I have a 2001 T&C. Both power sliding doors are VERY tight to open and close manually. Passenger side slighty tighter than drivers. They work ok with the motor but it sounds like it is putting a strain on them. I thought it was gunk, etc. in the tracks (having two small boys and all). Cleaned and lubed, etc.....no help. I pulled off the gear at the bottom of each door and theywork like butter. You can open and close them with a finger. The gear appears to be free on its shaft.So I guess it's the cable with the pinion on the end of it? Or could this be a motor issue? I haven't pulled anything apart any further yet. Any recommendations would be great.

Thanks,

Sean

 

check this one.
https://www.chryslerforum.com/m_13914/tm.htm
sounds like the same problem.

 

I wonder,

Thanks for your reply. I don't think it is a roller or bearing issue at those points. I had taken the gear off at the bottom of the door and it works super easy without that on, so I assume it's in the motor or the cable coming from the motor to the pinion gear that operates the power door feature. I disconnected the cable from the little "pinion gear" and held it in my hand while I operated the motor and it still sounds like it is struggling.

I guess it's time to take off the panel and investigate a little further.

Thanks for your reply.

Sean

 

I would disconnect the power part, and then get the door to slide properly, then introduce the power and see if it still does it. I would also blame the center bearing (the one that goes under the rear 1/4 window). I have seen it before, but you must remove the bracket to see both bearings. Simple to change as well. Open door, partially, place the door ona milkcrate or something the same height as the door (I might add, it should be able to carry the weight of the door), unbolt the bracket at the door, slide the bracket around in the track, tip and pull out. Installation is reverse.

Hope this helps.

In all honesty, I would just check the center bearing. Easy to do, less time consuming than disconnecting the power part. (Leave the hard stuff for last!! lol) JMHO tho...

 

I figuredthe bearings/wheels were all good because when I removed the gear at the bottom of the door to bypass the cable/motor both doorswork very easily manually.

I pulled the end of the cable off of the little "pinion gear" at the bottom of the door and tried to turn it and it was very tight. So, I removed the door panel and disconnected the cable completely from both ends and it turned very freely in my hands. I hooked it back up to just the motor and it was very tight to turn. So, I pulled the motor out and removedthe black plastic housingat the cable end. There is a solenoid inside this housing that I guess when not energized it allows the cable to freewheel. When energized it sucks a sort of "thrust washer" up against it to engage the turning motor with the cable. Well, it looks like this "thrust washer" was all gummed up and would stay"stuck" in the engaged position even when the solenoid is not energized. So when you are pulling on the door manually you are always pulling against the motor instead of it being able to "freewheel". I cleaned out all the gummyness and reassembled everything and it seems to work like a champ. Then did theother side and it was the same thing. They both work great now. We'll see for how long.

Anybody ever seen this before? At a couple hundred bucks each for the motors I figured it wouldn't hurt to start taking them apart to see if there was a fix for it. Sorry for the lengthy post but I figured I'd spell it out to see if it could help someone else out.

Thanks for the replies,

Sean

 

Good post! I think we are coming to the beginning of a new era for the first "power doors", this sounds like the start ofnew problems for the first generation of this type of equipment (any manufacturer).

Awesome write-up for the solution to the problem! If you've cleaned it out throughly, and regreased it, I would expect it to last for some time. Maintance is basically what I'm seeing right now.

I have seen so many door latches, trunk latches, and even hinges on hoods that don't get open often,where peeps don't do any maintenance, expect them to last for life, and then complain about how the part failed... Not that I would expect to do a complete tear down to "check" the thrust washer tho! lol The first sign of something not right, usually means something is not right, needs attention and rests upon the individual to act on it.

 

You are definitely on the right track. I found that the clutch solenoid (coil) was binding on the thrust washer when not energized. I found that the rubber like insulation which encapsulates the wiring in the coil was swelling above the internal and external annular rings of the coil and causing drag on the thrust washer. I removed the coil and using the internal and external annular rings as guides for a razor blade, I carefully shaved off the excess. I put it together dry, since I think the lubricant caused the swelling in the first place, and it worked much better. A liitle sweat equity saves a lot of money with this fix.