Greasing tailgate struts

[Jenny Smedley]

When we got our Alphard the agent said he's greased the tailgate and electric doors with white grease. That was six months or so ago, and he seemed to think it would need doing every 3 months. We let it slide and now the tailgate makes a groaning noise when it's half shut. It still works but we can't find anything in the manual on how to grease the struts. Anyone done this?

[Chris.ac]

on my regius, which had similar strut setup to the gen 1 alphards, I didnt touch or grease them in the 7 years I owned it.

 

I would say that the white grease itself is the cause of the groaning, as it has dried out.

[Jenny Smedley]

Ah, that's very useful, thank you

[Rojie]

 

Hi Jenny,

 

After recently researching buying replacement struts thoroughly, and still getting it wrong.....

 

I have applied WD40 to the hinges, carefully and sparingly, to reduce the friction.

That action made a big difference.

 

Having read Chris.ac post above, I decided to lightly oil the piston rods with thin oil.

Slowly, slowly with multiple manual openings and closing of the tailgate between applications.

 

It has improved things enormously; almost no judder now.

 

I had been concerned about the electric mechanism, but Chris.ac reassured me it was unlikely to be that.

I have a rear conversion, which limits access severely, but decided to very carefully apply some WD40 to the pivoting mechanism.

I also 'lubricated the stay bar from the motor lever arm to tailgate. This had previously been tightened as it was rather loose.

 

I'll probably need to lubricate this again, but it is easier, and much cheaper, that replacing the struts with OEM ones.

If this method doesn't work I'll go OEM.

 

Make sure you keep the lubricants well away from your interior trim !

 

This is an alternate method, not a tried and tested long term solution !

 

If you go OEM, there should be a large letter on the lower end of the strut body. That is the type ID of the correct fitted part.

[Torq2u]

Jenny asked about tailgate AND sliding doors.

 

I am interested in what to use to lubricate the doors which could be running more smoothly than they are - and so maybe overloading the motor? I think grease could collect dirt and clog the sliders up. So, silicone spray or WD40?

 

I used silicone spray on my tailgate struts and that cured the squeaking.

[Rojie]

1 hour ago, Torq2u said:

Jenny asked about tailgate AND sliding doors.

 

I am interested in what to use to lubricate the doors which could be running more smoothly than they are - and so maybe overloading the motor? I think grease could collect dirt and clog the sliders up. So, silicone spray or WD40?

 

I used silicone spray on my tailgate struts and that cured the squeaking.

 

I don't believe my door slides need lubricating; but I am very interested in any suggestions for when they do.

The garage that services one od my cars uses white grease on door hinges etc.

It makes a real mess !!!

[Torq2u]

Well, I've gone for silicone lube. The passenger door was reluctant to move (I park on an uphill slope) and I envisaged all sorts of grief happening to the motor and cables. 

 

I use white grease for door and tailgate hinges, careful not to get it everywhere. Yes, it's messy stuff!

[Jenny Smedley]

On 5/11/2022 at 5:37 PM, Rojie said:

 

I don't believe my door slides need lubricating; but I am very interested in any suggestions for when they do.

The garage that services one od my cars uses white grease on door hinges etc.

It makes a real mess !!!

Yes the white grease is messy!

[Jenny Smedley]

On 5/5/2022 at 8:06 PM, Rojie said:

 

Hi Jenny,

 

After recently researching buying replacement struts thoroughly, and still getting it wrong.....

 

I have applied WD40 to the hinges, carefully and sparingly, to reduce the friction.

That action made a big difference.

 

Having read Chris.ac post above, I decided to lightly oil the piston rods with thin oil.

Slowly, slowly with multiple manual openings and closing of the tailgate between applications.

 

It has improved things enormously; almost no judder now.

 

I had been concerned about the electric mechanism, but Chris.ac reassured me it was unlikely to be that.

I have a rear conversion, which limits access severely, but decided to very carefully apply some WD40 to the pivoting mechanism.

I also 'lubricated the stay bar from the motor lever arm to tailgate. This had previously been tightened as it was rather loose.

 

I'll probably need to lubricate this again, but it is easier, and much cheaper, that replacing the struts with OEM ones.

If this method doesn't work I'll go OEM.

 

Make sure you keep the lubricants well away from your interior trim !

 

This is an alternate method, not a tried and tested long term solution !

 

If you go OEM, there should be a large letter on the lower end of the strut body. That is the type ID of the correct fitted part.

Thanks very much, very helpful as always

[Rojie]

I regret to admit that my approach to oiling the struts has not improved their operation. (Struts, not tailgate hinges; which did respond to WD40).

 

I intend to use some silicone spray and hopefully that will cure the uneven opening.

(I am considering disconnecting the linkage to test the motor response, but without a real load I am not sure the test is meaningful.)

 

For those with deep pockets, my local Alphard friendly main dealer advises me that the K type units, as fitted to my Alphie, are still available..

 

Great news ? Not really !

Close to £200 each, but genuine Toyota OEM.

 

I confess, I am so irritated by the juddering I may speak nicely to Santa.