Hey guys just wanted to pass some info.

over the past 2 weeks i have seen a large number of MINI's coming in to the shop with the boot hinges broken in half or rusted at the pivot point, which then makes the boot open/close by bending the top.

As a precaution i have been lubricating the hinges on all the cars i have worked on. So if you have some time and a spraycan of lube, go outside and lube the hinges on the boot, believe me you will be glad when the boot works properlly, as opposed to fall off the car as it happened to a customer

 

Thanks for the info, will do it this weekend.

 

What do you recommend using on the hinges?

 

any kind of lube that won't damage the paint finish.

WD40
3M sillicone lube

as long as you are lubricating the hinges use whatever

 

Joey, I noticed no fittings on the regular door hinges. Any advice here. I was even thinking of drilling, tapping and installing a zerk. Would be very easy to do and a few shavings certainly would hurt anything on a door hinge. Maybe install zerks on the hatch hinges also./????

YD

 

i will check this out.

WD40... how about some lithium grease?

 

Now where did I put that can of bear grease...

 

I use White Lithium grease. Just wipe off the excess. Something else that works pretty decent, but you have to apply more often is graphite. Stuff works wonders and doesn't collect dirt.

 

Thanks for the tip Joey. It's great to have a MINI tech giving us real world info about our cars. Mine will be lubed tomorrow.

 

Thanks for the tip, I'll do an inspection next time I head out.

 

Ehhhh.........who needs hatch hinges.

 

cool see you then!

 

LPS 1 has always been my favorite greaseless lube or any version of Dry Film lube. You don't want to use anything that will attracted dirt and hold it, and we all know how the rear hatch attracts dirt.

 

Wouldn't it be great to have a regular (sticky?) thread that came from a Mini Tech and would alert us about issues they are seeing.

This is an invaluable service to all of us.

Thanks,
Paul

 

Semi-related boot note... Several times now the boot latch on my '02 MCS has froze in the unlocked/open position after the boot has been opened. Then when closing the boot does not latch - just bounces. To wake it up (I have not lubed it yet), I've had to thump the latch with my fist and that usually unsticks it. This thread reminds me to lube that as well as the hinges. I had already done the door hinges to correct the groan when closing.

 

Interesting to read this. I noticed on my 03 that the right side of the hatch was sticking out about 1/4" beyond the body. The Mini Service Tech told me the hinges had siezed a bit and bent. I quit using the hatch and watched the gap grow to about 1" without ever opening the hatch. Anyone ever seen this, or any ideas on what happened?

 

You don't want to use WD40 as a lubricant except in a 'lubrication emergency.' WD40 actually breaks up oil and grease and removes it (but not completely) from wherever it was before you sprayed the WD40 on it.

Zip

 

The proper lubricant to use is Würth HHS 2000. Goes on thin and slick as a penetrant, transfer properties evaporate and what is left over is a long lasting lubricant that is resistant. One important reason to use this is that you can get into the very tight hinge area with the thin spray wand. Yes, it might be tacky but if you keep this problem area clean it should be good to go. Used by professionals.

 

that's true but the hinges rust, so break the rust first with wd40 and then spary whatever kind of grease/antiseize you want to use.

 

WD40 will not stop rust from occurring, nor remove it from a metal surface. That all has to be done the hard way. WD40 is good for freeing up rusty parts that are frozen together, (like nuts and bolts, and locked together hinges, I guess) although stuff like PB Blaster works better. If my hinges were so bad that they didn't work, I'd replace 'em.

Zip

 

I thought I read somewhere that there was a TSB or a recall related to the boot hinges - that the original design somehow trapped water and the replacements were designed differently...

 

I just picked up new hinges from the dealer;
all indications show that they should be very easy to install

 

Just an FYI .............WD40 was developed by a firm for the U.S. MIlitary. The mission was to produce something that would repel water. Its main ingredient is FISH oil. The reason its called WD=Water Displacement.
The 40= it was the 40th iteration that produced a successful mixture which met the U.S. military requirements

 

You're pretty close... although the "main" ingredient is not fish oil...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wd40

Its Stoddard Solvent...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoddard_solvent

 

Although it is unknown whether the formula contains fish oil, material safety data sheets for the product show that the main ingredient is Stoddard solvent, not fish oil.[2] WD-40 is, however, used by some sea fishermen as an added scent when fishing with bait.