Citroen C5 X7 Failed Hinge Repair.

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Citroen C5 X7 Failed Hinge Repair.

Post by bonnyman750 »

Hi All,

as the title suggests I had a driver's rear door top hinge fail last week. At first the door wouldn't open past 1/3 open then, upon trying to open it wider gave a dull thud and lost all detent function and wouldn't stay open. After investigating the possibility of a new hinge from Citroen (£57) and a laughable £90 labour to colour match spray and fit, I decide to have a look at a home repair before parting with any cash.

I did some surfing and I found a Russian site where someone had had creaking problem with one of their hinges and, in a rough translation, had described how he had removed the bottom cover with a piece of wood and a hammer. I tried this and it came off very easily. At this point I noticed that:-

1, there was a broken piece of spring roll pin in the cover and that...
2. it was full of water!!

Taking the hinge off was simply a matter of removing 3 x 13mm AF bolts, one into the rear door and 2 into the 'B' pillar and sliding the whole assembly out.

Image

Once on the bench I could see that the bottom spring plate was riveted in position in three places. I decided to drill these out using a centre drill which proved to be a bad decision as because the holes were slightly off centre it affected the way I decided to repair it...However I digress....

Image

Hold the hinge upside down in a machine vice, carefully centre pop the riveted over portion and, using a pillar drill, remove the material from where the pillars under the plate are peened over.

Image

Once drilled out the bottom spring plate came away to reveal the detent plate and carriage, with the remains of the broken spring roll pin still in place. This is when it becomes obvious how the hinge/detent works. The hinge pivot has a pinion with a captive roller which runs along the detent plate which, in turn is held against the roller by spring pressure from the spring on the bottom plate which bears against the roll pin. The roll pin protrudes out of both top and bottom of the carriage, a small amount at the top running in a slot and a larger amount at the bottom so the spring has a large surface to bear against.

Image

To get this mechanism out as a whole, the hinge plates (not the bottom 'can' as it will distort) need to be place on a hard surface (i.e. an open vice) and the hinge pivot driven out from the top carefully so that the roller plate/pivot, carriage, detent plate and plastic tubular spacer all come out as a unit.

Image

Once out clean up all the parts and inspect for other damage/distortion and rectify as necessary. Note how in the following picture the carriage is distorted and how far the roll pin protrudes out which goes into the upper part of teh hinge body groove.

Image

Fit new 4.8 x 32mm spring roll pin/Mills pin/Sellok pin (£0.99p off ebay) into carriage and assemble carriage onto spindle to get correct position in groove.

Using a dremel or similar, grind the pillars level. Centre pop them again and drill them to a depth of 10-15mm with a 4.2mm diameter drill (tapping size for 5mm). Carefully tap them out to 5mm (as I found that, when I needed to exert the force necessary, the pillar opposite the detent spindle started to turn as the opposing riveted over part lost grip and I had to hold it with a pair of pipe grips while tapping). This is where I realised that centre drilling the pillars was not a good move as, because I had drilled them off-centre, I couldn't drill and tap one of them out without destroying the pillar. I did try using some metal filler but it didn't work so I just left it and hoped that the two pillars would be enough support. Centre popping and using a 6mm drill to remove the peening is a far better option...

Image

Once tapped out, clean all debris from area (I used my parts washer and compressed air) and reassemble the detent mechanism (put detent plate in carriage, then spacer on top of plate, put roller against detent plate and slide in spindle/mechanism into body), remembering to put the moving hinge plate in first. Line up the hinge parts with the spindle (i.e. closed) and drive the spindle back into the splines in both hinge plate (It will be obvious!).

Image

Fully grease mechanism and replace top plate, securing with suitable length 5mm cap head screws and washers (the one in the middle may have to be fitted when the spring has been tensioned due to space.

Image

Hold the spring tail with a pair of stout pliers, pull against the tension and lift over roll pin to tension spring.

Image

Refit seal and bottom cover (I drilled a couple of drain holes in mine while I had the 4.2mm tapping drill in the chuck) and refit mended hinge to car. once bolted back into place, open door and check detent is working...

Image

Praise oneself on a job well done and retire for a well earned cuppa...

Notes:-
It may have just been a one off as I haven't heard of any similar failures but I think in my case what happened was this:- On the morning of the failure the outside temperature was -4c. Because the cover plate was holding in a lot of water I think that this water had frozen and was holding the roll pin in place. By opening the door the detent and carriage moved but the pin didn't causing it to fracture and release the spring pressure hence no detent effect,

The hinge will definitely need a respray when you have completed the repair but I felt that was a minor thing as opposed to the cost of replacement from the dealers...

Talking of which, the LHF and LHR hinges are 9035W9 and the RHF and RHR are 9035X0 (mine being the RHR.) - CItroen.Service = £47.25 each + VAT = £56.70...

The rear door hinges can be taken off by leaving the rear door shut and removing the bolts after opening the front doors, the front door hinges may need a bit more ingenuity as (according to a PDF download of the Citroen workshop manual page from another Russian site, Citroen use a cradle to hold the (open) front door level and secure before removing the door hinge...

HTH

Glyn
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Re: Citroen C5 X7 Failed Hinge Repair.

Post by Stickyfinger »

Nice, great photo technique....thanks.

Would you suggest any Preventative Measures ?
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Re: Citroen C5 X7 Failed Hinge Repair.

Post by bonnyman750 »

Only to drill a couple of drain holes in the other 3 hinge lower covers to let any water out of the mechanism. As I said above it may an unfortunate 1 off but prevention is better than cure. I will do this when I get chance. ..
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Re: Citroen C5 X7 Failed Hinge Repair.

Post by mikevybiral »

I was thinking of buying a 2008 X7 with the detente gone on both front doors.
Your post has put me right off the purchase!
Many thanks,
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Re: Citroen C5 X7 Failed Hinge Repair.

Post by white exec »

An excellent detailed and photographed write-up of the repair, together with the preventative recommendation of creating some drain holes.
The lubrication of ordinary door hinge roll-pins is easily overlooked, even when they are easily accessible. Having had a good few wear badly over the decades, I now give each a squirt of oil at least a couple of times a year. Those 'boxed in' ones just add extra complication.
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Re: Citroen C5 X7 Failed Hinge Repair.

Post by GiveMeABreak »

That was over 4 years now but very useful. I’ve know a few that have simply been replaced - not too difficult to do.

But I coat mine liberally with silicone spray grease a few times a year and are in perfect condition, with each stay position working as it should.
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Re: Citroen C5 X7 Failed Hinge Repair.

Post by mmatin »

Hi Marc,

Do you open bottom cover and spray or do you just spray without opening bottom cover?
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Re: Citroen C5 X7 Failed Hinge Repair.

Post by GiveMeABreak »

Hi Mario - I use silicon oil spray to get into the hard to reach areas of the hinges and then I coat and work in marine-grade grease on the surface and around the casing seal and everywhere else with my fingers to ensure that there's no place for any water to get in. But, no I did not want to make it vulnerable by opening the casing. Mine is more of a preventative measure.
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Re: Citroen C5 X7 Failed Hinge Repair.

Post by mmatin »

I also use silicon spray, so far I didnt have problems with opening and positions, only noice is a little bit strange when I open the door.
Mario Matin
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