Hardware :: Unable To Know About IBook Hinge?

When I raise the lid on my white dual USB iBook circa 2001, it sounds like an elephant passing wind sitting on a bass drum.

I looked at it carefully and noted that the ends of the hinge (the pins) that fit into the main body of the laptop are very loose fit in the socket. Indeed, I can move the hinged end of the cover up and down on the pins even though it doesn't open or shut without effort.

I don't understand where the hinge is binding with the pins on the ends so loose. Even a dummy like me knows an expensive repair job when he sees one, and I have a towering disinclination to spend anything on such an ancient machine even if it does work fine.

I'll bet my front seat at the follies there's some ingenious dude out there who's had the same problem and maybe fixed it himself with a can of oil and a hammer.