W123: Front doors groan and creak
 

For some time now, the front doors on my W123 wagon groan and creak whenever I open and close them. I've tried applying grease at the usual spots, to no lasting avail.
The back doors are fine, not as much wear and tear on those.

I hope it's not indicative of some serious wear inside that may cost $$ to repair, but just wondering if you'd have any suggestions on what I could look at before going deeper into this. There is no discernible vertical play in the doors when I try to yank them up when it's open.

The vehicle is essentially a 2 owner car, well maintained but well used as a family car by the first owner. Lot of door opening and closing cycles on this one...
Thanks

Do a "search" on this forum for "Door check strap".

Yeah, probably that door check. The original ones were pretty good water traps. The new ones have a plastic shield that protects them, so definitely look for those rather than the old style.

-Rog

The 123's have an inverted dimple in the hinge, look closely you will see it. Get a grease gun needle nose adapter, put it in the grease gun, hold it tightly against the inverted dimple and force grease into that inverted dimple. It makes a big difference!

Good luck and keep us posted!!!

https://www.amazon.com/Astro-101-Grease-Needle-Nozzle/dp/B000FMK7FG/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1540861783&sr=8-16&keywords=needle+grease+gun+tip

I purchased this tool on Amazon several years back. It was inexpensive and worked really well in the inverted dimple which Sugar Bear is referring to. In case the link does not work, go to Amazon and search for Astro 101 Mini Grease Gun with Needle Nozzle. The price is $11.35.

Mine groaned on my SD. I replaced with Meyle. Big mistake. The new ones groan and creak and pop. Total junk. Grease doesn’t help.

They do hold the doors open though. I live with it.

Hey, Harbor Freight has that grease gun. Used one to grease the rod end bearings on my motorcycles steering damper. I will pick one up and hit the dimples on the hinges.

I have the Meyle on all 4 doors in mine. They started creaking and popping after a year or two of use. I pulled them out, pushed the guts out, cleaned off the "grease" they used and lubricated with Sil-Glyde (silicone grease) and they're smooth and silent now. Flawless on all 4 doors.

Use Silicone grease. It won't harden or gum up when exposed to water and it doesn't attract dust and dirt like mineral grease does.

Ok, next time I’m in there I’ll try silicone grease. I cleaned mine and lubed them with moly grease.

Correction on the grease gun...I don’t see it at Harbor Freight. My memory is either failing or they stopped selling it.

Thanks for all the help and advice folks!!
I'll investigate and hope the groans and creaks will soon disappear...

May have to inject some penetrating oil into the door hinges before they will take grease. Rust can buildup in there to the point they will not accept grease.


Possibly the longest lasting door hinges on any car I can think of. Most have not seen grease for decades. Actually they can become really draggy. It can take some time and effort for them to loosen back up.

While at it, inspect the attachment for the doorstop on the front door pillars. The spot welds on those loosen up and the metal can break if not attended to. I did a hybrid repair on mine - 2 large S/S pop rivets and two machine screws. Documented here somewhere.

I will order a pair of replacement door check straps from mercedes-source, unless someone has a better source for these parts? I like to support Kent in a way, his videos have helped me over the years. And I'll order a replacement lower oil pan and gasket at the same time (tired of the leaks on mine). Cheers.

Door Hinge / Check Service Notes
 

Thanx for the tip on silicone grease ~ I'll give it a go .

I've been using long fiber white lithium grease to very good effect, once you clean the crap grease and accumulated dirt out old door checks seem to work fine .

Also, retaining on installing the gone missing plastic vapor barriers inside the doors helps reduce the amunt of dust that accumulates .

Last time I checked, the M-B Classic Center still sold the best door checks, not too $pendy .

I found their site but couldn't find the door checks on there. Maybe they don't sell them anymore? I did find the site somewhat confusing to navigate.

Ok just ordered a pair from ********AZ, as well as some other things I needed. All is well.