Date:         Fri, 13 Aug 2004 13:00:47 -0700
Reply-To:     Vince S <gipsyflies@COMCAST.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Vince S <gipsyflies@COMCAST.NET>
Subject:      Re: sliding door popping open
In-Reply-To:  <000101c4814d$c9b62980$c200a8c0@vsovaio>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Want to make a correction to what I posted earlier:

Note that when you decrease the gap at the lower rear corner you also
increase the gap the front lower corner but in a different amount
because of the three point support.

The alignments of the front lower support, the rear latch WRT the latch
pin on the frame, the rear roller arm, and the condition of all the
parts all interplay of how well the door closes. When tuned just right,
it should close with a solid sound without bounce or rattle.

The alignment between the latch and the latch pin on the frame is
extreme critical. You can adjust the latch pin using a 15mm box wrench
and it have about 3/16" of range in all 360 degrees. Even 1/16" of
movement can make a big difference if everything else is tight. You can
observe the engagement of the two from the inside by folding the rubber
flap back so you can see it when you slid the door close. Play
particular attention to both vertical as well as horizontal axis's. I
spent 20 minutes this morning re-aligning this and the door now closes
with a solid sound.

The other common cause of door not stay latched is worn cams inside the
latch. There are two cams because of the dual redundent design. The
recommended solution to worn latch is to replace it. I use molygrease
since day one and they have no sign of wear.

- Vince

http://gipsyflies.home.comcast.net
1989 Vanagon GL Camper
1996 Land Rover Discovery
2005 Mini Cooper S



-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf
Of Vince S
Sent: Friday, August 13, 2004 8:54 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: sliding door popping open


I have a similar problem with my 89. I assume both yours are the later
design where the latch is actually located toward the rear and not at
the front.

Over the year I realize that this problem tends to be worst when the
ambient temperature is low. Here is what I found:

1) The sliding door is supported by 3 points - 1 at the back at the
middle vertically and 2 at the front. The front lower is the only
provision for adjustment of the alignment of the door to the door frame.

2) My door has a slight warp in which the rear bottom is farther away
from the frame than the front. When I slam the door shut the momentum
cause the door to compress the gasket and allow the latch to snap close
before the door spring back out. In cold weather the lubricant in the
latch is less viscous and the cam in the latch is more sluggish. Being
slightly more sluggish the cam often does not engage in time before the
door bounce back out. Using low viscosity lubricant alleviates the
problem. Closing the door gently also help.

3) I recently readjusted the door alignment at the front lower bracket
to favor the rear bottom corner more. Note that when you decrease the
gap at the corner you increase the gap the front lower corner because of
the three point support.

I recommend you a) clean and re-lub the latch b) check the alignment and
only adjust should it be necessary.

Hope this help


- Vince

http://gipsyflies.home.comcast.net
1989 Vanagon GL Camper
1996 Land Rover Discovery
2005 Mini Cooper S



-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf
Of Simon Reinhardt
Sent: Friday, August 13, 2004 8:25 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: sliding door popping open


I had something similar happening when I first got my van. Sometimes it
would be obvious that it had not latched properly at the rear- in fact,
the door is a little dented right over the latch, so it obviously had
been a problem for some time. And it would pop open on the road, which
my rear seat passengers thought was a hoot! If you look carefully at the
moving parts on the rear latch, you'll see that there are two "ledges"
on the large, rotating part that catch on the smaller moving bit.
Chances are, the second ledge is not engaging. Try lubing the moving
parts with something that will clean up a little as well, like a spray
lithium grease, or you could remove it from the van and really clean it
up & then use a lithium paste. This simple job absolutely fixed my door,
and there's no trouble 2 years later.

-Simon


On Aug 12, 2004, at 11:22 PM, Jason Willenbrock wrote:

> hey all,
> the other day my sliding door would not close properly.  i would slide

> it shut and it would pop right open again.  okay after scratching my
> head a little, i started tinkering with its adjustments.  the only
> adjustment i
> could make that would allow it to close was by changing the position
> of the
> metal post (Catch?) on the body of van towards the rear of slider
> door. that
> is the post that the door catches to when closed. anyways, now the
door
> closes fine, except when i drive it sometimes opens on its own, real
> dangerous when i have two dogs lying in the rear and i am driving 70
> mph.  i guess my question is, is this common?  does this mean the
> catch mechanism on
> door is going bad?  i can not get a perfect alignment that will alow
> the
> door to close properly other then where it is, but with the door
> unexpectantly opening, i am concerned.  incidently locking the door
> does not
> help.
> TIA
> jason
> 87 syncro westy
>