Date:         Thu, 16 May 1996 09:22:19 -0500
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         walshp@h1l6xa.nawc-ad-indy.navy.mil (Pat Walsh)
Subject:      Re: Sliding Door Problems

dworkin@ari.net (H Steven Dolan) writes:
>
>Brett,
>
>I have done this.  Recently.  It is pretty easy.  The Steps:
>

snip

>
>Donor bus Removal:
>
>Remove the outside cover plate.  Two screws hold it on.  The one at the back
>is a sheet metal screw and (if not already missing) is easy to get out with
>a little WD-40 and a phillips screwdriver.  The one at the front is usually
>a metric bitch to get out (that's 2.2 times worse than an English bitch)  It
>is a steel Phillips head machine screw that goes into a Mg/AL casting.  Do
>your best, drill it if you must. (NB: the Bentleys shows a third screw at
>the front of the outside cover within it at the top.  I ain't never seen
>this screw, but YMMV.) After both screws are out, take a wide flat
>screwdriver and drive the cover plate up from the inside.   Start at the
>back and be gentle.  This is the donor, so it doesn't matter, but think of
>it as practice for later, don't dent it, move the screwdriver back and forth.  
I know Stephen didn't really intend for the above to go to the list, but
since it did I wanted to point out that that third screw Bentley shows is
in fact present in some busses.  It screws into a long piece of metal that
runs the length of the track.  When you loosen the screw, you then tap the
screwdriver which pushes the strip of metal to the rear.  This relieves
pressure on the trim piece and allows you to remove it.  There is ALSO a
screw or bolt toward the front end of this middle track that is only
accessible from INSIDE the bus.  Sometimes you have to remove an inside
trim panel, other times there is a cutout so you can get to it.  But what
I can't remember off hand is whether this bolt goes through the outside
trim piece or just holds on the front stop that the trim piece screws to.
(Ie. you might not have to take it off.)  This is where the manual becomes
handy.

Once the cover piece is off, removal of the door (for me) goes like this:
While making sure the door doesn't fall on your feet, 1) slide door all the
way to rear, 2) extend middle hinge (against spring tension, if present) and
clear it from bus body, 3) swing rear of door away from body of bus so that
the door forms a 30-45 degree angle with bus body, 4) raise rear of door,
allowing you to remove wheels at front from track and pin at top from track.

Pat Walsh, '71 Westy, walshp@camry.nawc-ad-indy.navy.mil