shuizen
New Member
Have you done this? I had a door guide fall out last week. I am hoping there is some way to put it back on the makes sense. Not removing the console.
I have a '98 270 DA 'widebody' and believe removal is the only option IF you feel compelled to remove the door. Our hatch was becoming increasingly difficult to slide and the bottom track was becoming increasingly looser during our last week on the water. I planned on fixing it when we returned to shore and regret having not taken care of it sooner. The screws in the door opening that held the track down wouldn't hold and were working up and obstructing the 'trucks/slide pieces' on the bottom of the door... the 2nd screw head got caught by the port truck and bent over obstructing the door from either fully opening or closing. I tried lifting the port end of the track and intended to saw the screw off but there was nothing to saw! The screw had lodged itself in the center channel with the head jammed in the track screw hole and wouldn't budge.
In the end I drilled a 5/16" hole in the end of the port truck which allowed me to grasp the end of the screw with a small pair of needle nosed pliers and eventually get a hold of it with a pair of vice grips and hank it free. All 4 of these flat head screws were loose/stripped. I slid the door open and locked it down for the rest of the trip.
Rather than tempt fate and another extraction ordeal I've replaced them with 10-24 x 2" Stainless Steel Flat Head Machine Screws secured with SS fender washers and Nylock nuts bolted through from below with 5200 Marine Sealant on both ends. There are 2 screws holding the ceiling panel in the aft berth which, when removed, provide access for all 4 screw holes. Why Sea Ray didn't do this in the first place is beyond me. The screws they used were longer than the material they were screwed into and, as they worked loose, provided openings for water to seep down into the aft berth. Grrrrrr.
Further investigation on why things were loosening up in the first place revealed that one of the upper channel trucks had apparently come loose on the previous owner, who hadn't replaced it. They had, however, replaced a flat head screw holding down the upper track with a round head screw (idiots!) which in turn kept bumping the remaining truck which eventually broke loose making things worse.
I intend to install a single piece 'slide guide' in the upper track secured from above with something beefier than the #6 wood screws Sea Ray used from below. I won't pull the windshield and the console unless I absolutely have no other creative recourse.