Sliding Door Center Roller Arm Questions

The sliding door on my 2005 Sprinter Westfalia has been problematic for awhile. I replaced my center door roller arm not too long ago and then the roller on my lower support arm disintegrated so I needed to replace that and decided to replaced the upper roller arm preemptively at the same time .

I've never completely understood the design of the center roller arm, it's just not well designed or even though I replaced mine with supposedly a Genuine Mercedes part from Europarts it's defective.

The center roller arm doesn't reliably hold the sliding door up over time in the appropriate position aligned with the ridge pattern running along the door and body panels per the Sprinter Door Adjustment instructions that I have.

I try to adjust the door per the steps below but the door just sags back down.

1. place adjustable jack under sliding doors lower edge at rear of door
2. hop inside and loosen center roller arm bolt
3. hop outside and use jack to move door up overshooting ridge pattern (see #1 pic below)
4. hop inside and tighten center roller arm bolt
5. hop outside and take pressure off of jack
6. watch sliding door settle back down below ridge pattern :bash: (see #2 pic below)

I removed the center door roller arm to check it our for obvious damage (see pic #3 & #4) but accept for what appear to be some poor manufacturing tolerances I don't see anything egregious.

The other thing I notice which surprises me is that the center roller arm seems damn sloppy in the body rail and does not need to be slid in from the rear end. I can actually insert the rollers in anywhere along the rail, which doesn't seem right to me. (see pic #5) I eyed and measured the rail and it seems very consistently shaped and sized along it's entire length-a little wear here and there but nothing extreme.

What don't I know ? Any help would be great.
 

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billintomahawk

Guest
Robert,
My slider is acting up too.
I am going in for round three.

My current theory is that the center roller mostly guides the door to the latch so it just needs to center.
i guess I'll readjust it after I get the top and bottom right.

Not by the book but the book is a translation, anyway my door won't latch right and I'm mad at it.
It won't stop raining in Wisconsin which does nothing for progress.

Thanks for the pictures of your slider.

bill in tomahawk
 
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Nautamaran

2004 140” HRC 2500 (Crewed)
It’s a needlessly finicky adjustment... but it is possible to secure the roller in the magic spot where the body lines align and the seam gap is shared evenly at B- and C-pillars. Then you can adjust the striker bar on the C-pillar to catch the door.
Oh, and the top and bottom rollers ard the two front wedges and their pockets.
Patience... in generous amounts.
 
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billintomahawk

Guest
In the sliding door wars, I did the whole adjustment thing but didn't really solve the problem immediately.
In the process I lubed the locking mechanism several times with 10-40 engine oil and with silicone based machine oil(thin).
No immediate change.

Now a week or so later the door seems much happier and is locking up tight on the first slam.

I readjusted the latch/striker bar on the rear pillar(C) to reduce the ridge and the door was happy with that(moved it inward).

Now I wonder if the locking mechanism was sticky due to a lack of lubrication.
And that was a big part of the problem?

bill
 
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Nautamaran

2004 140” HRC 2500 (Crewed)
Could be? I had sucess squirting lube UP into the door latch and repeatedly opening and closing the door. No slamming required once I had the rear roller extension (stick-out) adjusted to let the edge swing in, and was coordinated with the B-pillar wedge locations to align the forward edge flush with the B-pillar skin.

I do think the compression of the rubber door seal plays a major role, so a 1/16 inch adjustment inwards on the wedges or rear roller can cause the rear edge latch to miss unless the door is slammed. It can slide smoothly latched with minimal inertia if the wedges are moved outward a 1/16” and the rear roller stick-out is reduced a bit by sliding the bolt forward 1/16”

-dave
 

220629

Well-known member
Most all of the latching and unlatching of the front assembly is driven by the proper action of the rear assembly. The rear of the door "pops" out to drag the front latch open. If things aren't properly adjusted and moving smoothly that operation will not work well. (I really would prefer old style hinged doors.)

As an aside, here in the cold northeast USA I have learned to apply some silicone grease to the side door rubber seals. Without that treatment it takes very little frost or ice to keep the door from "popping" open. Pulling on the front handle does little to free a frozen door and may break/damage the handle assembly.

:2cents: vic
 
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billintomahawk

Guest
Most all of the latching and unlatching of the front assembly is driven by the proper action of the rear assembly. The rear of the door "pops" out to drag the front latch open. If things aren't properly adjusted and moving smoothly that operation will not work well. (I really would prefer old style hinged doors.)

As an aside, here in the cold northeast USA I have learned to apply some silicone grease to the side door rubber seals. Without that treatment it takes very little frost or ice to keep the door from "popping" open. Pulling on the front handle does little to free a frozen door and may break/damage the handle assembly.

:2cents: vic
Vic,
Been lubing my seals with old tranny fluid, the stuff is magic for door seals and front /rear bumpers. My bumpers came to life and look new. They were looking streaked, bleached and nasty.

bill
 
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After several frustrating attempts at trying to get my center roller arm adjusted I took it to the professionals. I fortunately have a local non dealership shop right near my house that specializes in Sprinter Fleet maintenance. They looked at my door for about 60 seconds and immediately said that the center roller that I had purchased awhile back was a cheap Chinese knockoff that was too weak, and quickly bends with use causing the rear of the door to sag. They had seen these Chinese knockoffs several times before. They ordered a true genuine MB part directly from MB, replaced it and adjusted my door. The sliding door works so smoothly now you can close it literally with one finger.

One interesting thing to note about their installation of the center roller arm. I purchased my 2005 Sprinter used in 2014 and the sliding door had obviously been worked on before. That big washer with one convex side installed under the bolt that holds the center arm roller to the door was always a point of interest for me. When I purchased my van the washer was installed with the convex side towards the inside surface of the door. The professionals at my local shop flipped the washer over and the convex side is now facing away from the door. I have no idea which way is OEM as I never could find a picture of it in any of the Sprinter Manuals that I looked through, but found it interesting and wanted to make note of it for other owners.
 

220629

Well-known member
... The professionals at my local shop flipped the washer over and the convex side is now facing away from the door. I have no idea which way is OEM as I never could find a picture of it in any of the Sprinter Manuals that I looked through, but found it interesting and wanted to make note of it for other owners.
That is a Belleville washer. It is designed to keep tension and lock the assembly. The fastener bearing against the convex surface is correct.

:cheers: vic
 
That is a Belleville washer. It is designed to keep tension and lock the assembly. The fastener bearing against the convex surface is correct.

:cheers: vic
Excellent. Thank you for the education and confirming that the guys at my local shop knew what they were doing in regards to the washer.
 

grozier

Active member
As an aside, I am not convinced that the Westy needs the special "high-clearance" door roller. This was used on refrigerated trucks with a lot of insulation.

Unfortunately, the normal Sprinter center roller cannot be installed on our "high-clearance" door. You can tell our doors are special because they have that little cutout for the unique roller. The way the center roller attaches is unique to our doors. The threaded bolt is in a different place, and a tab on the regular hinge doesn't line up.

At a German Westyfest some years ago I saw a van with a normal Sprinter door (and normal roller.) They were not the first owners so they didn't know anything about it, but their door worked fine and still had the interior panel with roller blind, etc.

The normal roller -- by virtue of its shorter length and forked design -- is a much sturdier item. Even the OEM Mercedes part is a pot-metal thing that doesn't have enough stiffness to do the job.

Our door is rusted and when we eventually replace it I will report back on the regular roller.

Ted

p.s. If the seam at the rear of your door is split, get some oil in there and tape it up to stop the rust from continuing to grow.
 

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goodnow

New member
We were having center controller arm issues, and took the above advice to lube the locking mechanism and it worked. Problem solved.
 
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billintomahawk

Guest
My center roller is shot, the top can't be far behind.
I did the bottom last summer.

Ugg!

bill
 

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