Sliding door fix

[timsrv]

Thanks for your response. Toyota stopped making the part, so I have been trying to find it at salvage yards. I don't need the assembly, but it's missing all 3 rollers. The 2 side rollers just have a thin piece of black plastic, and the center lower roller is completely missing. Any suggestions?

Thanks again!

A picture would help. There are 3 roller assemblies on the van. There's the front lower, the front upper, and the rear center. When you say "center lower roller" are you talking about the bearing in the middle of the rear center roller assembly? If so, I would think this could be repaired with a standard bearing, but this would depend on the condition of the stand-off the bearing mounts too. If you can't do yourself, then the challenge would be finding somebody capable/willing to take this on. Tim

[Kim]

The attached photo is not from my van. (I haven't removed the one from my van yet, so it's hard to get a photo). This is a photo of a rear center roller assembly that a salvage yard sent me. (Just wanted to use it as a reference).

My rear center roller assembly has two sliders with black plastic bushings (like the one on the right in this picture). I am missing the middle bearing. The stand-off that the bearing mounts to looks like it's in good condition.

If I am able to get the middle bearing replaced, do you think the two sliders with black plastic bushings are good to go?

Thanks again; this has already been super helpful!

[timsrv]

If the black plastic is still in good shape, then I'd run with it. If it's worn you should repair as described earlier in this thread. That thing from the salvage yard looks nasty, but even that could be repaired. FYI, that center bearing has an OD of about .666" (that should tell you something : ). If there's still part of the old bearing on the shaft you'll need to grind the end of the shaft down to remove it. Then you can measure the shaft diameter and select a bearing based on ID/OD. After you find and install a replacement bearing, you can either weld a washer on the end of the shaft to hold it, or you could drill and tap the end of the shaft and install a screw with a small head to hold it in place. Tim

[ajamunro]

Hey Kim!

Have you got around the measuring the inside diameter of the center bearing yet? Looks like mine is totally shot so I'm gonna have to replace it this weekend, probably tap & die the end of the shaft after cutting it down. Wish it was a lil' easier.

So O/D .666" and I/D ....?

[stillgoing]

Re-install the door in reverse order and when the 10 mm nut is back on, simply use your fist to pound the back interior panel back on. There is a clip on the back panel that fit's into the rubber seal for the back hatch. That is likely the only spot that will require special attention. Simply pull the seal away from the body in this area, push the clip past it, then push the seal back on & over the clip. Tim

Hi to everybody. Just found this sight and had to sign up. Trying to keep van running without putting a lot of money into it. Tim does this door have to be aligned after doing this repair and if so is there some kind of write up or a print out from a Toyota manual on how to do this. Also have you or anybody replaced the sliding door outside handle? It's a 91 Previa. Had snow then rain yesterday in NJ then a flash freeze last night and this morning pulled on the handle only to have it break off in my hand. Who knows it could just be old age for it breaking. Ordered a new one today and looking to see if there is anything I should know about replacing it before hand. Might even take the door off when things get warmer and do the slide repair at the same time. Thanks LARRY

[timsrv]

There's only the one bracket you need to remove to get the door off (lower front). Before you pull it off it's a good idea to mark it's position (bolt head washers to bracket). You can circle with a sharpie or perhaps scratch with a scribe, etc. As long as you put it back the way it was before there's no need to align (door will be the same as it was before).

I have replaced that handle before, but it was many, many years ago. If I remember right it was a little frustrating, but not impossible. Handle worked when I finished (I remember that much) . Tim

[stillgoing]

There's only the one bracket you need to remove to get the door off (lower front). Before you pull it off it's a good idea to mark it's position (bolt head washers to bracket). You can circle with a sharpie or perhaps scratch with a scribe, etc. As long as you put it back the way it was before there's no need to align (door will be the same as it was before).

I have replaced that handle before, but it was many, many years ago. If I remember right it was a little frustrating, but not impossible. Handle worked when I finished (I remember that much) . Tim

THANKS TIM

[stillgoing]

There's only the one bracket you need to remove to get the door off (lower front). Before you pull it off it's a good idea to mark it's position (bolt head washers to bracket). You can circle with a sharpie or perhaps scratch with a scribe, etc. As long as you put it back the way it was before there's no need to align (door will be the same as it was before).

Tim, I went and looked at the door after you posted this above. One question though. From your original post you wrote " Next you take the front lower slide bracket off the door and just let it stay there". Does this statement mean that the bolts that go into the door are to be removed leaving the whole bracket hanging in the sliding track and if so is it just those 2 bolts or is there 1 under the door panel OR do you mark and then take the bolt out of the bracket leaving one half on the door and the other half staying in the slide? Got to go back out tomorrow after rereading your post to see where the top slider wheel aligns with a notch (wide point) in the slide rail. I see now how the trim piece comes off.

[timsrv]

There are 3 bolts in that front lower bracket. You should be able to easily get the bottom 2 with a socket, but the upper one will require you to pop the interior panel slightly to get access with a wrench. If you'll be replacing the handle too, you may wish to completely remove the interior panel, then you can get all 3 bolts with the socket. But yeah, just leave the bracket sitting there in the slider track while you remove the door from the van. Tim

[stillgoing]

There are 3 bolts in that front lower bracket. You should be able to easily get the bottom 2 with a socket, but the upper one will require you to pop the interior panel slightly to get access with a wrench. If you'll be replacing the handle too, you may wish to completely remove the interior panel, then you can get all 3 bolts with the socket. But yeah, just leave the bracket sitting there in the slider track while you remove the door from the van. Tim

Great thanks. I thought there might be a 3rd bolt there. Planned on taking the door off thinking it might be easier to repair everything. I guess while I'm at it I'll ask what it takes to remove the inside lever that opens the door and the plastic cover for the lock button because it looks like they both need to come off to remove the panel. Nice to have somebody like you around to help keep this old buggies going. LARRY

[JDM VANMAN]

Tim,

have you you repaired the bearing roller by any chance? Mine is shot and is flat on one side so when the kids open the door it's just metal on metal and it's digging into the track.

I found a couple of bearing rollers but not sure if something like this would work-

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SOFT-QUIET-P...item1e5e3be5b5


Thank you

[timsrv]

Lol, that thing is 6" in diameter . Short answer..........no, it won't work . I get the idea though. You could make a bearing the correct size work if you had the tools to work with metal. I don't have a roller bracket laying around to evaluate, but typically these bearings are held captive by a shaft with the end crushed (mushroomed over). To remove the old you'd need to grind the expanded part of the shaft off, slide (or pound) the old bearing off, then slide the new bearing on. in order to keep it in place you'd need to tack weld (tricky to do without damaging bearing), or perhaps weld a washer to the shaft. You might be able to drill & thread the shaft for a retaining screw/washer (depends on how much clearance you have there). Tim

[JDM VANMAN]

Thanks for the remedy but I'm not at that point of DIY yet. Oops, yeah I didn't look at the diameter of that bearing that one won't work at all but thank you for getting the jest of my example.

thank you

[timsrv]

BTW, not sure if this would work (ID & width), but the OD is right: http://www.ebay.com/itm/62203-2RS-Ba...item5d43fbcc73

[cvtroger]

I am in the middle of doing this. My sliding door felt like it was getting hooked right before it closes and if you don't put enough force, it won't close. I felt like it was sagging a bit.

I took of my interior panels yesterday to clean and learn the Previa and I decided to see what the issue is with the sliding door.

I could not get the panel off near the handle, but the back part was enough for me to get the middle assembly off. To m surprised, the posts were good and only one cover was going bad. I decided to use the nylon stand offs (0.74 cents for a pair), drilled out and cut to match.

One issue that was different for me was that I didn't have a C clip at the top of the posts. It was like a washer that spun.

I'm heading to the junkyard this week and I will attempt to pull off the brackets any previas they might have there. I am hoping to find one with the C clip and hope in good condition as I want to get try the bearing one and want to get the top and bottom.

[cvtroger]

Wow... I reassembled everything this morning and it feels like a new door!

Originally, there was a bit of play/sagging at the middle when the door was fully open. And the door would not close all the way unless force was applied. Now it is smooth!!!

[terrence]

Good info, I finally fixed mine today. Took about 10 minutes to fix and the door feels like new again.

Before:




& After:

[stillgoing]

Replaced the sliding door handle today and found it to be quite easy to do. Just took off the inside panel-disconnected the lock linkage-unhooked the cable-removed 3 bolts and with a little maneuvering it came out and just as easy to put back in. Then did the center rear roller bushings. Bushings were not that bad-no post damage-just cut off the old ones and pressed on new ones. Just used a jack stand to hold the door up while the assembly was out to fix. Then took some time to adjust the door and man does it slide good again. Thanks Tim for this write up.

[cvtroger]

Yup, I made a video about my fix. This is for my previa, but it looks like the bracket is about the same.

https://youtu.be/ANKF9_CMFuE?list=PL...a1E_sfirAHnz0y


Sliding door reference
https://youtu.be/9TKNdSpknJo?list=PL...a1E_sfirAHnz0y


I couldn't figure out the door handle, especially in my dimly lit parking garage. But at the junkyard, I was able to see what I need to do to get the handle off.
https://youtu.be/Qme0hUkL084?list=PL...a1E_sfirAHnz0y


Since I have a spare middle slider assembly, I found that one thread on here where the guy used metal bearings instead of nylon (what I used). I'm gonna look into that this weekend.

[s_e_a_n_s]

My door was a bit different (maybe because the initial instructions were for a Previa). On my '87 LE no interior trim removal was required. The end piece of the middle slider track was held on by a phillips head screw accessible from outside. A hidden screw holding on sliding door panel prevented easy removal the front lower roller. I would have had to cut the upholstery or peel fabric away.

My improvised steps went as follows:

1) Remove phillips head screw securing trim piece at aft end of middle track
2) Mark, then remove 10mm bolt holding upper wheel assembly on the lower roller (2nd picture). Remove wheel assembly.
3) Coerce lower roller out of lower track (temporarily displacing weather sealing might give more room - 4th picture)
4) Slide door so upper roller lines up with notch in track. Remove upper front roller from track. You are now supporting the front of the door.
5) Walk door back until middle roller slides out of the back of the track. You are now holding our door.



I got the door out pretty easily by myself. Getting it back it was harder. It was a pain to get the middle slider back into the track while supporting the door. Having a 2nd person would have helped. The lower wheel is adjustable, so mark it. I used a bright yellow paint marker, but since it is visible you may want to take a more calculated approach.

My bearings and sliders were all in okay shape - better after lubricating. My door still makes a horrible sound because the metal-on-metal lower wheel. The 'track' (flat sheet metal of van) is wearing and rusting. After some cleaning of debris, loose change, ball point pens, and a lot of rusty dusty stuff it's a bit better, but not great. I'm not sure if the main lower roller wheel is supposed to have plastic that is now gone. The door never sounded great, even when new.

If I had to do again, I would:
- not remove the door
- apply lubricant to bearing on middle slider.
- clean lower slider track.

Also, I recommend against giving your interior panels good yanks until you know what you're up against. For me, especially near the corners of (leaky) windows, the masonite likes to give way before the rusty steel clips. A little trim bar (carpenters tool) works great. There are a few good yanks, even some gentle ones, I wish I could take back.