Club 80-90 Forums

I noticed recently that my sliding door, when shut (Shuts, and locks ok) sits about a centimeter lower than it should. The lines of the bodywork clearly show the door being lower. I also noticed that the electrical contacts in the door were not lining up, and as a result, the retro central locking module wasn't functioning due to these contacts not lining up.

I adjusted the contacts so they now line up, but would prefer to get the door square to the bodywork, then I can readjust that electrical contact back to where it should be.

Is there any specific adjustment that can be made to higher the sliding door? I have checked our wiki, but it only covers the sliding door opening issue.

Hope someone can help/advise.

Thanks

Morning, is it lower overall? or is it low at one end, are the vertical gaps even,parralel? have you done anything to cause this?
its important to know this before advising,
also a picky if its not too much trouble
mm

Thanks for your reply, its even across the whole door.

I have not done anything to cause it.

The door, opens, and shuts fine with no problems with it opening on its own.

I will check the verticle gaps as I have not looked properly.

I will grab a photo in a minute, and post it up here.

Ok, heres some photos showing the vertical gaps...







I had a quick look at the three allen bolts on the inner lower section of the door, and there does seem to be some upward adjustment available, but will not do this until someone here could advise how to hight the other end the same too.

Thanks in advance

i had no idea what i was doing when i adjusted mine. just played with all the bolts and the one that goes through the runner at the top as described by the haynes book of lies. very minor adjustments made the door move by quite a lot though.

Thanks, I will wait and see what other members advise, then proceed. Hoping you are right, and a simply a case of adjustment.



Ive not removed the slider rail cover yet, but plan to once I buy a rubber mallet.

Crikey thats out of line, what concernes me is , you say it just happened? well that would mean either bearing failures times 2 or brackets moved.
anyhow , you say it glides open and closed without any problems?
if so then we shall adjust it.
first if you open the door say half open and grab the bottom of the door at front edge ,can you lift the door up much, there should be clearance above the top bearing to allow for upward movement. assuming there is then
you need to remove the trim panal from the slider so you can get to the centre bracket bolts, check these are tight and have not moved.

Now loosen 1 of the 3 bolts on the bottom guide and then just nip it back up, next loosen the other 2 , (dont touch the 2 that are horizontal as these adjust the in/out) now with one hand support the weight of the door and with the other just loosen the 1st one you nipped up and as it loosens keep the hinge down and lift the door say an 1/8" (3mm)for Finland. and then nip the bolt back up , give the other 2 a nip , reason I do it this way is you only have to control one bolt which is easier than messing with all three if you follow, anyhow try the door for up movement as before and see if there is any change, there shoulkd be, now slide it shut, dont worry about the elec contacts yet,
how does it shut,
should be better on the froint edge but the back should be worse if anything, so go nto nthe centre bracket and undo the bolt that you get to through the hole now youve removed the trim and loosen this one, leave it loose whilst you sort the door, slacken the 2 remaining bolts and lift the door a touch and then nip up, try sliding and shutting it,
basically you repeat this to get a balance .
If the door gaps are tapered its due to one either of these two hinges being set wrong, end of the day and assuming its not been re-pannaled badly, then if your swage lines are in line the the gaps should also be parrallel at the same time,
easier to do then write, hope it makes sense , I got work to do now
mm

Thanks Mickey, printing your help out as I type. When I say its just happened, I meant, I have only just noticed it due to discovering the sliding door had a central locking motor retro fitted, but never worked. Upon investigation, i found the electrical connecting touch pins out of alighnment, and was then I noticed the door drop

I will report back once I have adjusted the door. As said, it glides open and closed with no problems, and closes shut perfectly.

Ah , that nakes sense then, be aware also that when you do these adjustments , you may find the door doesnt latch shut properly, if this is the case then you will have to lift the sricking pin on the c post by the same ammount as youve lifted the door, well give or take a touch.
Oh and you dont need a rubber mallet to remove the panal , too rough I reckon but thats my opinion,
take the 2 small screws out and then tug the cover out wards and back in a few times to loosen the bond, then with it held clear of the little brackets thump mit upwards at one end with the heel of your hand, repeat same at other end, do this a fewe times and its off, you can give them a reasonable thump too
mm

Cheers again, noted. Will get to it once the rain has stopped

The gap at the front of my early door is even but looks a bit larger than it should. The rubber stopper on the leading edge only just touches the mating metal plate when closed

I have adjusted everything but still can't get the gap to close a bit more. The centre hinge bolts are on their maximum movement positions. I can't seem to fathom out how to eek out a few more millimetres (about 5mm)

The door seal at the rear of the door has been damaged over the years from the latch catching on it

early or late door and how much would you like to move forward and what is the gap at front and rear in mm's
mm

Cruz wrote:The gap at the front of my early door

I will measure the gap tomorrow but the 3 bolt bracket on the slider is positioned on the door as far as it will go to try to get the door to go further and close the gap. The door has had a bit of a scrape in an earlier life so it could be something to do with that. I have another complete centre hinge and I may one day swap it to see if it makes a difference but you know what it's like

yes sorry, I saw the 83 in your sig and didint notice the early bit
on the centre track there is a rubber buffer that the slider assembly bumps into and then causes the door to carry on and fold in and shut etc, well I forget which , but another buffer / rubber whatever from the van also fits here and its a touch longer so whilst the slider will still work it will pivot a bit early and hence cause the gaps you speak of.
if you weret o remove this rubber and carefully slide the door closed you might then find its ok or maybe goes too far fwd. in which case you could shave the rubber down, fit another or give the bracket / lug a tap fwd ( it might have been moved ,bent at sometime.
all failing then elongate the holes in the door but this would be my last resort as its easier to do the other and of course maintain interchangability
I would remove the metal cup or the rubber from the front end so this is not influencing your movements.
M

I will try that on my day off next week Micky. If it doesn't rain. Cheers