Instead of traditional hinges, the doors are supported by ROLLERS rolling along two GUIDE RAILS
If one of the tyres on the ROLLERS becomes worn or split then bear in mind that the load is taken mostly by the centre ROLLER. Check by fully opening the door and watch the ROLLERS rotate as the door starts to close.
Always clean the GUIDE RAILS - do NOT oil/grease them. Should the paint get wrinkly or worn; using a flat file and emery paper, gently rub down the lower running surfaces until they are smooth. Up to you if you repaint them; I don't myself.
Most problems seem to be with the centre ROLLER. I've not heard of many problems with the lower ROLLER - but with the door open you might grovel on the floor and look upwards to see if the lower GUIDE RAIL is clean and clear of obstructions.
Unless you have too many, be careful with fingers at all times and make sure you have both remote key fobs in your care so no-one else can "help" by moving the doors whilst your fingers are in there.
This is the hinge assembly that runs on the centre (middle) GUIDE RAIL; the larger ROLLER takes more than half of the load of the heavy door, and is usually the first to fail.
The lower hinge assembly supports the door and also transmits the movement of the open/close motor-driven cables to the door.
The upper guide locates the top of the door and I have yet to hear of a failure.
I oiled the ROLLER bearings on one car and the vital large ROLLER and the paint on the GUIDE RAIL running surfaces failed on both sides about two years later. Possibly some oil did stray onto the roller and guide surfaces though I thought I had cleaned them off.
The other two cars I haven't oiled and they go on-and-on and the one shown has 98,000 plus miles. So the recommendation has to be - Do not oil the ROLLERS or the GUIDE RAILS.
Worth repeating - clean off any surplus oil and dirt from the GUIDE RAILS as any oil or grease will attract dust and probably attack the guide wheels and the paint on the GUIDE RAILS. The rollers need friction (not lubrication) in order to rotate - if they don't rotate they will quickly form a flat and a knocking noise as the door moves.
. . . . unless you want your ROLLERS to look like this: . . . (a rare occurrence)
this was a ROLLER that ran in the lower GUIDE RAIL (not mine!). Possibly the bearing had seized as this ROLLER is very low down and may have seized over the years.
Changing the Middle ROLLER assembly
At the moment, (2015) complete new middle hinge assemblies, part numbers 9033S8 (left) and 9033S7 (right) are available from Peugeot for about £78 including VAT each.
Now (2018) these parts have increased in cost to £106 including VAT
both middle door ROLLERS on the green car (50,000 miles) had split their nylon/rubber running surfaces (probably due to me oiling the bearings two years earlier). The original ROLLER assemblies had a third bolt under the inner door cover so the door covers had to come off as well but the job was fairly straightforward taking about 2½hours for both.
New middle ROLLER assemblies only use two mounting points so will be much quicker to change next time (!)
remove the corner trim by removing the Torx30 bolt and unclipping as shown
These are the main ROLLER assembly mounting screws; they are Torx30
This is the third T30 bolt (2005/6 models only) which means the door cover has to come off to remove.
Support the door as the central ROLLER you are removing takes the full weight of the door
after removing the three bolts (two on later cars) the hinge pulled out against spring pressure and was easy to slide off the GUIDE RAIL.
I was helped by our Springer puppy - had to tie him up as otherwise some tools appear to move about by themselves :-)
This ROLLER had stopped rotating and just slid - only realised when I took it off that it wasn't a seized bearing but a split running surface.
This ROLLER was still rotating but made a bumping noise as it rotated
I found that a roller from one of the Ford Transits fits so it would be possible to replace just the one roller - to save costs and to future-proof the unique part.
However - be aware that the steel of the pivot is very hard so this is not the best way forward.
The roller is available on ebay:
Outer Diameter: 25mm; Inner Diameter: 6mm; Width: 8mm
The bearing it is based upon is a 626ZZ
A better solution by Paulo DG (where better = cheaper and easier!)
One trick is to push the tread off a new roller - they are quite tough. A little gentle heat will help.
Paulo did it this way - you’ll need a socket spanner (22mm), a vice and some strong washers.
Build an assembly like this: The washers have to be of the correct diameter - that is the same diameter as the bearing but smaller than the nylon tread - so they press on the outer ring of the bearing, not the tread.
Put the assembly in the vice and press off the tread.
Turn the socket around and use it to press the new tread onto the bearing. Secure with some Loctite.
- and you should end up with one like this!
I did one myself - using a 12mm socket which just fits inside and presses on the bearing and a 19mm socket to press on the tread itself.
The tread pressed off easily enough in the vice.
To get the tread onto the original bearing I had to open up the inside slightly and chamfer the leading edge - the material is quite tough and I found the best way was on the lathe.
After doing this I pushed the tread on (using the 19mm socket the other way around) in the vice with a little force - I didn't glue mine as it seemed quite tight enough.
Fitted September 2017 as the "new" Peugeot one had already started to split. Initial impression is that the white tyre makes no more noise than a new Peugeot one.
However it has become increasingly noisy so in June 2018 was replaced by a new hinge assembly (see above).On inspection, the new roller surface had become slightly "lumpy" and with the harder material was making excessive noise.
This seems a better method of replacing the centre rolleras suggested by Mosquito Shen
This is the roller size to get for this modification.
The bearing it is based upon is a 626ZZ
Currently (2019) this size of roller with a tyre is not available in the UK, but there are Chinese sources
Remove the existing roller and pivot from the hinge - needs some grinding to clean up.
Then using a high tensile bolt with nuts as spacers, assemble as shown below.
Original rollers are 24mm diameter - will a larger 26mm diameter roller fit, to allow use of a stronger 8mm centre bolt?. . . . . . YES!
Original rollers are 24mm diameter - will the larger 26mm diameter roller raise the door too much?. . . . . . it seems it won't - about 1mm.
Showing the bolted-up assembly.
Showing the bolted-up assembly from a different angle.
Removing the centre guide rail
The centre guide rail is item 26 on this drawing
From what I can see on the drawings; the nuts holding the rail have to be taken off from the inside (which means removing the interior trim).
This is a really nasty dent; body repair will probably mean welding in another section and replacing the guide rail.
Remove the centre rollers first and support the door partially open.
The guide rail is held in place by studs on the back of the guide - which means it has to come off by pulling outwards.
Note: this picture shows the inside of the left-hand body.
To remove the guide rail it is necessary to take out the internal trim and speaker to get to the five M6 securing nuts.
The nut holding the seat belt unit might also need to come out as it in the way. NEVER open the side with the spring (bulged) to loosen it when reinstalling (otherwise you could end up buying a new seat belt!) but open the opposite side and push open a locking mechanism then the belt slackens easily.
Changing the Lower Roller Guides
At the moment, (2015) complete new lower hinge assemblies, part numbers 9033Q3 (left) and 9033Q2 (right) are available from Peugeot for about £90 + VAT each.
This is a spare lower hinge assembly
I haven't changed one myself (yet)
however, Ryan Simmons working by himself and in the rain has done so:
- Isolate the battery and move the door to the centre.
- Undo the four nuts to release the door from the hinge assembly and slide the door all the way back and take the weight of the door with a jack or wooden chock.
- The hinge can be removed/replaced on the GUIDE RAIL easily by turning the whole hinge assembly sideways.
- Pop the cable connections off the balls one at at time and pop them back on the new hinges. Takes a little force to overcome a spring and pull the second connection on but doing them one at a time avoids messing up the positioning of the cables.
- Reconnect the hinge assembly to the door and check all runs smoothly.
- Reconnect the battery and carry out a door reset (if necessary)
After removing the hinge, Piotr Szulkowski has replaced a lower roller:
Diameter overall = 28mm
Spaced off the support by 10mm
This is the size of bearing you are looking for - BS 60828-10
After drilling out the rivetting of the bearing support, you are left with an 8mm hole
Note that the material is very tough and you may need to use a grinding wheel
File down an 8mm rivnut to 10mm length to act as a spacer
Locate the bearing on the 8mm bolt and tighten with the rivnut
and secure to the hinge assembly with a shakeproof nut
Door locating spigots
When closed, the door is located by three spigots which locate into sockets.
This one is low down on the "B" post
The one above and this one at the front of the door are fitted with a soft spongy washer to take up any slack and minimise rattles.
this spongy rubber is quite critical as when the door is closed, it compresses the washer and prevents the spigot rattling around in the fixed location guide
If the spongy rubber has disappeared over the years, I have used spongy dishwasher pads and cut them up to fit. Not ideal but better than nothing!
The third spigot (not shown) is at the front of the door about eye level and fits into the matching slot on the A post.
Do the doors rattle on poor roads?
- In the factory the doors are set up with dowels locating the alignment spigots. You can cut these dowels off to adjust the spigots to pull the door in tighter. (see above)
- When closed the back of the door should be flush with the rear wing however this can be tightened a little by adjusting the position of the B-post actuator.
- Above all, check the large rollers in the middle and lower guides still have the treads on them and are rolling freely - at this age some treads are deforming and even falling off. If the treads are damaged or missing then the door is left loose to rattle.
- If the car has had ANY damage to the door or the sill, this will mess up the door alignment as it is critical for everything to be spot-on.
