In a message dated 23/05/2009 9:15:10 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
LISTSERV@GERRY.VANAGON.COM writes:

        Wanna bet ?  There are  at least a million parts give or take a few
in the middle, lower and  upper slider mechanisms that are worn and need
replacing.  How old it  that AC bus ?  AND, how may times do you think that
door has opened and  closed in it's lifetime.  ALL the bearings, three in the
middle mechanism  and one in the lower mechanism and one in the top
mechanism are SEALED  bearings.  If you think they still have any grease left in
them then your  not thinking too clearly.  Greasing or spraying with whatever
will not  get any lubrication into the bearings, if it does then the seal's
gone and so is  the bearing races.  All that lubrication your shooting in
there is doing  only two things, gathering crud for the rollers to run over
making it even  harder to open and close and maybe slowing down the rust of the
 tracks.  Yes, rust in the tracks, yikes who would have thnunk ?  Not  the
engineers as they figured running steel rollers on a painted surface  was
gonna work  - for a week - maybe !  So now, take off that slider  cover and
have a "real" look at what's going on !  The whole mechanism  needs to come
off and taken apart and rebuilt or replaced.  Don't forget  the bronze
bushings that have cracked in the two pin joints.  Those bronze  bushings are
unobtainium unless you have a machine shop nearby who will  make them for you
then get your check book ready !  Better to get a whole  new assembly from VW
while they still have them !  For a list of available  parts and their
Canadian dollar prices from VW see my _Vanagon New Parts_
(http://frankcondelli.com/sales.htm)  webpage "Sliding  Door Hardware" listing.  Those prices are
from recent purchases as i just  rebuilt one of these mechanisms on an '87
Syncro this week.  Some of the  parts in the mechanism of the early AC and
waterboxer vans are different, so  beware !

>>>>>In my experience, there's really no need to  disassemble anything.<<<<<

Cheers,

Frank  Condelli
Almonte, Ontario, Canada
'87 Westy & Lionel Trains (_Collection for sale_
(http://frankcondelli.com/trainsal.htm) )
_Frank Condelli &  Associates_ (http://frankcondelli.com/busindex.html)  -
Vanagon/Vanagon Westfalia Service in the Ottawa Valley
_Vanagon Stainless Steel Exhaust  Systems_
(http://frankcondelli.com/exhaust.htm)
_BusFusion_ (http://www.busfusion.com/bfhome.htm)  a  VW Camper camping
event, Almonte, ON, June 11 ~ 14,  2009