Door replacement

[poortomsacold]

Morning all

I'm swapping my passenger door with a complete door kindly provided by enuff_zed. I think I've read that I need to disconnect the battery before doing so to avoid any airbag light issues but I have also read that disconnecting the battery can lead to transport mode?

Anyone got any tips on what I should do to make it a relatively painless process?

Thanks!

 

[paddy wright]

Battery off for about 20 minutes to be clear to remove airbags. Shouldn’t cause any further issues when reconnecting provided the battery is good.

 

[bigwinn]

It’s a fairly easy process just take your time

Door card off no biggie
Yes you need battery off for airbag reasons-

If the door is coming with looms etc in place (knowing Martin as I do) then that’s easier

If I recall properly it’s an 8mm on the connector in the a pillar- undo and lever up- careful not to break it- slide the connector to undo it

Think it’s 4x 16mm bolts on the hinges and a Torx t10 in the retainer bar

If you haven’t got to take the glass in and out that will save lots of hassle

 

[enuff_zed]

Disconnecting the battery shouldn't necessarily lead to transport mode.
You have to disconnect it as you're messing with airbag circuits. Transport can be reset if you do by some minor chance happen to encounter it.
In all likelihood you will need to reset the windows once its all reconnected.
Many threads on here about it.

If you're doing it with the wing still on, then get the awkward bottom hinge bolt out first while everything else is held securely.
Likewise, put it back last.

Hope it all goes well.

 

[enuff_zed]

If the door is coming with looms etc in place (knowing Martin as I do) then that’s easier

Yes it had everything except the airbag and the mirror. (So it's heavy :roll: )
The glass is still up, purely because the membrane was immaculate and it seemed a shame to risk damaging it to get the motor off.

 

[enuff_zed]

Tom - you could electrically wind down the window on the old door before you take the battery off, to make it easier, but if you do that you then have no access to the motor screws which you need to remove to manually wind it up and get stuff out of the door once it's removed.

Best bet is to get the motor off first while it's still on the car, then use needle-nosed pliers or similar to wind the window down. This will make it easier to handle and you'll be able to move the window up and down manually, as needed, when you salvage all the good bits out of it.
I reckon you could recoup a fair bit of your outlay by selling the parts afterwards.

 

[poortomsacold]

Thanks for all of your tips guys - really appreciate it.

[ref]enuff_zed[/ref], the door you provided me with still has the airbag so makes the process even easier! Great ideas about how to remove the door so as to be able to salvage all of the good parts. It's a shame my existing door has some minor rust bubbles as aside from that it's in excellent condition!

 

[enuff_zed]

Thanks for all of your tips guys - really appreciate it.

[ref]enuff_zed[/ref], the door you provided me with still has the airbag so makes the process even easier! Great ideas about how to remove the door so as to be able to salvage all of the good parts. It's a shame my existing door has some minor rust bubbles as aside from that it's in excellent condition!

Oh did it? Senility creeping in. :roll:
[ref]bigwinn[/ref], would Tom be better to use his existing airbag? Are they coded?

 

[bigwinn]

Thanks for all of your tips guys - really appreciate it.

[ref]enuff_zed[/ref], the door you provided me with still has the airbag so makes the process even easier! Great ideas about how to remove the door so as to be able to salvage all of the good parts. It's a shame my existing door has some minor rust bubbles as aside from that it's in excellent condition!

Oh did it? Senility creeping in. :roll:
[ref]bigwinn[/ref], would Tom be better to use his existing airbag? Are they coded?

They don’t need coding and are interchangeable

 

[poortomsacold]

Thanks for all of your tips guys - really appreciate it.

[ref]enuff_zed[/ref], the door you provided me with still has the airbag so makes the process even easier! Great ideas about how to remove the door so as to be able to salvage all of the good parts. It's a shame my existing door has some minor rust bubbles as aside from that it's in excellent condition!

Oh did it? Senility creeping in. :roll:
[ref]bigwinn[/ref], would Tom be better to use his existing airbag? Are they coded?

They don’t need coding and are interchangeable

Brilliant. I might try taking the whole door off with window up and see what bits people may want from it afterwards. Wing is still on so hopefully the bolts won't be seized. Just have to see if it will stop raining long enough for me to try it!

 

[mothy5000]

I'm coming to the party late, so this is for those of you who still have questions. Yes. You can let the window down before disconnecting the battery, but not necessary. I would do it anyway, just because I have bad luck with electronics. If you decide to disconnect the battery and you didn't let the window down first, just know that the glass will easily slide straight down once you remove the window motor. The motor is what keeps the window pulley mechanism from turning, which is what is needed to manually push the window down.