What's a cure for sliding door not sliding well?

[LMTLMT]

I sprayed lubricants at those three rollers areas, it worked fine for one day and back to not sliding well.  Its at a point where you have to really put lots of pull or push to get the sliding door to open and close.  Any suggestions?  Thank you.

 

[ArtW]

what lubricant did you use?

 

[SternWake]

Make sure rollers are actually rolling, not sliding.

I recommend a good cleaning of the wheels and the track.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000REGUE4/ref=cm_cr_rev_prod_title

The vanagon forums guys swear ths stuff makes their slider doors easier and quieter when laid in the track

 

[Txjaybird]

I've just started driving a 1998 Safari.  The sliding side door was really hard to open and close.  After suggestions here to use a silicone spray instead of WD 40 I stiil wasn't sure because there were so many at WalMart.  I asked at my mechanic's shop and was told to use P B Blaster, it's about $3 at Wally World.  First I cleaned the track by sweeping it really good.  I sparyed it only once and slid the door opened and closed a few times and it was GREAT.  I can open and close the door with one hand.  I have carpal tunnel, arthritis, and other nerve issues with my hands, also my collarbone on one side is dislocated and fused that way so I really needed help.  The back door latch seems to be the issue  there.  This worked well for me.

Good Luck

Jewellann

 

[LMTLMT]

what lubricant did you use?

I used White Lighting and WD40.

 

[LMTLMT]

Thanks Stern and Jaybird. I will do both and see if P B Blaster works.

 

[ArtW]

I advise the use of silicone spray lubricant, PB is good, but I prefer the silicone, it works very well

 

[TrainChaser]

SternWake is on the money.

Living in a house full of cat and dog hair........ I know that if there is debris interfering with the track, and you spray a lubricant on the track, the lubricant causes the debris to form clumps that block the track.

 

[SternWake]

Spray silicone is good stuff, unless one later wants adhesion of paint or perhaps tape in a nearby area where overspray might have occurred. Takes a lot of prepwork to get something to adhere properly to a surface that once had spray silicone applied.

Get in there and clean the wheels and track they ride upon as best you can with a strong light source available, perhaps some magnification with reading glasses. Use an old toothbrush and rags to soak up what is loosened. WD40 is excellent at cleaning, but so is the silicone.
Amazing how many would find flat spots on their rollers from them sliding instead of actually rolling.

 

[poncho62]

WD40 is not really a lubricant. WD stands for Water Displacement , which is what it does. The oils in it are very light and evaporate quickly. Thats why it doesnt lubricate for long.
BTW.....the 40 in WD40 was the 40th try at the formula....39 failures before that.

https://wd40.com/cool-stuff/history

 

[LMTLMT]

as suggestion by TxJaybird to use PB Blaster, I picked up a can from Home Depot (the multi purpose one) today, clean the tracks and wheels the best I can and use the PB Blaster. Sure enough it slides really well after but let me report back after one week or so to see how it holds up.

 

[steamjam1]

I am personally not a huge fan of the slider side door. I use regular white grease on the tracks to lubricate it, and a spray on lube, like PB blaster for the track wheels etc etc etc....

 

[GotSmart]

Sometimes you just need to replace worn out parts.