Cubby Box Hinge Seizures

One of the other little gems that the builder left us with, were outside storage box hinges that can't be lubricated. That's right, they installed weld-on aluminum hinges without any lubrication points.

After only six months of use, the hinges started squeaking when the doors were opened and closed. Some hinges were worse than others, but all eight hinges were starting to seize up. Several of the doors were getting so stiff that they wouldn't swing easily. We actually had to push to get them to move, so much so that we were getting worried that they would bind, and the door edge where the hinge was welded on would bend under the strain.

Sure we tried spraying the joint where the two hinge halves came together, hoping that capillary action would draw in the lubricant. But it didn't. We were left with only one course of action. We had to drill holes into the side of each hinge in order to get direct access to the pin inside. Unfortunately, the welder didn't put the hinges on each box in the same orientation, so we didn't know which half of the hinge had the moving pin in it. We therefore had to drill both halves to get the job done. Of course now we have holes in the hinges that don't have plugs.

When we challenged the builder on the subject, his response is that their supplier of weld-on hinges didn't have ones with grease nipples. Besides he said, they've never had any problems with them before. Another lie, I'm sure. I suggested that they consider looking at other suppliers. Outside hinges without grease nipples are the dumbest thing anyone can install on a working truck, especially if that truck is used in areas with winter conditions that require the use of road salt for de-icing. Eventually we will have to cut the hinges off, and replace them with ones that can be lubricated. Not an easy job considering the hinges are welded to both the door and the box body, and were all powder coated as an assembly.