OK chaps, I'm after suggestions: Both my bonnet and tailgate (estate) squeak when opening. The noise comes form the 'pivot' points and despite oiling with (initially) WD40, then 3 in 1, then white grease, then silicon and finally a teflon lubricant, the noise is still there.

 

What next can I try? Surely I won't have to strip the pivot points down to fix this?

I get this on closing the boot sometimes and spraying oil/grease into the pivots hasn't made any difference. The instructions for popping the ends of the gas struts off their ball joints to get grease into them are here (There are plenty of similar videos, but this is the only one I looked at): 

The only worry is that like a lot of car parts, they're designed to be assembled once, not disassembled and reassembled multiple times, so between that and it being a minor, intermittent issue in my car and my limited free time to go at the car, I haven't tried it. 

 

Also, don't use lithium based grease as it'll probably damage the plastic parts. A silicone based grease is less likely to harm them, but I can't even find definite information on this. 

Edited 12 March, 201511 yr by psycholist

Motor bike chain grease any good?

If it's wax based it should work (This is the sort of spray grease the garages spray into door hinges during service to keep everything moving nicely. It's very obvious because of the white waxy residue it leaves), but if it's oil based I wouldn't trust it on plastics and rubbers. 

My motor bike chain has rubber O rings in the links.

There are lots of different grades of rubber out there - the ones in motorbike chain are designed to resist oil. No guarantee the boot struts will unfortunately.

There are lots of different grades of rubber out there - the ones in motorbike chain are designed to resist oil. No guarantee the boot struts will unfortunately.

 

 

Fair point.

OK thanks guys - sorry for the elay. I'll have a look this weekend assuming the weather is kind and report back!

OK, what a pain! The ball / socket interface was the main culprit, but wary of the warning above, I didn't want to dis-assemble. So here's my fix:

 

I made a little reservoir around the ball / socket connector and hinge point out of bluetac and gaffer tape (I knew my Blue Peter training would come in useful!), such that it would hold oil for a while, then filled it with a 'light' oil - actually some WD40 sprayed into the lid of the aerosol can, then poured into the reservoir. Leave for 30 minutes! Hopefully it doesn't leak. Remove carefully - there's still oil in the reservoir - and wipe clean. Then spray a little white grease to seal in the lubricant. Repeat for all affected parts. Very tricky around the bonnet hinge points!!!

 

Anyway, so far so good.