Yep. the hinge on the driver's door on the '97 does the same thing when I lube it with white lithium. I found the answer a while back, but I forgot what it was or where I found it. Here is something I found on some site that was part of a club of Thunderbird and Cougars that was based in America. Mind you, I haven't looked at my car yet.
That solution you posted worked.
Thank you for posting it.
After examining & playing with my door hinge and doing what's described in your posting, the popping noise has been eliminated when the door is swung to open or close it.
(Photos attached, so future readers with same question will better understand)
Photo 1:
The body-colored lower hinge roller that your posting described.
Photo 2:
The same roller, but rotated around. It's free-wheeling and can be rotated with fingers.
Now we can see the two grooves that are the cause of the popping noise.
Why two grooves, I have no idea.
Solution - To eliminate the popping noise:
With a finger, rotate the roller into different positions and then test door for popping noise by swinging it open & closed.
Different positions of the grooves will result in the popping occurring at different times during door opening & closing...but with the right position, the popping should stop or be strongly muted.
In my case, leaving the grooves visible to the eye, like in Photo 2, eliminated the popping.
I don't know if the roller will rotate again on its own...but in all the years I've owned The Car and cleaned & lubed the hinges, I never saw the grooves because all I ever saw was the body-colored un-grooved roller, like in Photo 1, when looking at the hinge on both doors.
Although we have our solution to the popping noise, I'm still curious as to why lubing the hinge causes the popping noise for a couple weeks, then it vanishes. Unfortunately, given the tight & obstructed confines of the hinge, there's no way to get a close look at what's happening in there to better understand the issue.
Anyway...thank you to everyone for the help.
