door jam pin will not engage, higher than spring clip

[garyqkb]

On 1999 3124KB I've been having a problem engaging the right hand door jam pin into the spring clip.

The pin is just a little too high to slide into the spring clip. Standing on the step and bouncing a bit sometimes gets the pin low enough to slide in, or fiddling with the corner jacks to twist the body just right sometimes helps. I've adjusted the lift arm lengths a couple times, to get the upper shell a little higher on that side, but later the problem happens again.

Maybe related, the upper shell side panel near the lower front corner of a window, 4 feet to right of the door, is not perfectly flat ... there is a slight wave in the side panel there. The wave is just above where the front swing arm attaches to the upper shell. I wonder if the upper shell has lost some structural integrity right there, so the shell droops a little.

Anybody else seen a problem like this?

Thanks!
Gary

On my 2007, I had a similar issue - the top of the bottom door would fit fine, if that pin wasn't hitting. I was able to just push the pin down with my hand. I suspect you already tried it, but if not you might give it a try.

Hope you’re not having the same problem as I had but when you say you can get the pin into place by adjusting the corner jacks it sounds like the same situation. On the longer TM’s the frame just doesn’t hold up if there is too much weight carried in the larger rear compartment. There is a weak spot in the frame just above the axle where an access hole to the axle bolts is cut out and any bouncing of the rear of the TM while going down the road will put a lot of stress on it causing the frame to bend. That will cause it to sag down in the rear throwing every thing out of alignment. I didn’t realize this was the problem I was having until the frame on my TM actually cracked and broke in half. Getting it realigned and reinforcement welded on solved the problem. As I said I hope this isn’t the same problem with your TM but I would highly recommend crawling under the TM to see if your frame is bent before it gets any worse. It is not easy to get a good view on it but it can be done. If you find it is drooping down in the back contact Michael Husley at the TM factory [email protected]. He has been very helpful on how best to do repairs and is quick to answer my emails.

Ed

[garyqkb]

Thanks Joel and Ed. The frame is ok, thank goodness, and down pressure on the pin only helps a little. I lengthened the arms holding up the door side of the front shell about 3/8 inch, and that's taking care of it for now. Still mysterious on why this happens every year though.