sprinterpirate

not an electrician.
How flexy is your T1N chassis? Is it a noodle like mine?

I have been parking on an uneven, slanted driveway for the last few weeks. The other day I had trouble with the rear doors sticking--which I thought was probably a gummed up lock mechanism or something. It got worse and worse, and I started to notice the sheet metal above and below the latch was getting hit by the latch bar. Then, yesterday I closed the door and it wouldn't even latch. My chassis & body are flexing so much that the mechanism on one door moves a couple centimeters vertically relative to the other door--depending on how I'm parked!
:yell::censored:

By the way, I do have a Roadmaster sway bar--which has dramatically improved highway driving--but I'm convinced this may contribute to the flex I'm seeing, since the additional stiffness makes the suspension act less as a "leveler" for the chassis.

Do I have anything to worry about here or is this normal? My doors seem to be the culprit in the squeaking noises I'm trying to eliminate (installing sound/thermal insulation soon). Hopefully they just need some adjustment or rubber trim, but I don't want to just bandaid them if this is a symptom of a larger issue.

Oh yeah: its a 2004 140" cargo w/ two (count 'em TWO) sliding doors. :rad:
 

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220629

Well-known member
Maybe you're enjoying too much of that good food and tipping the driver front corner?


Seriously. I have found that my 2004 140 is very flexy. Where I worked there was a drainage basin in the parking lot. It was right in front of the shop area so I would often park there. I noticed that the rear doors got very sticky when my front driver side wheel was down in that basin.

So yes, I agree that the T1N Sprinters are very flexy and tire position can affect the back door operation. Your side door on each side must make it even a little more flexible. I don't know what affect the different rear spring has. My suspension is OEM except for replaced shock absorbers. vic
 

John484

'06 140 2500 SHC
Yep they are licorice sticks. Once I parked my 140 hightop with the right rear on a tall flat rock in order to level it for the night. The rear doors acted just like SPirate's did. I was too dumb to realize what was going on and loosened the hinges and was re-hanging the doors when I had my epiphany.
 

ECU

2006 T1n 118 Sprinter
I have a 118 and I've damaged the back door trying to close it while parked like Aqua Puttana.
 

surlyoldbill

Well-known member
The doors are huge, it doesn't take much to make them stick. The van isn't as flexy as you would think, I've turned up a few roads and driveways that caused a wheel to come off the ground. Somewhere there is a pic of a van with a rear wheel several feet off the ground.

Flex= resilient
Stiff= sheer breakage
 

sprinterpirate

not an electrician.
Haha Vic, yeah I could probably just fast for a few days & the doors will open & close like normal. Man I love this forum. I would probably have messed with the hinges like John did but I have learned to sit back & see what the forum has to say. Its reassuring to know this is normal. Thanks to everyone for your feedback.:bow:
 

JAM

New member
I once parked on uneven grass and my rear doors didn't shut properly. I also put a hellwig rear sway bar and that helped tremendously with cornering.
I like the term licorice stick john484 lol.
 

BlackHawk

New member
When I have a heavy trailer behind mine I can watch the side of the van flex in my mirror as I slowly roll through a pavement transition (like a steep driveway entrance). My doors are the same way. It makes me wonder if this flex contributes to the poor paint longevity the T1N's are blessed with.

Flex vs stiffness; why some flex is a necessary evil: When I first bought the van the traction control was malfunctioning, and not working. I backed into a dirt jobsite and got one of the rear tires down in a pothole, about 8" deep. I was stuck fast. I grabbed my spade shovel out of the back of the van thinking I would dig it out... I slid the shovel completely under the tire in the pothole! I begin giggling furiously as I could teeter-totter a three ton van up and down armed with only shovel!
 

Graphite Dave

Dave Orton
NCV3 is the same. Numerous times I have been unable to open the sliding door. Have learned to just move the van and that fixes the stuck door. Back doors also rattle and have since new.
 
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surlyoldbill

Well-known member
NCV3 is the same. Numerous times I have been unable to open the sliding door. Have learned to just move the van and that fixes the stuck door. Back door also rattle and have since new.
I fix the squeak from the back door by wrapping 1-2 layers of electrical tape over the latch pin. It's good for about 2-3 weeks. The gorilla tape seems to last a long time if you're doing this (just one layer, it's thick!).
 

psychoboy

05&06 Dodge Longs & Talls
my shop's dual slider 06 is more succeptible to sticking the back doors than my 05 single slider is (both long and talls)

I will say that our 08 short short sounds so much better than our N1Vs when we shut the doors. i don't like much about the newer van, but it sure sounds more solid when you are closing it up.
 

Dingo

New member
If your rear doors are squeaking , simply run some oil down the left hand rear door where the square bar exits the door frame . Open & close the door several times & then apply grease to the striker plate on top of the dooras well as pushing grease down where the oil has flowed too .

Once i had done this my nerve jangling on road squeak / squeal / groan vanished , i found it was the metal bar rubbing on the plastic moulding above the doors oon the body it's self
 

hulagun

Haulin' A** since 1974
The doors are huge, it doesn't take much to make them stick. The van isn't as flexy as you would think, I've turned up a few roads and driveways that caused a wheel to come off the ground. Somewhere there is a pic of a van with a rear wheel several feet off the ground.
What Bill said. I have lifted a rear tire clear of the ground a few times making a sharp turn into an angled driveway. Shorter frame beams "should" make 118"s stiffer than longer wb vans... My 118's doors do not stick or have any real fit issues. The thick factory plywood floor may help.
 

photogravity

Former Sprinter Wannabe
What Bill said. I have lifted a rear tire clear of the ground a few times making a sharp turn into an angled driveway. Shorter frame beams "should" make 118"s stiffer than longer wb vans... My 118's doors do not stick or have any real fit issues. The thick factory plywood floor may help.
As you mentioned, I think the plywood floors help make the Sprinter a bit more "solid" than those without. Also, if you have seats in the rear of the van, I could see how those, too, might make things a bit tighter.
 

GaryJ

Here since 2006
My 06 140 with its original 5/8" plywood floor in place and weighing just under 7000lbs. will also lift a rear wheel when turning into a tight uphill driveway. I can't say I like this feature but the doors always close easily and I've never noticed any flex in the chassis. So the variations we're seeing could be functions of wheelbase, age, prior use (read overloading), original floor and the tin worm possibly having done its work.

Gary
 

CJPJ

2008 3500 170 EXTD 3.0 V6 OM642.993 4.182
This Van of mine is stiff, in twisting and articulating ... so much so that I have to pay attention any time the travel surface is irregular. ...The van loves to tripod , get one wheel up in the air. The Van works good at what it's designed for, it just doesn't articulate very much.


images2RP7CAZZ.jpg
:) :2cents:
 

220629

Well-known member
... will also lift a rear wheel when turning into a tight uphill driveway.
I'm thinking that the straight axle and rear leaf springs contribute more to that.

... I can't say I like this feature but the doors always close easily and I've never noticed any flex in the chassis. So the variations we're seeing could be functions of wheelbase, age, prior use (read overloading), original floor and the tin worm possibly having done its work.

Gary
The doors contribute to the overall stiffness. I'd bet they are jammed when your rear wheel is off the ground.

An interesting experiment would be to stretch some strings corner to corner in an "X" about the middle of the cargo bay. I think that you might be surprised how they get taught and slack. I'm convinced that the my Sprinter is very flexy so I'm not out to prove anything.

vic
 
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GaryJ

Here since 2006
Vic,

After reading your opinions (which I hold in high regard) on chassis flex, I took my Sprinter to the neighbor's steep paved uphill driveway and entered at the angle that will sometimes give me a momentary ASR light, indicating a lifted wheel. When stopped there I can't actually get a wheel to hang in the air, but it is extended way down. I stopped in 5 different positions and opened and closed the rear doors.

I wish I had a more definitive answer, but what I found was that the rear door closed as easily as it would on flat ground, but sometimes I could feel the latch touch the striker bolt, but at a level that the average person might never notice.

So yes there is some chassis flex but on mine its very minor even in a very twisted position. Regarding the solid axle/leaf spring arrangement, the Sprinter springs must be very stiff because none of my other solid axle/leaf spring vehicles have ever had a wheel slip at that location in the last 20 years.

Out west here where we have almost unlimited BLM and Nat. Forest areas that allow "dispersed camping", the chosen site is rarely level. I've used stacker blocks to raise a low wheel 6" lots of times to achieve a near level bed and have never had difficulty opening or closing doors.

Thanks for getting me out there to do my unscientific testing so I could learn a little more about how my Sprinter reacts to normal twisting forces.

Gary
 

220629

Well-known member
Gary,
I'm certainly not shy about voicing my opinions, but they are just opinions after all. :rolleyes:

It sounds like you've put much more effort into exploring the body flex than I have. Interestingly, now that you mention it I haven't noticed doors sticking with the back wheels unlevel. When it has been evident to me is when my drivers side front wheel was down in a fairly deep drain grate with the other 3 wheels on level ashphalt.

Anyway, maybe some Sprinters are more stiff than others as you pointed out.

Thanks for the reply and info. vic

P.S. - Maybe now I will get out my strings and figure out some anchor points. :hmmm:

Vic,

After reading your opinions (which I hold in high regard) on chassis flex, I took my Sprinter to the neighbor's steep paved uphill driveway and entered at the angle that will sometimes give me a momentary ASR light, indicating a lifted wheel. When stopped there I can't actually get a wheel to hang in the air, but it is extended way down. I stopped in 5 different positions and opened and closed the rear doors.

I wish I had a more definitive answer, but what I found was that the rear door closed as easily as it would on flat ground, but sometimes I could feel the latch touch the striker bolt, but at a level that the average person might never notice.

So yes there is some chassis flex but on mine its very minor even in a very twisted position. Regarding the solid axle/leaf spring arrangement, the Sprinter springs must be very stiff because none of my other solid axle/leaf spring vehicles have ever had a wheel slip at that location in the last 20 years.

Out west here where we have almost unlimited BLM and Nat. Forest areas that allow "dispersed camping", the chosen site is rarely level. I've used stacker blocks to raise a low wheel 6" lots of times to achieve a near level bed and have never had difficulty opening or closing doors.

Thanks for getting me out there to do my unscientific testing so I could learn a little more about how my Sprinter reacts to normal twisting forces.

Gary
 

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