The side door roller bearings on this model van are apparently a common fail point. I've seen numerous questions and complaints trying to get proper metal bearing versions on various forums. It's not a cheap part to replace, and metal versions are more difficult to come by.
Mine are the rubberised roller version which have the cheap ball races. There's no cage, and the bearing is held together by compression of the riveting process which holds it in place. So yup, mine sound like fingernails down a washboard when using the door.
Fortunately I'm cheap, and replacing the entire mechanism is not my style. I'm gonna swap out this riveted bearing for something off the shelf.
This main bearing is shot and needs replacing.
A 9mm drill cracks the edges of the flared rivet fixing, and the top of the bearing race comes free. Remove the garbage bearing.
...and the bottom race can be removed from the shaft also.
Internal Diameter = 8.5mm
Outer Diameter = 25mm. Old bearing was 7mm wide. Looking for an 8.5,25,7 replacement or something close.
I'm gonna drill and tap this shaft to fit a new bearing.
4.5mm pre-drill for an...
...m6 tap
I found a pair of 6000z bearings in my junk pile which is a really common bearing. (a couple bucks buys a pair or lots of 10 on ebay) I'm not sure what I scrounged them from, but they're clearly used, and clearly OK. Size is 10x26x8mm.
An M6 counter sink screw will self-center this new bearing on the 8.5mm shaft even though the ID is 10mm.
However I'm not entirely happy with that, so I'm going to use my fancy shim-stock to tidy up the ID.
A bit of trial and error, and the fit is now snug as a pressed bearing...
So now I have a real bearing, and no more washboard. The difference is night and day! Very happy with this 20min fix.
