How to lubricate stiff door hinges

[scoot]

When we bought our 250SL I think that my husband removed the hinges and baked them in the oven and then shot new grease into the grease fittings because it just wouldn't work otherwise.   Fast forward 15 years, now I have a 1965 300SE lang and the right front door is stiff as can be when opening and closing and I can't get the grease gun to clean out the junk inside.  I'm looking for suggestions as to the best way to fix these hinges.  If possible, without removing them from the car.

Thoughts?

thanks
Scott

[wjsvb ✝︎]

Scott:  I don't know if this will work with your 300SE, but when we would get cars with stiff doors (wrecking yard 1970's) we would soak the hinges with penetrating oil and work the door back and forth as rapidly as we could.  Didn't always work but most times it did.  Jon

[ja17]

Scoot, do you have the correct grease gun with the pointed end?

[WRe]

...WRe

[66andBlue]

If you don't have the gun in WRe's post you can buy a similar one at Lowe's for about $6:

[mbzse]

Here is another one, German made

[scoot]

I have a pump-style grease gun that accepts different tips.  I have a tip that works correctly in most of the door hinges.  It takes a lot of pressure to pump out the old grease in the hinges, but when it's worked, it has worked well.  So I don't have a grease gun that looks like those but I think I do have the correct tip on my larger grease gun.

[TJMart]

Scott,

My 280sl hinges had never been greased. I purchased the correct tip (as shown in this post) for my grease gun and proceeded. My research on the this site came up with an idea to use a hair dryer on the hinges to heat and loosen up the old grease but that didn't work very well. I just pumped in the grease and on all four hinges the new grease pushed out the old grease on the top of the hinges only. The bottom of the hinges were still plugged and the new grease follows the path of least resistance out the top of the hinges when I put more grease in. Never did get it to come out the bottoms. I figured maybe after some time opening and closing the doors the new grease will eventually loosen up the old grease. Let me know if you figure out how to dissolve or loosen up the old grease.

[mbzse]

The heating with a heat gun is a useful try, for softening of the old hardened grease.

Are your hinges worn? Open door to first detent stop, lift at the rear corner. No play whatsoever should be felt.

To refurbish door hinges, they must be taken apart. See picture. Pin is hammered out.
Clean out spiral groove, replace the brass bushings. As replacement for the OEM bushings with a flange,, a cut piece of brass tube and brass washers may be used.