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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
Last edited: