sliding door problem

[Big Boris]

hi all,
i hope someone can help ,the problem we have is when we go to shut the sliding door it slides allong as normal until it starts to move in towards the van where it is suposed to shut, if that makes sense,instead of moveing in nicely and everything catching and shuting ,it reluctantly whants to locate almost like there is something blocking it ,but there isnt .
maybe someone out there is having the same probs or has had the same thing in the past ,any advice would be greatly appreciated ,
thanks

[COURGETTE]

mine sometimes bounces back open, id be interested to see these replies

[ghost123uk]

It's not a lump of ice / snow in the runner is it ? (just a thought)

I cleaned all the runners on mine a few months ago, when it started getting stiff on closing.

I found the best way to get all the old manky hardened grease out was to use an old towel liberally soaked in paraffin.
This left a nice anti corrosion type coating on the surfaces too
A messy job, but the amount of cack that came out was obviously going to make matters better.

I then re-greased all the runners, this took a heck of a lot more grease than I anticipated, I had to go and buy another tub of it !

All now works nice and smoothly.

Good luck with it

mine sometimes bounces back open, id be interested to see these replies

Is yours the later type where the catch is at the back of the door ?
If so mine used to do this (when I first bought it 5+ years ago).
I had to adjust the catch mechanism, quite easy to see the simple "peg" that sticks out from the van body (not the door) and this can have it's position adjusted by slackening off the nut (easily seen) and adjusting position, then tightening up. The catch on the back of the door can be adjusted for position too if need be, but for this you need a LARGE STRONG cross point screwdriver !

[Big Boris]

thanks for the reply, i will try both of what you said when i get chance ,
thanks again

[CovKid]

I've posted my analysis on this problem numerous times but once more will do no harm I guess.

I found that often the rear catch (which is normally greased), in cold weather simply doesn't move fast enough to hold the door shut. To verify this, close it slower. The temptation is to slam it but invariably the door bounces out again. This year I removed all the grease and simply oiled the catch and even in brassic weather it has closed without probs. I think for some reason the extreme temperatures make the grease (particularly old grease) too stiff which is why I don't use it anymore. Had the same prob on a Bedford Midi which was cured the same way.

Hope this helps.

[Big Boris]

Thanks matey,
i will try what you said that sounds like the similar senario to me ,
nice one ,
borris

[CovKid]

I'd definatelty start there before moving lock/catch parts. After all, if its worked fine up to now, its likely theres a simpler reason. The foam seal can get hard in cold weather which can stop the door going fully home (in which case you may have little choice but to slacken rear catch pin on body as a temporary measure but nine times out of ten its the frozen grease issue, which sounds absurd but its exactly what happens in practice. I had this prob for three winters so decided to wash the spring, catch etc with parafiin to remove all the old grease and just oiled it. Did the trick.

With sub-zero temperatures clearances can change too which creates all kinds of probs but oil seems to fare better on catches in the winter in my experience. Over the last week I've had the sliding door key lock freeze and even the catch opener inside, but it still shuts with a clunk ok and it would not have done that had I not cleaned off all the old grease.

[COURGETTE]

mine sometimes bounces back open, id be interested to see these replies

Is yours the later type where the catch is at the back of the door ?
If so mine used to do this (when I first bought it 5+ years ago).
I had to adjust the catch mechanism, quite easy to see the simple "peg" that sticks out from the van body (not the door) and this can have it's position adjusted by slackening off the nut (easily seen) and adjusting position, then tightening up. The catch on the back of the door can be adjusted for position too if need be, but for this you need a LARGE STRONG cross point screwdriver !

mmmmmmmm mines an early door, i did get a wiff that someone replaced the lower runner completley, dont know who did it though

[Big Boris]

hi all ,
that sliding door problem seems to have sorted itself out now the weather has warmed up a bit ,
happy days !!

[CovKid]

Again, I think you'll find this is due to old grease just not allowing things to spring as they should in cold temperatures. To avoid a repeat next winter, wash all the grease from associated parts with paraffin or similar then just oil them in future. Worked for me. Lock barrels can still freeze but sliding door should close ok. Grease on runners is fine but better to oil lock/catch parts. Never use grease in locks either - it just clogs them up.

[Cruz]

My door is doing the same but I suspect it's not aligned properly as the gap at the front of the door looks a bit large. The rear of the door seal is catching on the rear of the door (around the window) before the lock catch makes contact.

When the weather is nicer I'll undo the 3 bolts holding the hinge to the door and attempt to reposition the door. The door was taken off this way by a body shop last year, rather than removing the door from the runner