Volks,

Here it is one more time:   Sliding Door Bumper Stop

Description:
Stop
PN  251 843 876
Illustration 107   Item 10 in the ETKA CD
Approx. $3.95 @
Camelback VW, Tucson, AZ  1-800-876-5199

That  stop is a dinky little thing and a bit of an obscure part. You
have to take that blasted door slide cover off the vehicle to do the
installation of the part. It's a trick. (Unca' Joel knows). Once you do
it, you never forget how. And it will be easier next time  as well,
because it will not be as tight.

The bumper stop  justs snaps into place at the end of the track. It
installs in a slot that is transverse to the fore/aft centerline of the
vehicle and is located at the forward end of the track. You have to
reach up under the slide to snap it into place and you can't get to it
without removing the slide cover.. Just don't turn the stop  the wrong
way. Install it so the curve on one end of the bumper is away from the
van body. That is the part of the bumper that catches the thrust of the
door on closing and changes the door movement direction 90 degrees to
allow it to  snap  into place in the door frame in the body.

I think this is an important part in terms of taking care of the sliding
door and every owner of a Vanagon should check the condition of the stop
or whether they still have one or not. My van, an 88 GL with just over
100,000 miles on it, no longer had the stop. That stop absorbs lot of
abuse, because it changes the direction of the door when it is slammed
shut. Any part that absorbs that kind of impact should be maintained in
good condition. If the stop is not there, you get a slamming metal to
metal contact at the end of the track with the weight of the door behind
it. Without the stop, the door will eventualy be damaged. There is first
a stretching of metal, which results in  a loosening of the door so it
won't seal tightly. A real PITA.

Take care of that stop.

Regards,

John Rodgers
88 GL Driver