Problem aligning sliding door

[Manxfella]

After removing my sliding door during my restoration, I've now come to refitting it. I've got the door to sit perfectly in the hole with a nice panel gap all round which is even and the door pulls tight on the handle.

My problem is that when I fit the outer cover over the sliding rail, the door mechanism catches on the cover. I've drilled wider holes on the catch bolted to the body to try & slide it forward slightly and I've moved the rear catch as far back as it'll go, but it still catches.

What am I doing wrong? When I close the door, it looks like it needs about another 2-3mm clearance.

It worked perfectly before I removed it & I've not replaced any parts.

Any suggestions?

 

[crede999]

Post a couple of pics fella ...

Chris

 

[Manxfella]

Sorry for the delay!

Here are the pictures of the door gap & lock
I've measured the gaps both sides and they are:
4mm Front gap between sliding door & B post
5.5mm rear gap between sliding door & C post
4mm cap between sliding door bulge & sliding rail track cover

 

[bluenose]

Have you tried loosening the bracket on the sliding door which the u bolt is attached to and pushing it futher in to the sliding door?

(edit; sorry ignore me, that won't help as it's the actual bracket catching)

 

[bluenose]

can see from the pic the track cover is too far forward as the hole at the top of it is not lining up with the hole in the body

 

[Manxfella]

Thanks for the reply Bluenose. The holes do line up, I've just not put the bolt in as the latch keeps catching!
Do you have a photo of how yours looks & what the panel gaps are front & rear?

 

[bluenose]

hi, here's a few photo's of mine, hope it gives you some clues!!

it might just be the angle of the photo but it looked to me like this hole wasn't lined up

 

[Manxfella]

Thanks for the pics. Do you know what the size of your gap between the panels is?
I'm wondering if I can drill out the holes on the door & slide the catch towards the rear a little more? That would push the door forward closer to the b pillar & increase the gap at the c post?

Not sure if the swing or of the arm would be affected?

Still can't understand why this is happening when it all worked perfectly before I removed it!

 

[Trikky2]

Try temporarily removing the catch on the B post.

If it then clears the cover by the C post then its just a case of getting the B post catch set right. (If not set just right the extra friction while closing will push the door slightly back just as the rear catch is trying to swivel).

 

[Manxfella]

Ok, thanks tricky2. I'll try that tonight.