Bongo Fury

my sliding door was a little "sticky" when closing so I sprayed the hinges and runners with WD40. The next time my daughter shut the door it closed very quickly and she nearly trapped her fingers in it!!!
I list this as a caution for all fellow Bongoers as I dont want anybody to get hurt.

p.s. the WD40 worked really well!!!!!!

My sliding door doesn't actually stick, but sometimes it slides very easily and sometimes it feels like I am opening it against a hydraulic damper. That's the best way I can describe it, as it seems to resist fast movement. Anyone any ideas?

The hinge pivot which allows it to slide round the corner often gets tight moonshine.

Thanks for the warning aitch... I'm glad she moved her hand in time
Am i right in thinking that white grease (lithium?) is the right stuff to use? as with the roof mechanism?

The drawback with WD40 is it attracts a lot of dirt over time, but is great for a quick fix when nothing more suitable is at hand...

Thanks Dandy, it's worth a check.

The strange thing is though that sometimes when I open the door it slides back easily and smoothly with just one finger pulling it, but other times it opens easily part way, then requires a hefty shove to go the rest of the way. Just as if it were coming up against a hydraulic damper.

When the door is stiff to open have you tried just moving it forward for about 1 or 2 inches and then opening again.
Iv'e noticed that when the weather is wet the door opens easily. The other thing is I too lubricated the door some while ago and now the runners are clogged with dirt which is very difficult to clear out.

I noticed this too, actually depending where you park, the van chassis can twist ever so slightly making the sliding door bind a little.

Hmmm....can't agree with that one - I'd say there was more than enough "play" on the hinges and mechanism to allow for any chassis movement - if fact the van would need to be on so rough ground that a wheel was off the deck to "twist" the chassis..........

moonshine wrote:My sliding door doesn't actually stick, but sometimes it slides very easily and sometimes it feels like I am opening it against a hydraulic damper. That's the best way I can describe it, as it seems to resist fast movement. Anyone any ideas?

I have noticed the same seems totally random.

Squirt some penetrating oil on the hinged part which pivots at the middle (external) runner - it's the pivot pin which usually causes the random tightness.