Joe,
Yes to both of your questions.  Tends to work better in warm weather.
Edward

At 10:34 PM 3/6/2008, Joe Federici wrote:
>Do you find it's any different in the cold of the winter then the
>heat of the summer? Does or has the rear hatch ever popped open so
>the rear of door pops out slightly when your driving. I'm inclined to
>say it's the rear latch. I would try adjusting it, per the manual.
>Usually it's a matter of the latch coming straight out just ever so
>slightly so it latches sooner anf the bolt sits further in the latch.
>Depending on how bad/old it is you might try replacing. That rear
>hatch cost around 40.00
>
>JFF
>
>
>On Mar 6, 2008, at 6:57 PM, Edward Maglott wrote:
>
>My '86 wolfsburg model sliding door is finicky about being closed
>just right.  Too hard and it "bounces" open, too soft and it doesn't'
>latch all the way.  I looked at all the Bentley stuff on it, and it
>appears to be properly aligned.  I looked at the latch mechanism at
>the rear of the door.  There is the part that rotates and grabs the
>post on the van body (I will call that the latch), and the part that
>holds the rotating part once it has latched on the post ( I will call
>that the pawl).  The pawl action seemed a little sluggish, so I used
>some WD40 on the pivot points of both it, and the latch.  No
>change.  Any advice?
>
>Edward