I am replacing the rollers in my patio door. To do this I must remove the bottom part of the door. When I did, this part fell out, but I can't figure out where it goes.
Any body know where it goes?
It obviously acts as a guide for a pin, probably to allow something to rotate and/or be removed. Find the pin that fits in that hole and you'll find where it goes.
R
Maybe it doesnt belong it got loged in years ago
I'd never thought of that. The door's thirty years old so it's certainly a possibility.
Does the door latch/lock work? _Guessing_ a toggle for the door latch?
Or some sort of bumper to stop the door?
Aside: Replacing the rollers may not be necessary or sufficient. The track on which they glide wears down much faster than the rollers!
You might consider getting a snap-on, stainless steel, track. It's the thing onto which the rollers, um, roll. Before you snap it in place, fill in the low spots with "Liquid Steel" or similar.
By diligent searching, you should be able to find an 8-foot track for about ten bucks.
I lost one of those things about 29 years ago. Where do you live?
I didn't really, and my sgdoor doesn't use one. :)
Maybe its a guide for the lock that fell inside 27 years ago
Is it nylon??
An Anderson door that I installed had the track wear down to the point it was barely usable in just a few years. The sliding door at the back of the house was the most used entry door by a large margin and it got a good bit of use, but only three people in the house. The rollers held up for some reason - not sure why.
R
I figured it out. It was part of the old roller assembly. It went around the adjustment screw. Don't understand why it was necessary and the new rollers don't have 'um.
The track doesn't seem to be worn at all. The rollers didn't "wear" The adjusting screw broke letting the roller go all the way up so the door rides on the track.
You merely have a different experience. I've replaced three tracks that were worn to a frazzle and pock-marked with depressions. After replacing the tracks, the rollers worked swell. But you're right: ultimately the track wears down such that the door slides metal on metal and the rollers aren't touching anything!
I have the same experience. Replaced rollers twice and the track shows no signs of wear. I agree with Smitty. The only thing that would wear the gtrack out would be forcing the door to slide metal on metal, i.e., waiting too long to replace rollers.
Harry K
The track won't wear down if the door frame is sliding metal-on-metal. By "track" I mean the raised, rounded, rail onto which the rollers roll.
The fact that you've had to replace the rollers every 30 days (or whatever) could be a sign that the track *IS* worn down.
Try this: Invest about ten bucks in one of those snap-on rails and forget about the problem for the next twenty years.
I think this happens when the rollers stop rolling and pick up abrasive dirt.
And I'm not calling you a hopeless twit (isn't it fortunate that we're so civil on this newsgroup?).
Here's how I think it happens.
Aluminum is relatively soft. Someone coming in the door scraps the dirt from their shoe onto the rail.
The roller either: a) Pick up the grain/pebble and bangs it the length of the rail, or b) Pushes it straight down into the rail with about 80 pounds of pressure, or c) Grips the grit in the Nylon and scrapes the rail like a piece of sandpaper.
The rail becomes pitted and holds more grains/pebbles. More for the roller to pick up.
The process repeats thousands of times.
Eventually the rail is so abraded, the doors frame starts rubbing against the track. This can be (temporarily) fixed by adjusting the wheels to lift the door higher.
Here's the test: Have you ever seen a worn-down wheel? I've seen some worn ones and some broken ones, but never something substantially smaller than its replacement. And by "substantial" I mean 1/8"-1/4" reduction in diameter.
Look at the wheel assembly. The wheels never extend below the part of the door that moves - the "rail" on which the wheel rides extends UP a quarter-inch into the door frame. Obviously if the rail wears down enough, no amount of new wheel will EVER contact it.
You do know there are also steel rollers?
In my cased on the latest change the door _was_ riding metal on metal. The roller was frozen.
Harry K
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