Sliding Door Roller Mod

bcman

Active member
I've replaced the center door slide mechanism (AKA body slide) twice on my van when one of the smaller plastic rollers gets crushed/deformed and won't roll properly. Those rollers are just pieces of plastic spinning on steel shafts, so it's just a matter of time until they wear out in one way or another. I decided to try upgrading them to cartridge ball bearings. (I'll let someone else insert the quote from Fletch.)

Enduro DR 1017 2RS MAX bearings are 10 mm ID, 17 mm OD, and 6 mm wide at the outer race. Pretty close in dimensions to the plastic rollers. I ground off the peened ends of the steel pins and drove them out with a drift. I then turned some bearing supports/spacers from 7/16 stainless rod on the lathe, then bolted them into place with M6 flat head cap screws and nylock nuts.


One of the plastic rollers is shown removed, along with one bearing assembly.

I installed the fixed mechanism last night. It took a little adjustment of the T45 Torx head bolt to get the door lined up to latch properly, but seems to be working like a charm. I'll post a long-term update in a few months.
 

bcman

Active member
Update: After 9 months, these little bearings are still going strong. No sign of increased wear on the track, either.

I had access to them through my previous bike-industry job, but they're available here. You're on your own for the stainless spacers, though.
 
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bcman

Active member
Stacking up washers should work fine, yea?
Maybe. The screw is 6mm, but the inner diameter of the bearing is 10mm. The bearing will center on the screw due to the conical screw head, but side loading could bend the screw and cause the bearing to slide on the washers.



The piece I turned on the lathe is shown above in light blue. It takes up the space between the screw and the inner race of the bearing.
 

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