Passenger sliding door

hkpierce

'02 140 Hi BlueBlk Pass
A combination of my stupidity and unfortunate timing of my "charges" resulted in a tremendous slamming of my passenger sliding door two weekends ago. http://www.t255.com/photos%20071117_Gettysburg/GT41.html, http://picasaweb.google.com/hkp255/GettsburgCleanup The result was the sliding door would no longer properly close on the rear latch. The latch was clearly broken in some way, and I had no idea if the track and hinges were bent. If the door is sprung, there isn't much that I could do about that.

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So I ordered a slew of parts from Berry, figuring it was cheaper to have excess parts than the wait for a part I needed - especially with another trip coming up next week.

Heads up on the panel plugs - 5103553AA: the part number and ordering quantity is by singles ($0.26 each). But they come in packages of 20.

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The door, technically, doesn't have to be removed to replace the rear lock. https://sprinter-source.com/forums/showpost.php?p=118205&postcount=6 But as I wasn't sure what was bent, I removed the door. It is really easy - just remove the stop on the middle track, remove the interior rubber bumper at the front of the door, and remove the two Torx screws on the bottom hinge.

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It takes two people to walk the door off. I had to wake my teenage son to help - 30 minute job. As it was raining, we took the door into my basement to work in comfort, and tarped up the van with snap clamps on the roof gutter and bottom panel flanges.

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The door disassembly was easy. But the Service Manual is incorrect in some some respects - possible because it is written for cargo and my van is a passenger. The handle has two, not one, screw to remove, and there are panel plugs in the middle of the panel in addition to the perimeter.

I replaced all the hardware but the track. Remember to use anti-vibration gunk on everything when reassembling.

Contrary to Doctor A's prediction, the latch mechanism was not repairable. Notice the break in the nylon insert. Among other things, this nylon also keeps one of many springs in place. With this break, the secondary lock action spring pops out and results in no action.
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Total time to remove the door, remove and replace the two door hinges, replace the locking mechanism, remount the door, and time waiting for the second pair of hands to wake up: 2 hours.

Additional information on realigning the rear part of the door located here: http://www.sprinter-source.com/forum/showpost.php?p=21158&postcount=8
 
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unik

New member
Greate Job:clapping:

it is winter now:snore:
I do not like to open slide pasenger door when it is cold:thumbdown:

At mean time tinking about removing pasenger seat behind driver seat. It will be like on tandem.
Plus I have pasenger seat on pedestal swill alrerdy.

uNik:cheers:
 

InnoVAN

New member
a hungover passenger severely slammed my door this weekend and I think I'm in the same boat. Is this a degenerative disease? I can close it about 40% of the time, but it takes a few tries other times. but it always closes.

What is the part I really need to replace? I am not sure what parts to order to get it back to right again.

Matt
 

hkpierce

'02 140 Hi BlueBlk Pass
This is what I ordered from Berry Dodge: http://www.sprinterparts.net/oem-sprinter-parts.html
Items Ordered:
Item: Body hardware - Door - Sliding door - Lock Lock, sprinter van, front, right 2003 - 2004
Price: $44.51
Tax: $0.00
Qty: 1
Total: $44.51
[Dodge Number 05104358AA
MB Number A9017301135]
[NOTE: Berry Dodge's Trademotion web site is WRONG about this item - it will give you only one choice for a "latch" - which in their records is the LEFT SLIDING DOOR LATCH: 05104357AA A9017301035. You MUST indicate in the Comment field that you are looking for the Right latch, and even better put the part number in. NOTE Further that using Trademotion's Part number search will come up with the Latch, but then put in the Left latch number behind the scenes. Your order confirmation receipt will have no part numbers to confirm what numbers were actually ordered.]

Item: Side loading door - Lock and hardware - Slider - Side #2 2003 - 2007
Price: $65.31
Tax: $0.00
Qty: 1
Total: $65.31

Item: Side loading door - Lock and hardware - Slider - Side #1 Right 2003 - 2004
Price: $58.89
Tax: $0.00
Qty: 1
Total: $58.89

Item: Side loading door - Lock and hardware - Slide rail Slide rail Right 2003 - 2007
Price: $47.40
Tax: $0.00
Qty: 1
Total: $47.40

Item: Side panel - Interior trim - Compartment trim - Fastener Fastener Right - Passenger van, right side 2003 - 2007
Price: $0.26
Tax: $0.00
Qty: 20
Total: $5.20​
 
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hkpierce

'02 140 Hi BlueBlk Pass
There are nylon-type material on many of the pieces - the rollers are all nylon, as an example. My piece, as shown in the picture, was the latch mechanism, the first item on the order list.
 
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georgetg

2005 140" low roof
a hungover passenger severely slammed my door this weekend and I think I'm in the same boat. Is this a degenerative disease? I can close it about 40% of the time, but it takes a few tries other times. but it always closes.
What is the part I really need to replace? I am not sure what parts to order to get it back to right again.
Matt
Matt,

Check the lower forward door control arm (below the step) before doing anything else...
I had the same symptoms you described and my lower arm had bent out of alignment. As a result the roller was scraping the bottom of the footwell instead of riding in the groove on the underside of the plastic step...



link to old post
Cheers
George
 

tedwardc

New member
I bought the sliding door lock assembly but don't have instructions or even a picture that shows how it should be replaced. Do you have any suggestions where I can find this information? The dealership removed the old piece but was going to charge me an arm and a leg to replace it so I decided to try it myself. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks! -Ed
 

hkpierce

'02 140 Hi BlueBlk Pass
My passengers were noting problems with the door again. Seemed like there were three problems upon looking into it. First, I could see that the door gave the appearance of having sagged a bit, causing the door to ride the track, chipping the paint, and rusting:

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Second, from the top of this thread you may be aware that I have not replaced the track, but there was an issue as to whether the track may be bent. I used the ChannelLocks to narrow the gap of the track at the bend by bringing the UPPER part of the track down. Third, I also re-set the strike bar about 1/16 higher:

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Then, lastly, since the flange on the door that was setting on the track was already rusted, I flattened out the flange a bit to give more clearance. The primer is visible in this picture [more coats necessary to make up for the thick blue paint {cry your hearts out white vans}].

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hkpierce

'02 140 Hi BlueBlk Pass
More problems - So now the door will not latch. Examining the door, there seems to be too much movement on the lower sliding mount.

To get access to the foot plate, remove the fascia by pulling it up. there are only spring tabs holding it down:

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Next, find the plugs to access the screws holding down the foot plate. What, you can't see it in this closeup?

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Here is one point out.

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Plug, torx screw and hole visible to the ground. Note that the front screw is of different length then the other three.

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Now the worst screw - it is located 4" down this dirt-filled hole. Vacuum out the hole. I did not have a torx that would go down that far. I found a screw driver that fit the torx spacing, then, with a lot of force keeping the screw driver set and a wrench on the screwdriver's shaft I was finally able to get the screw loose.

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When I replace it, I will do so with a hex nut.
 
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hkpierce

'02 140 Hi BlueBlk Pass
With the foot plate removed and flipped - lots of dirt - and it is wet. No rust. But I found a Canadian dollar from my Northern Tier trip.

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Here is the problem - the roller's bearings are gone. And I do not have spare parts:

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Looking closely at the track, it shows the path (the white) of the wheel in the track. At the moment, the wheel falls below the track.
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This shows how the wheel fits in the track:

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hkpierce

'02 140 Hi BlueBlk Pass
No spare part, and to order from Berry means I will not get parts for about 10 days. I found a 1/4 drive socket that fit over the post, then I pressed the socket into the wheel:

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A temporary fix - a little noisy, but it works so that I can lock the door:

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With all the work on my door over the years, I needed to push the door out a little at the top so that the top didn't hit the gasket before the rest of the door:

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But the failure of the lower sliding hardware seems to have also damaged my 2-year old middle sliding wheels. So I pulled my 7-year old set from storage and reinstalled it.

However, in the 30-degree weather, ABS plastic plate is brittle at that temperture, and I broke off the lower tabs on the ABS plate. :bash: Another part to add to my order sheet. Note that the reason for that plate is to giving room for the hinge to swing. Taking off the plate is an alternative means to leverage the door's position relative to the hinge.
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It can be done with effort on the inside - but the far better way is to have someone on the outside leveraging the rear of the door to its proper position with a flat pry-bar while the other person is inside and tightening down the screw.

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So the door is back in business while I await parts.
 
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georgetg

2005 140" low roof
Nice work on the slider...

I'm surprised to see the dually door on your Sprinter.
Was that a replacement item?

Cheers
George
 

sikwan

06 Tin Can
I don't have this on my door...

...I don't think I have that little window from the inside as well.

PICT0001-2.JPG
referred to as a Cap
MB A 9047660135
Dodge 05104589AA
 
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georgetg

2005 140" low roof
I don't have this on my door...

...I don't think I have that little window from the inside as well.
That little cutout on the outside of the slider is so the dually (twin rear wheels) slider fits
the middle slider that rides in the stainless steel channel.

The dually's wheels extend further out from the body and the larger middle arm provides the extra clearance

I'm not aware that this was fitted standard on single wheel Sprinters...

Cheers
George
 

220629

Well-known member
HK,
Nice write-up as always. Great temporary trick with the socket.

....
{cry your hearts out white vans}].
You do have a mean streak hidden somewhere though. That cut to the quick being that I'm a white Sprinter owner..... white paint color that is. Thanks for the extensive info. I hope I never need to employ most of it. AP/vic
 

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