[WiiMaster]

I like to live dangerously...so I did my driver's side roller with no tape. I used a standard pair of needle nose pliers, and it was pretty simple. Getting the cables off was easy. Most of the time was spent getting the second cable back on, and even then, the entire job took about 2 hours, including time spent gathering and putting away tools.

 

[TheOwl]

I used the roller bearing replacement method on my 2006 EX. I did not live as dangerously and used the painter's tape and had no issues with that. I cut the old worn out nylon rollers off with some side cutters. The ring retainer came off with a Dremel cutoff wheel. I notched one side and then spun the ring 180 degrees and cut it again and it came right off. The top of the shaft had to be ground down a bit to match the rest of it and I used the Dremel for that also. The bearings then slid right on and used E-clips to secure. I lubricated everything before closing it back up.

The first door took me about 45 minutes to figure it out. The second door took about 25 minutes. So just over an hour to repair both doors. They slide and open much better than before.

Here are the bearings that I used. Got them from Amazon for about 70 cents a piece. E-clips from hardware store were 23 cents a piece. So about 4 dollars to repair the rollers and I didn't have to remove the cables.
Othmro 605Z Deep Groove Ball Bearing 5mm x 14mm x 5mm

Now to replace a rear latch once it arrives.

 

[foxfai]

I used the roller bearing replacement method on my 2006 EX. I did not live as dangerously and used the painter's tape and had no issues with that. I cut the old worn out nylon rollers off with some side cutters. The ring retainer came off with a Dremel cutoff wheel. I notched one side and then spun the ring 180 degrees and cut it again and it came right off. The top of the shaft had to be ground down a bit to match the rest of it and I used the Dremel for that also. The bearings then slid right on and used E-clips to secure. I lubricated everything before closing it back up.

The first door took me about 45 minutes to figure it out. The second door took about 25 minutes. So just over an hour to repair both doors. They slide and open much better than before.

Here are the bearings that I used. Got them from Amazon for about 70 cents a piece. E-clips from hardware store were 23 cents a piece. So about 4 dollars to repair the rollers and I didn't have to remove the cables.
Othmro 605Z Deep Groove Ball Bearing 5mm x 14mm x 5mm

Now to replace a rear latch once it arrives.

Wouldn't this bearing be more noisy and cause the track to wear? I would assume that's why they use the nylon bushing as the roller.

 

[maxud]

Wouldn't this bearing be more noisy and cause the track to wear? I would assume that's why they use the nylon bushing as the roller.

No, most of the weight is actually on the bottom roller, which is already a metal bearing roller.
The nylon were used through 4th gen, but replacements actually have metal bearing rollers.
They only control outer forces, which are not great to begin with.

 

[TheOwl]

Wouldn't this bearing be more noisy and cause the track to wear? I would assume that's why they use the nylon bushing as the roller.

Both doors are significantly quieter and smoother than before. The van is also 14 years old and at this point I don't think metal roller bearings are going to cause any more damage than the disintegrated nylon bushings that were causing the doors to bind and dig into the track.

 

[Joe17]

While struggling with the cables, I destroyed the plastic bushing on the knarp (barrel end). Does anyone have a solution for that? Here is a picture I got from carcableguy.com: