Making 69 headlight doors work smoothly

[Ghoste]

The right headlight door on my car opens without issue but it seems to hang up somewhere closing.  Is there a common trouble spot to look for?

[A383Wing]

get a hand vacuum pump and connect it to the vacuum pod nipples after you take the OE hoses off. By pumping it by hand, you should be able to see where it hangs up at

[twodko]

Ghoste,

There is "spring arm" or "door stay" whatever it's called mounted to the grille frame behind
each door. This arm thingy engages the door edge to help hold it open.......I guess?
Anyway this could be snagging on the door keeping it from closing smoothly.

[Skull-1]

Ghoste,

There is "spring arm" or "door stay" whatever it's called mounted to the grille frame behind
each door. This arm thingy engages the door edge to help hold it open.......I guess?
Anyway this could be snagging on the door keeping it from closing smoothly.

That was the problem mine had.

[69white hat]

I just had the same problem on mine. The driver side would go halfway and then after a few seconds it would snap open. While playing with it I saw the door was rubbing on the fender side of the headlight bracket and when it moved past the entire grill moved up to let the door go by. After some good hard looking and some more playing around I decided either the entire grill needs to come out or the grill needs to be shimmed up so it would clear. Well I definitely like the easy road so I lifted the assembly by hand and my buddy stuck a wooden shim under the section where it tightens down between the headlights on the bottom. ( sorry for the poor description, I wasn't under the car and I don't know the right names anyway. ) The door now clears very easily and works perfectly. I realize that lots of you guys probably won't like this solution but it is certainly perfect for me as I don't have half the skill necessary to try and take the grill out. It'll be one more thing on the list to get fixed properly in 5 years or whenever it's time to paint her.

[Cooter]

Has anybody ever oiled all these pivot points on their car?

You wouldn't believe how much easier a hood pops open, or shuts. A door hinge that doesn't squeak.
headlight doors that work. A little grease smeared on the spring clip, and oil on the pivots, works wonders.

[HANDM]

Has anybody ever oiled all these pivot points on their car?

You wouldn't believe how much easier a hood pops open, or shuts. A door hinge that doesn't squeak.
headlight doors that work. A little grease smeared on the spring clip, and oil on the pivots, works wonders.

Kinda what I was thinking...... a little lubrication goes a long way.

[tan top]

Has anybody ever oiled all these pivot points on their car?

You wouldn't believe how much easier a hood pops open, or shuts. A door hinge that doesn't squeak.
headlight doors that work. A little grease smeared on the spring clip, and oil on the pivots, works wonders.

   

[c00nhunterjoe]

Lube played a huge roll in mine. I also took the mount where the vacuum pod meets the door off and polished it and lubed it as well. Mine are smooth now, even with only 8-9" of vaccum.

[lukedukem]

Lube played a huge roll in mine. I also took the mount where the vacuum pod meets the door off and polished it and lubed it as well. Mine are smooth now, even with only 8-9" of vaccum.

do you have pics you could post of this

luke

[c00nhunterjoe]

The peice where the pod attaches? Hmmm. I dont have any pictures of it all apart. I can try to wedge my phone in there for a picture....lol. or do you mean a video of them working?

[lukedukem]

The peice where the pod attaches? Hmmm. I dont have any pictures of it all apart. I can try to wedge my phone in there for a picture....lol. or do you mean a video of them working?

yeah, the piece you polished and lubed. my drivers headlight door opens same time as the other but gets hung up and slams down to close. i'm worried it will break something

luke

[c00nhunterjoe]

I dont have any pictures, just checked, and its pouring out. All i did was take everything apart completely. I sanded everything that moved and cleaned it till it was shiney and looked new, added a little grease and reassembled everything. It works great. I had my grill in a million peices spread across 4 big tables.