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Subject:Re: adjusting sliding door height
From:Dan N
Date:Sun, 1 Sep 2019 15:47:36 -0700

hi Richard,

here what I did for the front, will be same for the aft... I put a bottom
jack under the door near the front (with a piece of wood as cushion), I
raise the jack up till it touches the door firm with no play, I loosen the
bolts, raise the jack up some more (about 1/2"  in my case), tighten the
bolts, lower the jack, remove it and test the door.
Repeat if it's not enough our too much..

dan

On Sun, Sep 1, 2019 at 2:51 PM Richard Koerner <rjkinpb@sbcglobal.net>
wrote:

>  My slider door on my '85 Vanagon has needed a little adjustment in
> height....for like 30 years!  (I was about 1/10" or 2 mm too low; showed
> scuffing of aluminum trim strip down on the floor; also visually....I could
> always tell the waistlines didn't match up quite right.  Reason was a paint
> job 30 years ago; they took off the slider door and everything; but didn't
> put it back together exactly right.)
>
> Just went out to garage and fixed it.
> Forward adjustment is easy.  Three Hex fasteners.  Loosen....lift a
> little...re-tighten.
> Aft adjustment....Man!....what a can of worms!!!  I loosened the 2 hex
> bolts holding the waistline bearing assembly at aft end of Slider Door.
> Instantly, it dropped.  Uh-oh.  Door is now all wonky....can barely
> move....what the heck did I just do?
>  Now, Bentley clearly says it's a 2-man job right there at the top of the
> page.  But I was solo.  Watched how everything back there moves and pivots
> when those 2 hex bolts are loose and assembly is free to move.  Anyway,
> after lots of trial and error, it's all working good; better than ever
> actually since I've owned the van.  Was pretty gloomy though for about an
> hour when everything seemed to be binding up and all; basically, that pivot
> hinge with the torsional spring at the aft end of door?....definitely needs
> to be exactly VERTICAL.  And that slider door is heavy; hard to lift and
> hold (should have used a floor jack) while tightening those hex bolts by
> yourself.  Always learning.
>
>
> Rich
> San Diego
>