Sliding door roller replacement or carrier adjustment??

[Mctavish]

Hi,

I posted earlier on the wanted forum for some replacement rollers, but thought I'd check in here to see if anyone knows of an alternative...

When the sliding door shuts, the trailing edge of the door is clipping the bodywork just as it completes the closure and is being guided in to the door aperture. This has been ignored long enough for a rust spot to develop.

Is it common to replace the rollers in the slider mechanisms, and / or is there a way of adjusting the door carriers to push the door further away from the vehicle to avoid metal to metal contact?

Thanks,

Ben

[jaylee]

Hi Ben,

Would there happen to be a little resistance on the door when opened/rolled back, but when the door is rolled a couple of inches in the closing direction then rolled back the door slides effortlessly?

[Mctavish]

Hi Jaylee,

There isn't really any resistance to speak of, other than the 'soft latch'(?) that holds the door back when fully opened. The photo below shows the rust problem (and a very filthy van) that's being generated. The door just catches the body work on closure...



Any ideas

Ben

[jaylee]

Mmmm, well... It could be a misaligned door or panel from some sort of repaired impact damage in the vehicles history???

Or The middle roller assembly that runs in the track down the side panel is not lubricated enough to allow play in the door to swing out a "smidge" as the track curves into the door jam, before the door gets pulled back into closed position by the "soft closure" mechanism... Thus scuffing the paintwork??

This stiff mechanism can also cause the "resistance" rolling back the door i mentioned earlier... The closest thing i can think of is like a dodgy wheel on a shopping cart not quite rolling in the right direction??

[helen&tony]

Hi
IF you have confirmed that the rollers, etc. are all within working tolerances, I'd be inclined to rub down that area of rust, treat it, and prime it, without opening the door for the paint layer. Leave the paint at the primer stage (all by brush painting), then when dry, paint a good dollop of bright nail varnish on the area it catches, and open the door....you'll soon see where it's actually catching on the door itself...and as its only catching a wee bit, I'd get someone to hold the door, while you just give the inside back of the door a whack with a mallet and drift....It probably won't even show, and when painted you'll forget about it!
Cheers
Helen

[Mctavish]

Thanks everyone, I've noticed this morning that the lower slider bracket has some scope for adjustment - there's a pair of bolts connecting door to bracket that I think are mounted in oval slots so I'll see if I can get some leeway out of those...

Cheers,

Ben

[jaylee]

You could try checking the gap below the step & see if anything like a tool or one of those weird Jap gift pencils is stopping the bottom roller travel to closed..?
Even though the door closes it could be pushing the gap tight on the rear edge from the bottom?? I've been looking at my door by comparison...