Cabin Door Stiff on 2007 260 Sundancer

E

estebanj

New Member
Apr 2, 2007
590
South Florida
Boat Info
260 Sundancer
Engines
350 Merc
How hard is it to slide open the door? On mine, the first third is smooth (when opening), but the rest of the way it requires pressure. I don't feel anything holding it, but will check further next time I'm at the boat. Has anyone added some form of lubricant to the top and/or bottom track?

Thanks,

Esteban
 
Ours was stiff when we got the boat and our mechanic used silicone spray. That solved the problem. However, with a new boat, that shouldn't be an issue. Check with the dealer?

Chazaroo
 
On my 07 -320 - it was stiff as well - they made a few adjustments.
 
I can open and close the door fine but I’m a large male. My wife struggles and kids can not do it.

I also used Silicone spray. It worked well however made a mess. Black gunk kept coming out the bottom of the track.

I also tried Teflon spray. No black gunk however it only slightly improved the sliding effort.
 
I agree, this is a dealer/warranty problem.

I have a similar problem on my 2002 280. It appears on mine that the 'upholstry' lining is rubbing on the inside top corner of the cabin. I have been told the entire door (and dashboard & gauges) has to come off. That strikes me as kind of excessive.

In my case I am looking to find out if there is any adjustment where the tracks attach to the door. Kind of like the thing you would see on a deck slider door. Anyone have any ideas?
 
Henry, They aren't lying! They had to do that on my 240 when it was new. They actually had to build up the bottom track on the slider about a 1/2". But it's worked great ever since! :thumbsup:
 
I was bit by the door thing too last year. The bottom channel had a lot of fiberglass and wood dust in it which got into the roller bearings on the wheels that the door rolls on. The ball bearings fell out of one of the wheels which made it drag along.

The door was not formed right as it rubbed the underside of the dash. The dealer ordered a new door from S/R under warranty. To remove the door the port side dash and wet bar had to be removed. The dealer did a better than factory install on the new door. Plus there was no more crap in the door channels!

From my experience, the doors with the molded in steps are heavier and require more umph the the door I have. I can push mine with my pinky finger.
 
Mine is very stiff and tough on my 2007 260. Delivery guy told me that this is the way it is but now that I'm hearing others I will add it to the list.
Thanks.
 
ctjon, Don't let the warranty expire before you get this done!!! It turns into a $4000.00 repair if you wait! :smt013 Make them repair, even if it takes taking out the helm station or what ever. IMO The delivery capt. should not have told you "that's just the way it is".
 
CTJON ............my door operated easily for a long time. But it started to get harder to operate the last couple of weeks so I took a look at it to see if I could determine why. What I found was the upper part of the door seal itself contacts the vinyl padding on the door when the door is about half way closed. The seal was dragging across the padding the remaining distance and that increased drag was making the door feel stiff. A little silicone spray on the rubber seal fixed it up just fine so it closes easily again. Just the same, I don't think it should be contacting the padding in the first place so I may ask the dealer to go thru the whole nine yards of taking out the helm panel so they can reshim the tracks slightly.

What I would like to know CTJON is if your door vinyl also hits the weather stripping. You can check this by standing inside the cabin and slowly close the door to see if the weather stripping is hitting the padding. Please let me know what you find. Thanks.
 
I found on mine that closing the door from the top (pushing not on the vertical part of the door, but rather the horizontal), the door moves much more easily. Normally I would push near the handle/lock area, but now pushing from the top is more normal/smooth.

Esteban
 
Dave S said:
CTJON ............my door operated easily for a long time. But it started to get harder to operate the last couple of weeks so I took a look at it to see if I could determine why. What I found was the upper part of the door seal itself contacts the vinyl padding on the door when the door is about half way closed. The seal was dragging across the padding the remaining distance and that increased drag was making the door feel stiff. A little silicone spray on the rubber seal fixed it up just fine so it closes easily again. Just the same, I don't think it should be contacting the padding in the first place so I may ask the dealer to go thru the whole nine yards of taking out the helm panel so they can reshim the tracks slightly.

What I would like to know CTJON is if your door vinyl also hits the weather stripping. You can check this by standing inside the cabin and slowly close the door to see if the weather stripping is hitting the padding. Please let me know what you find. Thanks.
Click to expand...

Will check that and let you know when we are on the boat this weekend.
As to not letting the warranty expire before this - the boat is 2 weeks old so there isn't much chance of that. Just trying to get a few hours and several days of use so as to do 1 service and not multiple if not a severe problem.

Again thanks for the help.
 
ctjon said:
Mine is very stiff and tough on my 2007 260. Delivery guy told me that this is the way it is but now that I'm hearing others I will add it to the list.
Thanks.
Click to expand...

yes
new door don't use carts with wheels just white plastic sliders and that create more friction
 
Dave S.

I just went down to the boat and checked (can't resist going down there, now if I didn't have to work...).
Yes the weather stripping is rubbing the vinyl as it closes. This doesn't seem to be enough for the amount of stiffness but it is probably also the akward position to begin the opening. Will try your suggestion.

Thanks,
 
Sea Ray is aware of the sticky door issue, and may pay to have your dealer install a handle inside if you wish (they did on my boat). It makes opening the door from inside the cabin a breeze.
 
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