Sliding door problems

Zcat7 · Nov 14, 2016

Recently my sliding door started to "snag" about halfway through it's travel. I took a look under the track cover and could see that the slider thingy was flapping back and forth (or rather in and out) instead of staying parallel to the track and hence was binding. Being a bit time-bound at the moment (baby due imminently...) and needing to use the bus for a couple of jobs I have been gently teasing the door back and forth without any dramas but yesterday a metal disc with a short collar around the centre hole dropped out. I suspect that it is one half of item '7' on the diagram below,;as if it's just worn right through, though I can't see how/why it would have fallen out. In fairness I can't quite figure out where it attaches on that diagram so I'll have to get the tools out and have a proper look but I'm thinking that there must be more broken bits in there.

So, does anyone know if the whole slider thing is likely to be kippered or can I get replacement parts. Anyone else had this happen?

georgeyv · Nov 14, 2016

You can buy all the parts you need - you're best whipping it off to see what is wrong with it. If it needs a few new parts, it may be worth replacing the whole thing. Some parts are tricky to get hold of.

It's not too difficult to remove the bracket - you have to take the track cover off so you can take the bracket off the rail, support the door on something so you can leave the other brackets in the runners and then unbolt the middle roller mech from inside the door.

Here is the roller you've mentioned - but make sure it's that before you buy one!

http://www.autocrafteng.co.uk/shop/bay-window_109/door-parts_32/sliding-door-roller-and-track_175/roller-wheel-middle-bracket-typ-2-68-79_1926/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Zcat7 · Nov 15, 2016

Great, thanks Georgyv. Yep it looks like its that roller that has worn right through the middle. I'll take a look this weekend and report back.

Zcat7 · Dec 12, 2016

So, all sorted now! It was indeed as I'd suspected. The roller basically wasn't rolling properly due to a ton of grease, grit and grime trapped behind it and there were similar levels of muck along the rail itself, which had acted like valve grinding paste and so caused the wheel to wear through to the bearing and fall in half. Only the nylon dolly was keeping the thing on the track so I was quite lucky that this didn't let go too.

I ended up removing the whole hinge, fitting a new roller and dolly, cleaning and lubing everything, attending to some rust under the track cover (usual wire wheel, rust converter, paint and some Bilt Hamber cavity wax) and fitting a new door seal. I now can't believe how easy the door is to open and close; truely a gentle one-handed operation.

I was also suprised at how easy the whole operation was, needing just a phillips screwdriver and an axle stand with some foam on it to get the door off the rail and ready to service the hinge and roller. I highly recommend doing this as part of your servicing and aim to do this every year going forward - you will be pleasantly surprised at the results!

The one thing that is still a problem to sort is the "operating cam" (item 15 in the diagram), which was broken into 3 pieces. It's hard to describe but luckily the important bit gets held in place and with the securing nut and washer done up tight everything stays together, so working fine for now... I have found only one place that still offers these (Custom & Commercial) and they are out of stock at present so if anyone has a spare floating about they're willing to sell I'd appreciate it!

Webbaldo · Dec 13, 2016

Zcat7 said:
The one thing that is still a problem to sort is the "operating cam" (item 15 in the diagram), which was broken into 3 pieces. It's hard to describe but luckily the important bit gets held in place and with the securing nut and washer done up tight everything stays together, so working fine for now... I have found only one place that still offers these (Custom & Commercial) and they are out of stock at present so if anyone has a spare floating about they're willing to sell I'd appreciate it!

Yep hard to find!, I luckily got one off a local restorer who'd ordered a few from JK. I actually accidently broke mine and panic'ed when I seen they were nla everywhere.