Date:         Wed, 16 Nov 2022 14:02:16 -0500
Reply-To:     Eric Caron <ericcaron96@COMCAST.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Eric Caron <ericcaron96@COMCAST.NET>
Subject:      Re: Sliding Door won't latch
Comments: To: Rick Cooper <rick@WEBLEAF.CA>
In-Reply-To:  <42b0b751-9194-4bc5-9826-b8af97c5fd4a@app.fastmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8

Hi Ric,

I’m no expert but have a few thoughts to share.

        The first is that I think it would be important to figure out what has changed to cause the door not to fit.  Something has changed. 


        Is the door lower in the back?  If you lift up does it close easier?  Is something loose on the door latch? 

My 84 was not latching when fully open.  I thought about all kinds of ways to make it catch.  Then I discovered two loose screws and problem solved.

When I was changing out my rear slider hinge I had. To do some adjusting for the new hardware but that was because the holes were slightly different then the original. 

What is changing, loose or failing on your door? 
Others may have a good list of things to check.
Is there movement if you lift up and down on the rear of the door?  Are bearings working correctly.  
Hopefully others can offer more direct places to check, but I recommend looking for what has changed. 

Eric Caron 
85 and 84 Westfalia 


> On Nov 16, 2022, at 1:28 PM, Rick Cooper <rick@WEBLEAF.CA> wrote:
> 
> Over the past few weeks, the sliding door on my 1987 Westie does not want to close properly.  More specifically, the latch at the rear of the door does not want to lock onto the post mounted on the body.
> 
> If I slam it hard and push inward at the rear of the door at the same time, I can usually get it to latch, but it is becoming increasingly difficult.  A couple of times the door has popped open while in transit, which is a bit unnerving.
> 
> What is the solution to this?  Moving the post?
> 
> Rick