Tailgate hard to move...suggestions?

I've seen guys just drip a drop or two of transmission fluid on hinges to help 'em break free. Unless it's necessary, i.e. hinge frozen up, I just stand there and work the hinge back and forth through its full range of travel until it loosens up. I know this sounds a little oversimplified and might contradict the benefits of some kind of lubrication but here's my logic. If you lube it, dust and grime that's in there just turns to gunk and attracts more stuff to stick to it. Also, we lubed a roller once on our aircraft and, at colder altitudes, it was worse than before. You might have another option though. I don't know if you can disassemble the offending surfaces. But, if you can, you might consider drilling and tapping the outer portion and installing a grease fitting. If it's bad enough that you wanted to go this route, you'd be able to grease that darned thing like a suspension component. Just make sure you "measure twice" because you don't want to ruin something or undermine structural integrity because of an ill-thought fix. Hope this helps.

-- o_o_o_o Best Regards, /| ,[_____], Jim, WP3JQ |¯¯¯L --O|||||||O- ()_)¯()_) ¯¯¯¯¯ )_) EM60qk 30.447439N 086.628959W

Problem is that this can accelerate wear. As opposed to simply adding a bit of dry lube if the wet stuff bothers one.

A good one would perhaps be keeping your jeep on the ground....this has been rumored to avoid the high altitude stiffening problem rather effectively. Using an appropriate temperature insensitive lube would be another option.

Wood did pass the time by typing:

First off, WD-40 isn't a lubricant it's a Water Displacer, hence WD.

As for lube, get yourself some PB-Blaster and let that soak in. If the vehicle ever got hit the hinges may be out of whack there should be a way to re-align the hinges by loosening the bolts then opening/closing.

DougW did pass the time by typing:

I should add something. Once you get it free and working, clean it off, dry it off, and put graphite powder lube on it. That won't attract and trap dust.

On 11 Jan 2004 09:35 AM, DougW posted the following:

My favorite lube for something like this is Boeshield T-9. It is a liquid spray lube that penetrates but does not have the stickiness problem associated with other lubes. It was developed by Boeing and is available from aircraft supply outlets, and I have seen it in marine stores too.

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Wood wrote:

Breakfree CLP has been used by the military for years in -60 to 100 degrees, on every thing from weapons to lubricating hinges. It repels dirt, water, salt, and never gets sticky but what do I know.

That's what I heard about the Break-Free stuff. I went to the Ace hardware store looking for it because it's website said it was there. Wasn't there so I picked up this Ace Lub-E Super Penetration Lubricant. I sprayed the crap out of the hinges and have been working the gate back and forth. After a few applications and about 5 hours, it is getting easier. I'll try it some more later tonight after the game.

Haha! Okay, I guess I deserved that one since the odds of getting a Jeep up to 25,000 feet are roughly equal to the probability of drivin' the damn thing to the summit of Mt. Everest:) The aircraft was just for illustration of purpose... o_o_o_o Best Regards, /| ,[_____], Jim, WP3JQ |¯¯¯L --O|||||||O- ()_)¯()_) ¯¯¯¯¯ )_) EM60qk 30.447439N 086.628959W

If you cannot get at ACE go to your local gun shop but, what do I know?