Date: Mon, 7 Aug 2006 11:17:01 -0500
Reply-To: Jim Felder <felder@KNOLOGY.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Jim Felder <felder@KNOLOGY.NET>
Subject: Sliding Door button cheap and plenty
In-Reply-To: <C0FCBE6D.1AC42%bueses@earthlink.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed
RE fracturing fasteners... if you can't avoid it, you just can't
avoid it. But though the real replacements are scarce and expensive,
my 83 westy has mostly door panel fasteners from autozone. I don't
remember what to tell you to get, but some common automobile uses
something that will work. Mine are dark brown, though, I couldn't get
the ivory. But they were cheap and work great.
Jim
On Aug 7, 2006, at 10:54 AM, bueses wrote:
> on 8/7/06 8:55 AM, Jim Felder at felder@KNOLOGY.NET wrote:
>
>> Mike,
>>
>> Get inside the car and pop off the interior panel with a stiff putty
>> knife wrapped in tape or a screwdriver similarly padded.
>
> Not easy on an 84 Westy w/ the surface mounted fasteners! Plan on
> having
> some extra fasteners to replace the ones that break while removing,
> maybe
> even an extra panel itself to replace the panel buggered while
> trying to get
> it off?
>
> BTDT,
>
> Tom B.-avoiding the below repair for this reason
>
>
>> Unscrew the
>> handles, of course. When you're in there, you'll see a rod going
>> front to back, with an adjustment mechanism that operates with an
>> adjusting nut and a jam nut to lock it. You want to tighten it to
>> compensate for wear. Adjust, then try the door. Do this a couple of
>> times. Don't forget to lube stuff while you're in there.
>>
>> If this doesn't get it, there's a catch just behind the rear of the
>> door (outside the car). Look under the panel that the U-shaped
>> bracket slide in. Look fore and aft and you'll see the screws. Take
>> them out, and take a block of wood wrapped in carpet and after
>> pulling out on the metal lid to loosen it, tap up. Keep wiggling and
>> tapping till the cover pops off. Now you can see, lube, get to and
>> adjust this mechanism and watch it in operation to see if anything is
>> wrong.
>>
>> This doesn't take very long, I'd do it at the first opportunity so
>> that you are not locked out completely. As I recall, there is some
>> "bootsrap" issue in removing the panel where the door must open to
>> get the panel off in the first place. As I recall, once you can't
>> open it at all, you can't fix it either without tearing up the panel.
>>
>> Jim
>>
>>
>> On Aug 7, 2006, at 9:05 AM, mike elliott wrote:
>>
>>> I would swear on a stack of whatever holy book you offered that I
>>> asked this
>>> question last year, but a search of the archives didn't turn up
>>> anything.
>>> False memory? It baffles science. Anyway, I'm looking for help with
>>> Mellow
>>> Yellow's sliding door: we're having trouble opening it. There seem
>>> to be
>>> three motions involved: rotation of the handle by pressing on it
>>> (works
>>> fine); movement of the door outward, away from the interior of the
>>> van (does
>>> not seem to complete, I need to put my hip into it from inside the
>>> van); and
>>> sliding rearward on the tracks (which is does just fine once the
>>> door has
>>> been popped fully outward with my hip). Thoughts on what might be
>>> causing
>>> the incomplete outward motion?
>>>
>>> -- Rocket Squirrel
>>>
>
>
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