Francesca's sliding door latch.

1
Francesca Hi. I too had an ongoing problem with the sliding door either not closing properly or popping open whilst driving. The problem was in the locking mechanism on the rear of the sliding door. If you can sit in the van and observe how the lock operates by having someone on the outside close the door slowly. Firstly stage 1, two opposing hooks will lock onto one another around the door jamb pin(about the size of your little finger) Stage 2 the opposing hooks will close more tightly around the pin and a second stage hook will be engaged.
What i found was these hooks had over many years rounded off on the contact edges, and also were sloppy on the shafts on which they rotate.


Solution: remove lock and place flat in a vice with mechanism facing up. With a small flat metal file carefully file the contact surfaces flat again. To take the slop out of the shaft on which the hooks rotate you will need a hammer and punch. With the mechanism still in the vice place a scrap block of wood under the lock to take up the shock of what you are about to do. You will see the hooks being held on the shafts by some sort of metal flange sweated onto the shaft. Take the hammer and punch and work your way around this flange tapping it down and reducing the slop of the hook on the shaft.

This may make no sence unless you have the mechanism off the car and in front of you. A bit of bush mechanics but it has solved my sliding door problem for now. Good luck. Bill.
2
Thanks, Bill. That's very helpful. Seems to be a well-documented problem.

Francesca.

On 4/24/09, muddy3267 <marg_bill@westnet.com.au> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Francesca Hi. I too had an ongoing problem with the sliding door either not
> closing properly or popping open whilst driving. The problem was in the
> locking mechanism on the rear of the sliding door. If you can sit in the van
> and observe how the lock operates by having someone on the outside close the
> door slowly. Firstly stage 1, two opposing hooks will lock onto one another
> around the door jamb pin(about the size of your little finger) Stage 2 the
> opposing hooks will close more tightly around the pin and a second stage
> hook will be engaged.
> What i found was these hooks had over many years rounded off on the contact
> edges, and also were sloppy on the shafts on which they rotate.
>
> Solution: remove lock and place flat in a vice with mechanism facing up.
> With a small flat metal file carefully file the contact surfaces flat again.
> To take the slop out of the shaft on which the hooks rotate you will need a
> hammer and punch. With the mechanism still in the vice place a scrap block
> of wood under the lock to take up the shock of what you are about to do. You
> will see the hooks being held on the shafts by some sort of metal flange
> sweated onto the shaft. Take the hammer and punch and work your way around
> this flange tapping it down and reducing the slop of the hook on the shaft.
>
> This may make no sence unless you have the mechanism off the car and in
> front of you. A bit of bush mechanics but it has solved my sliding door
> problem for now. Good luck. Bill.
>
>
>
3
Dear Francesca,
If you are not having any luck implimenting Bill's suggestions regarding your sliding door and you/Tony wanted to drop round to Canning St, we could look at them together ,plus compare them against my door which operates exceptionally well. I also have a vice and block of wood in my shed.Perhaps not this weekend as I have my Dad in hospital and am just finishing off painting my kitchen.
As I have a son in Tasmania my wife and I have already been down twice this year for over 6 weeks so we very much echo your feelings about the place. I'm also mulling over Ken's suggestion that we try to organise a group trip there for the future because unless we have a resident Tasmanian on the register, I'm feeling some obligation to perhaps take the initiative.
I may have recounted an earlier experience there when another of my sons who had borrowed my syncro was chased down the road by a German tourist. When my son stopped he said "please please where can I hire such a proper campervan instead of this Toyota  s**t   that they hire me".
Cheers
Roger
--- On Fri, 24/4/09, Francesca Coles <fcoles6@gmail.com> wrote:

From: Francesca Coles <fcoles6@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Syncro_T3_Australia] Francesca's sliding door latch.
To: Syncro_T3_Australia@yahoogroups.com
Received: Friday, 24 April, 2009, 3:05 PM

Thanks, Bill. That's very helpful. Seems to be a well-documented problem.

Francesca.

On 4/24/09, muddy3267 <marg_bill@westnet. com.au> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Francesca Hi. I too had an ongoing problem with the sliding door either not
> closing properly or popping open whilst driving. The problem was in the
> locking mechanism on the rear of the sliding door. If you can sit in the van
> and observe how the lock operates by having someone on the outside close the
> door slowly. Firstly stage 1, two opposing hooks will lock onto one another
> around the door jamb pin(about the size of your little finger) Stage 2 the
> opposing hooks will close more tightly around the pin and a second stage
> hook will be engaged.
> What i found was these hooks had over many years rounded off on the contact
> edges, and also were sloppy on the shafts on which they rotate.
>
> Solution: remove lock and place flat in a vice with mechanism facing up.
> With a small flat metal file carefully file the contact surfaces flat again.
> To take the slop out of the shaft on which the hooks rotate you will need a
> hammer and punch. With the mechanism still in the vice place a scrap block
> of wood under the lock to take up the shock of what you are about to do. You
> will see the hooks being held on the shafts by some sort of metal flange
> sweated onto the shaft. Take the hammer and punch and work your way around
> this flange tapping it down and reducing the slop of the hook on the shaft.
>
> This may make no sence unless you have the mechanism off the car and in
> front of you. A bit of bush mechanics but it has solved my sliding door
> problem for now. Good luck. Bill.
>
>
>

The new Internet Explorer 8 optimised for Yahoo!7: Faster, Safer, Easier. Get it now..
4
Thanks, Roger.

That German-tourist story is a great one! I can almost hear the
accent. Perhaps there's a bumper sticker in it.... Well, the seeds of
a Tasmanian tour seem to be out there, so it may come off. I think
some others were thinking of Kakadu, which would be wonderful in its
own way, of course.

Oh, just in case anyone does take off to Tasmania, please remember to
put your handbrake on on the ferry. A friend of mine just came off the
boat this morning and is now up for a repair bill both to his
campervan (not a syncro, fortunately) and the two cars behind him. A
rather more expensive Tasmanian holiday than was planned (and a
remarkably silly error, one would have to add).

Thanks for your offer of help. I'll run it by Tony and perhaps we'll
drop by some time soon. Might be nice to all meet up and compare
notes, anyway. I have a feeling it might have had something to do with
an 8-year-old boy swinging the door to and fro, for fun, a bit too
enthusiastically.

Francesca.

On 4/26/09, bellrmit@yahoo.com.au <bellrmit@yahoo.com.au> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Dear Francesca,
> If you are not having any luck implimenting Bill's suggestions regarding
> your sliding door and you/Tony wanted to drop round to Canning St, we could
> look at them together ,plus compare them against my door which operates
> exceptionally well. I also have a vice and block of wood in my shed.Perhaps
> not this weekend as I have my Dad in hospital and am just finishing off
> painting my kitchen.
> As I have a son in Tasmania my wife and I have already been down twice this
> year for over 6 weeks so we very much echo your feelings about the place.
> I'm also mulling over Ken's suggestion that we try to organise a group trip
> there for the future because unless we have a resident Tasmanian on the
> register, I'm feeling some obligation to perhaps take the initiative.
> I may have recounted an earlier experience there when another of my sons who
> had borrowed my syncro was chased down the road by a German tourist. When my
> son stopped he said "please please where can I hire such a proper campervan
> instead of this Toyota s**t that they hire me".
> Cheers
> Roger
> --- On Fri, 24/4/09, Francesca Coles <fcoles6@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
> From: Francesca Coles <fcoles6@gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [Syncro_T3_Australia] Francesca's sliding door latch.
> To: Syncro_T3_Australia@yahoogroups.com
> Received: Friday, 24 April, 2009, 3:05 PM
>
>
>
>
> Thanks, Bill. That's very helpful. Seems to be a well-documented problem.
>
> Francesca.
>
> On 4/24/09, muddy3267 <marg_bill@westnet. com.au> wrote:
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Francesca Hi. I too had an ongoing problem with the sliding door either
> not
> > closing properly or popping open whilst driving. The problem was in the
> > locking mechanism on the rear of the sliding door. If you can sit in the
> van
> > and observe how the lock operates by having someone on the outside close
> the
> > door slowly. Firstly stage 1, two opposing hooks will lock onto one
> another
> > around the door jamb pin(about the size of your little finger) Stage 2 the
> > opposing hooks will close more tightly around the pin and a second stage
> > hook will be engaged.
> > What i found was these hooks had over many years rounded off on the
> contact
> > edges, and also were sloppy on the shafts on which they rotate.
> >
> > Solution: remove lock and place flat in a vice with mechanism facing up.
> > With a small flat metal file carefully file the contact surfaces flat
> again.
> > To take the slop out of the shaft on which the hooks rotate you will need
> a
> > hammer and punch. With the mechanism still in the vice place a scrap block
> > of wood under the lock to take up the shock of what you are about to do.
> You
> > will see the hooks being held on the shafts by some sort of metal flange
> > sweated onto the shaft. Take the hammer and punch and work your way around
> > this flange tapping it down and reducing the slop of the hook on the
> shaft.
> >
> > This may make no sence unless you have the mechanism off the car and in
> > front of you. A bit of bush mechanics but it has solved my sliding door
> > problem for now. Good luck. Bill.
> >
> >
> >
>
> ________________________________
> The new Internet Explorer 8 optimised for Yahoo!7: Faster, Safer, Easier.
> Get it now..
>
>
>
5

Hi Francesca,

 

The Kakadu plan, which was tossed around about the campfire on the last Bateman’s Bay trip, was for Winter of 2011. Still a way off (and the poll is still open; 4 yes & 3 maybe so far). Maybe Autumn or Spring of 2010 would be a go for Tassie.

 

And Les,

 

You should ask Heidi for permission to use some of her fantastic video of the Cape trip on the new site. It might need to be broken up though, because the full thing runs for an hour. I’m not sure how often Heidi gets on the site, not having a Syncro of her own, but I presume you have her email. (Having said that, I notice she’s a recent addition to the Kakadu maybes). And when you’re in touch, maybe raise the possibility of her helping to facilitate a Tassie trip.

 

BRIAN REED

FAIRFIELD NATURAL THERAPIES

185 Wingrove St

Fairfield, Vic. 3078

03 9481 5673   0407 319 521

From: Syncro_T3_Australia@yahoogroups.com [mailto: Syncro_T3_Australia@yahoogroups.com ] On Behalf Of Francesca Coles
Sent: Sunday, 26 April 2009 12:43 PM
To: Syncro_T3_Australia@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [Syncro_T3_Australia] Francesca's sliding door latch.

 




Thanks, Roger.

That German-tourist story is a great one! I can almost hear the
accent. Perhaps there's a bumper sticker in it.... Well, the seeds of
a Tasmanian tour seem to be out there, so it may come off. I think
some others were thinking of Kakadu, which would be wonderful in its
own way, of course.

Oh, just in case anyone does take off to Tasmania , please remember to
put your handbrake on on the ferry. A friend of mine just came off the
boat this morning and is now up for a repair bill both to his
campervan (not a syncro, fortunately) and the two cars behind him. A
rather more expensive Tasmanian holiday than was planned (and a
remarkably silly error, one would have to add).

Thanks for your offer of help. I'll run it by Tony and perhaps we'll
drop by some time soon. Might be nice to all meet up and compare
notes, anyway. I have a feeling it might have had something to do with
an 8-year-old boy swinging the door to and fro, for fun, a bit too
enthusiastically.

Francesca.