Date:         Mon, 25 Jun 2001 00:00:23 -0700
Reply-To:     Nicholas Wilson <nwilson@MCN.ORG>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Nicholas Wilson <nwilson@MCN.ORG>
Subject:      Re: 1984 Sliding Door Handle is very stiff - suggestions???
Comments: To: David Marshall <vanagon@VOLKSWAGEN.ORG>
In-Reply-To:  <AIEFIGCNNANNIHLNFBPEEENADHAA.vanagon@volkswagen.org>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Hi David,

Opening the latch on the sliding door involves cocking a strong spring that is triggered and released when you close the door and helps pulls the latch firmly shut. That spring provides the power behind that decisive thunk when the latch grabs hold. Try closing the slider slowly, and do the final part while standing outside and pushing in on the trailing edge of the door, and you'll feel and hear the spring-loaded latch. The trigger that releases it is located on the front of the door just on top of the part of the latch that engages the stationary part of the latch mounted on the body.

I noticed that my sliding door latch ('82 Westy) has been getting stiffer and harder to open. In fact the outer door handle recently broke off in my hand; fractured right through the hub of the handle, following the line of the set screw that holds the lock cylinder in place. This was no doubt due to metal fatigue from the repeated stress. I replaced the door handle, and I'm planning to pull the inner door panel off and have a good look at the latch mechanism to see if lubrication will make it easier to open.

Last year I found the sliding door difficult to slide. Using the Bentley manual as a guide, I removed the sliding door from the body, then cleaned and lubricated the tracks and rollers. It made a huge difference; the door slides easily and quietly now. It was really not hard to pull the door off. The whole R&R, clean and lube took no more than an hour.

Now I'm wishing I had checked the door latch mechanism more carefully and lubed it too while I had the door off and apart; then I probably wouldn't have the stiff door opening problem and wouldn't have broken off the door handle. Better late than never; I'll post to the list whatever I find out after tackling it.

Nick Wilson
Mendocino

At 09:02 PM 6/24/01 -0700, David Marshall wrote:
>The sliding door handle is very stiff.  A lot more effort is required to
>open the door - both inside and out than the 1985 van I took apart the other
>month.  Is the difference due to the different door designs or is there
>something that I could lubricate on the door to make everything slide
>better?
>
>Thanks!
>
>David Marshall - Volkswagen Enthusiast Quesnel, British Columbia, Canada