help sliding door not locking

[adamsdv]

first post on forum as proud new owners of T25 1982 2l petrol, .. BUT we're newb vw owners &

the sliding door ,although it did lock when we bought & was a bit of a fiddle, just wont lock now from outside or inside.. sitting on our drive unlocked as we speak

we've tried turning the lever a vareity of degrees, before trying to lock and also pulling the lever back. is there something obvious wrong, or do we have a knackered lock?

So in summary.. intermittent.. sometimes locks easily, but at mo not locking at all - tho inside lock nob will move around half way down but no further.

anyone have a spare door lock? nothing on ebay and will spend some time googling them.

any help at all much appreciated. we're supposed to go on holiday on thursday night

[VWCamperfan]

If the door is not completly closed (even though it looks like it is!), it wont lock.
Just for a start, give the door a really good slide shut on those runners and blow out some cobwebs... Slam it in other words!
Or, to give it a helping hand, push the door closed at the back as it closes. That usually helps.
If this does the trick, the door and mechanism can be adjusted to make no locking nightmares go away... We'll let you in on that later if this works!

Welcome to the club too!

[adamsdv]

oops sorry forgot to say RHD!

[VWCamperfan]

I noticed also that you have a 1982 model... Does yours have a door catch ie. an actual latching mechanism, at both ends of the door?

[adamsdv]

we've been trying to fiddle with it for a couple of hours... but after your suggestion, got my husband to slam it as hard as he could.. nearly took the door off i think... but it worked thanks very much Mark, lifesaver!

However, does worry me a bit - is this just one of the many eccentricities of campers and as long as we give it a good hard slam will b fin, or is there something we can and/or should do...

Found one potential supplier if we do need a new lock at mega bus (http://shop.megabug.co.uk/product_descr ... 64&cat=106" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) , tho not sure if they have any in stock - guessing they arent that easy to come by.

seen a lot of other spare parts .. i am a hoarder... filled the loft & the shed... here comes shed mkIII i think lol

Thanks again mark.

expect many more stupid questions, for those that have the patience to read, chuckle & occasionally point out the obvious

[adamsdv]

hi mark, it has a latch on the cab end, but daren't open it again tonight to check whether there is a latch @ the other end (or am i being thick?)will have a look tomorrow morning.

considering taking it all apart tomorrow to get my head around how it works... but i just know it could go horribly wrong if i do that

Annie (and Dan)

[Damien]

I have a 1982 2.0l Aircooled too! Mine doors a swine sometimes too, i check its closed by trying to pull the back edge out after shutting. most of the time i slide it shut without slamming it then give the back edge a quick nudge.

My problem is due to the nylon block on the rail on outside of van has worn down making back edge of door drop about 3mm so it doesn't line up with lock anymore, i would say you have the same/similar problem. If so make sure the nylon block cannot jump off rail and the sliding mechanism swinging round and giving a nice outward dent on slider cover like mine has..........

[VWCamperfan]

Glad it worked!
It could just be one of those VW things or it could be adjustable. Depends what type of latch system you have. If you have a latch at the front (by the door handle) and at the back (same level, opposite end) of the door then these can be adjusted.
These earlier doors do require a bit of a slam to get them to shut properly but shouldn't be too excessive.
Try oiling all moving parts first. These consist of... Rollers (under door/floor and under side panel below rear window and above top of door). The sprung arm at the back of the door (the one that connects to rollers under side panel), this can often get stiff unless lubricated. And of course, the latches themselves.
Ps. The top 'roller' is actually a nylon block. The track this glides in should be oiled lightly along its length on both sides.
If after oiling you still have to have muscles like Popeye to close it, let us know what latches etc. you have on the door and we'll go from there!

Good luck!

[VWCamperfan]

If you do take it apart to have a nose and you have a two latch system, you will find a wire that runs from the back of the door to the front under the door panel (take off gently, nylon clips can break easily!). This will let you know what system you have and if its going to be easy to readjust... Or not!
Don't worry, we'll get there!

[adamsdv]

hi mark & Damien
just wanted t say sorry for not replying to your posts and THANK YOU

we went off on our hols early the next day, relying on having to slam it very hard (admittedly i am a 99 pound weed and unfortunately have t rely on hubbie to slam it!) - but without your advice would probs have ended up calling a locksmith

will have a fiddle next weekend, as we made fellow t25 owners laugh with how hard we have to slam it, and have started avoiding using the sliding door at night

long list of other minor probs, so we will be asking lots of stupid questions... so far replaced two fuses, cigarette lighter charger (1000miles without GPS would not be good for marital relations), water hose - but really other than stalling at low revs, we have been very lucky mechanically so far.... so will now be on to.. leaking roof vents, then learning how to service... and try to fix the stalling prob

BUT we had a fantastic 3 weeks in the peaks, lakes & upto glen coe - and we love our van already will post some pics & will be posting some wild camp sites on http://www.wildcamping.co.uk

cheers again and thanks for reading too
Annie
(edited - removed the extra 2 sigantures!)