Interior and Upholstery Lubing/greasing the passenger door mechanism to reduce friction?

mikeah · Dec 13, 2022

Hopefully a straightforward one. I swapped the door lock actuator and I have lock/unlock (mostly) functionality on the passenger side now (prior, there was no movement -- motor was dead and the actuator I pulled out was beyond shot), but the lock mechanism itself (at the joint) feels fairly stiff even without the actuator connected. It moves with a fair bit of force either at the key or moving the door lock up/down.

I'm hoping a little bit of lube or grease will get this sorted out, but I'm curious if there's a general go to for the lock mechanism (picture of the area I believe is experiencing friction)?

nickyb · Dec 13, 2022

I had that problem,so I removed the door latch and soaked it in carb cleaner( berryman gallon can) then lubed it up.
A lot better now.

90sickfox · Dec 13, 2022

Good parts cleaner will help get the gunk out. Soaking down with WD40 has shown good results. I use white lithium grease in a spray can for metal latches like ours. Shake the can well.

General karthief · Dec 13, 2022

Spray the latch mechanism with WD40 on the inside of the door (since you can get to it now) to wash out the grit then spray lube on it, white lithium is excellent for this, also spray the latch on the wheel with the teeth on the out side of the door. Insert the little red tube on the WD40 nozzle and spray the door lock from the outside and insert the key and turn it several times and spray it again.

CAMTWO1070 · Dec 13, 2022

After reading the problem over it seems from what you describe is a door latch refurb because the actuator is stretched out......Id drill the rivet and remove and replace the actuator and the door latch....

The elements mixed with water causes alot of issues for vehicles that dont get driven often..

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWoB7Uhxd9c

mikeah · Dec 14, 2022

Thanks all for the tips, the actuator is brand new (from LMR) and I slapped a rivet on it and all with a ton of tightness still (even when the actuator isn't linked in). I think I'll try the recommendations from a few on cleaning the mechanism and lubing it up.

Any recommendations for white lithium grease (is the WD-40 version good or should I stay clear)?

There's certainly no lack of points for water to get inside of the door and since we live in Florida I'm sure the Florida rain beat it up on days when we didn't have it in the garage (it lives in the garage now ).

EDIT: I had been looking for the mechanism, but I actually finally found it if lubing and greasing it up doesn't work I think: https://lmr.com/item/LRS-21813A/79-93-Mustang-Lh-Door-Latch-Assembly

General karthief · Dec 14, 2022

Water should not be an issue inside the door as long as the dew wipes are in good condition, any white lithium spray is fine

mikeah · Dec 14, 2022

General karthief said:
Water should not be an issue inside the door as long as the dew wipes are in good condition, any white lithium spray is fine

They're a bit stiff from the sun damage over the years, so I might aim to replace those soon (fairly cheap for a set it seems). I think it's a single screw and then they slide right on if I'm not mistaken.

Thanks for the tip on the grease. I'll report back tonight to wrap this thread up.

Interior and Upholstery Lubing/greasing the passenger door mechanism to reduce friction?

mikeah

Member

Attachments

nickyb

I gotta say i never painted my nuts, Never Ever

90sickfox

Wasn't a pretty sight...and I've got big hands

General karthief

wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair

CAMTWO1070

Active Member

mikeah

Member

General karthief

wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair

mikeah

Member

Similar threads

Interior and Upholstery Lubing/greasing the passenger door mechanism to reduce friction?

Member

Attachments

I gotta say i never painted my nuts, Never Ever

Wasn't a pretty sight...and I've got big hands

wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair

Active Member

Member

wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair

Member

Similar threads

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency