2nd hand.

 

[Hotel California]

It does all look "dry & worn out"
Seems never been greased in 7y ?

 

[2into1]

The ridge has been caused by the roller seizing up and then being worn down over time.
You will not be able to repair it. If you want a permanent solution then replacement is the only option. New or 2nd hand.

@WelshGas : thanks. You don't have one of your 'exploded' fancy parts diagrams do you, that would allow me to see which parts are available (or if I need a new body shell ?

 

[2into1]

It does all look "dry & worn out"
Seems never been greased in 7y ?

I've only had it half a year and it has a full vw history, but I guess not!

 

[2into1]

2into1, you’ve let yourself down.

I'm taking a moment to think of an appropriate response to this! I do know it wouldn't have happened on a T4!

 

[Hotel California]

I've only had it half a year and it has a full vw history, but I guess not!

Not blaming you at all , but it only proofs again cardealers don't always follow the rules .

 

[Seaview]

We've had a similar issue on our drivers door this week (noise, stiffness but can't say we had a groove). Initially we sprayed it with a lubricant just like you have but this made no difference and a terrible noise continued to come from the hinge when the door was opened or closed. So, just in case some serious damage might occur I jumped in the van and took it to our local VW van centre. It's a common issue apparently and easily rectified. As ArunAlec has mentioned it is fixed with wd40 or similar and a pair of grips to free up the seized roller. If you can pop along to a garage it is a 2 minute job for them. Alternatively it's very easily done at home if you know what to do. You may not need a new part but the garage will confirm, we didn't in our case.

And for those who might suggest we didn't lubricate our hinges, the garage did in the summer I saw them do it when it was in having some work done.

 

[soulstyledevon]

Would it be best to use a silicon based spray to lubricate...?

 

[cpjb@btinternet.com]

2into1 - My bolt sheared off. See link below - it contains WGs exploding diagram.

Think it cost about £250 to replace at VW, but they did colour code something during the process!!

https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/problem-with-front-drivers-door-closing-itself.15822/

 

[flying banana]

you shouldn't grease rollers. grease attracts dust and dirt which clogs them up causing them to slide rather than roll. clean it and oil I would say. Definitely wd40

 

[bangorlad]

Great forum this..! I've been noticing a slight creaking noise while opening the driver door very recently and planned to check it out. Armed with the info on this thread I've just been out and found the roller wasn't rotating in the opening direction in just one of the positions but was ok while closing. So not serious and everything nice and clean, no odd grooving either. A little WD40 has got the roller moving nicely now and the door feels super smooth - a squirt in time....

 

[BikerGran]

I was told that while WD40 is very good for freeing off stuck parts it's not really a lubricant and the parts should be oiled after freeing. I'm just sharing that, I have no knowledge of whether it's correct but have always followed that advice with motorcycles.

 

[parrot2]

id agree with biker gran wd 40 is a penetrating oil not a lubricant let it dry then add a thin oil to the roller

 

[jts46]

I was told that while WD40 is very good for freeing off stuck parts it's not really a lubricant and the parts should be oiled after freeing. I'm just sharing that, I have no knowledge of whether it's correct but have always followed that advice with motorcycles.

That is very true, i use either silicon spray or PTFE spray