Main door removal vf-56 st

[USSEnterprise]

Is it possible to remove the main door on a VF-56 ST without irrevocably damaging it? I need to do so to get it down a flight of stairs

[BryanH]

Sure - unplug the electrical connector at the bottom of the door (usually clipped just inside the compressor area) and lift the door up and off the hinges.

[USSEnterprise]

I've been trying. Nearly ended up knocking the whole thing over.

[BryanH]

Should work... the hinges may be gummed up.  Try a heat gun or some penetrating oil to loosen them up.

[loman4ec]

It sometimes helps to have someone hold the machine while you lift the door up.

[USSEnterprise]

Its not budging. I tried oil and a hair dryer. Doesn't work. Here's a pic of the hinge
http://img56.imageshack.us/img56/8895/untitled0wk1.png

[collecture]

They are sometimes very stubborn. I sometimes try to use my foot to kind of pry up on the bottom as I swing the door back and forth while lifting. As Josh said, getting another person to hold the machine may help.

[MoonDawg]

The 56 I have here has a cap at each end of the hinge pin. If you knock the top ones off you can get plenty of oil in there.
         Also laying the machine down can give better leverage.  And lastly by removing one breaker strip will expose the retaining nuts holding the hinge onto the body.

[rogerz]

I had a stubborn one and used a floor jack on it, after lots of penetrant.

rz

[sodaworks]

"wiggle" the door back and forth while applying upward pressure.