[encantotom]

what we surmised and i didnt put in the last post, is that the missing ptfe white plastic slide glide that was missing on the outbound edge directly over where the slide seal track was crushed is what made the slide hard to push in and out once the rams were disconnected. the stainless glide plate on the bottom of the slide was dragging on it and dipped down a little.

we got lucky that the slide seal we glued back in place didnt leak (yes i pressure checked it). particularly since tony had it put in only a few years ago.

we have no idea how that plastic glide could have got out. but, it was. and i am glad we accidently saw it on the floor (it was under the joey bed and would not have seen it if we didnt pull the joey bed out). in the picture, the bright metal nut and washer was what we used as a temporary spacer after glen pried the bottom of the slide up so we could slide the plastic piece back in. no trival task there either. then we took it out once the piece was in the alignment holes. i should have taken a picture of the piece but i didnt. picture a rectangle of the ptfe white plastic with two 1/2" plastic dowells a half inch long that go into matching holes on the slide rail. once in place i just cant see them ever coming out. there were also 3 thin metal spacers on it. to keep them on, i contact glued them together and to the plastic. then we took a piece of cardboard and put it over one of the dowells and used it as a guide to push it in. no room in there for fingers hardly.

i bet if we pushed the slide out manually and back in now it would go without winching or 10 cowboys and cowgirls. (hey, it is team roping season and they are all over here now)

back to work

tom