DIY 7th Gen Tourer Rear Door Swap

[apintofmild]

With reference to My recent post I've had cause to swap one of my rear doors after a dent-and-run incident. My plea for advice (unusually) didn't yield much, so I made it up as I went along. I took a boat load of pictures along the way to make sure I got everything back where it came from (without resorting to stripping the other door for a look :blush: ).

It's pretty straight forward job, needing only a few screwdrivers, 10 mm socket, 12mm socket, ratchet and extensions.

What follows is an account of how I fitted a replacement door and swapped everything from old to new, on the off chance someone else wants to to do some or all of the same without flying blind. I'm not suggesting it's the best, right or only way -it's just what I did. It'll take quite a few posts (over a dozen I reckon) to get through it -so bare with me…

 

[apintofmild]

First job is to remove the door card. On the bottom corner on the grab handle is a small slot. The trim tools I'd ordered hadn't showed up so I resorted to a piece of cutlery I had lying round the garage. I taped the business end, though this particular knife was already totally blunt and smooth (buy cheap, get cheap). Being slim, stiff, tapered and smooth it made a pretty good job. The cover just pops off. Remove the two screws that are revealed:

Using a small flat blade screwdriver release the cover located behind the door opener to reveal two more screws. Remove these.

Pop off the slim triangular trim piece in the rear corner of the window. (Note the nut that is revealed).

The door card is held in place with six trim clips. I used the handle end of my knife to pop these off.

Slide the trim up vertically to remove. It will still be attached by the wires to the window switch and the control cable to the door opener. I couldn't reach the release tab for the window switch connector so I pushed the panel out from behind and unplugged it from there.

I'd hoped to be able to pop the door opener out complete and pass it through its own hole in the door card and leave it attached, but I couldn't get at the clips. Instead I detached the control cable from the handle. The silver L shaped part unclips from the black plastic bit and can then be withdrawn.

The door card can now be lifted up and over the lock pin and out of the way. Make a note of where the cables pass from the front to the back of the membrane and the position and type of the clips. Remove the two plugs at the top corners and carefully peel the membrane away.

Most of the goop stayed on the door. This stuff is like the worst chewing gum you ever stepped in! It gets everywhere! I put a layer of tape over the sealant / caulk / adhesive / mastic (does it have a nane?) to contain it as I worked.

At this stage I removed the speaker. Not seen this kind of fitment before. Insert a screwdriver in the top and release the spring clip. Lean forward slightly then pull up to disengage the lugs at the bottom.

 

[apintofmild]

Next I removed the two trim pieces from the exterior of the car.

The upper one is just clipped on, secured with double sided tape and a popper at each end. With careful use of a screwdriver this came off fairly easily. It put a gentle bend across the length, but this was easily straightened.

The lower trim, which also contains the window seal, is secured by two self tappers.

Once these screws were removed I could see no way of actually removing the trim. It was solid! I didn't want to risk breaking it by using brute force. The solution came from my trusty knife again! The profile of the trim is such that the lower edge locks under a seam inside the top edge of the door. By snipping the end off my knife and bending the end over I was able to unclip the lower edge of the trim from above. It worked like a charm!

 

[apintofmild]

The next job was to remove the window glass.

Lower the window and remove the two fixing screws that become visible in the aperture in the bottom of the door. On the edge of the door remove one screw. In the corner of the window undo the nut that was covered by the trim right at the start.

Working in the upper rear corner of the window aperture, release the window rubber. Pull the rubber away from along the top of the window frame to about half way. Now pull the rubber away from the rear vertical part of the window frame. When you reach the small triangular trim piece at the bottom (this will come away with the rubber) pull the remaining length of the window channel up out of the door. There's a metal strip attached, so expect it to be stiff.

The window glass can now easily be lifted out. Put it somewhere safe. It's much thinner than I imagined, and I doubt it would take much the break it! Remove the remaining window rubber completely.

 

[apintofmild]

To remove the window regulator remove the three silver bolts (red arrows) and undo the three gold bolts a couple of turns (these are on keyhole slots so need not be removed).

By squeezing the drive wires together the whole ***embly can be made small enough to easily slide out of the top most aperture.

 

[apintofmild]

To remove the lock ***embly, first remove the bolt and nut securing the lock protector then withdraw the metal box.
Working inside the door (easier said than done) release the plastic clip from the control rod that connects the outer handle to the lock mechanism.
Disengage the control rod from the lock. From the outside of the door remove the three securing screws from the lock ***embly (very tight in my case).
The whole lock mechanism can now be withdrawn.

 

[apintofmild]

To remove the outer handle remove the two securing bolts (one is obscured in the picture). Take note of the position and orientation of the retaining clips on each end. To withdraw the handle through the door the handle must be in the 'opening' position (i.e. as though pulling on it to open the door). The bulbous part passes through first and the smaller end then slides and unhooks out.

 

[apintofmild]

Next I threaded all the loom back through the big grommet leaving just the door check to remove. I left this till last so the wind wouldn't catch the door and possibly damage the front door. Two nuts and a bolt and that comes out easily.

 

[apintofmild]

Finally! Time to remove the door. As I'd gone for a gap in the weather on a day off work I was working alone. Clearly handling the door is a three handed job. I improvised by fitting the roof rack and wiring the door to it. Only one wire is pictured, but it was actually supported at the front and back. This worked surprisingly well and took the weight when I removed the four fixing bolts.

 

[apintofmild]

With the door removed all that remained was to remove the door seal. This is held on with many small red (and a few black) lozenge shaped trim clips. This proved to be very tricky. To avoid damaging the rubber seal I eased it off the clips, leaving them behind in the door. Some of the clips are accessible from the rear, making their removal easy. Others took a good deal of patience and a very small screwdriver.

Once all the clips were off I refitted them in the rubber and transferred it to the new door.

 

[apintofmild]

My replacement door was totally bare with the exception of the old membrane sealing compound.
+1 to Jimbob for his advice on dealing with this. I found the best way to remove the bulk of the stuff was to cover in tape, then lift the tape away scraping from underneath with a piece of plastic as I went.

I tried every solvent I owned to try and clean the residue up -almost nothing would touch it. WD40 and meths were similarly effective, and definitely helped but didn't really dissolve it. The winner by far was Toolstation's BC530 brake cleaner.

 

[apintofmild]

Fitting the new door was easier than I imagined thanks to the roof rack and wires arrangement. With the replacement door hung the first job was to fit the check strap so it wouldn't swing wide in the wind.

Transferring all the parts back onto the new door was really just a case of reversing the procedure above. Note that the exterior handle has to go on before the lock mechanism.

Getting the glass back in took me a couple of goes, so I think it's worth (yet) another picture.

Start by threading the channel / rubber down inside the door at the side nearest the front of the car, then fit the front top corner and the first couple of inches across the top of the window aperture. From inside the door cavity push the channel home into the runner.

Working from outside the car slot the window glass back into the door and then engage it into the felt lined channel you've just fitted.

Slot the long stiff end of the channel (the one with the triangular trim piece attached) into the rear-most edge of the door, locating onto (and following down) the edge of the glass as you go. Refit the nut at the top and the bolt on the door edge

Ease the trim along the top edge of the window aperture -it needs a certain amount of massaging with your thumbs to get it to sit properly. Secure the glass to the regulator mechanism with the two bolts. Check the window runs correctly.

 

[apintofmild]

One last thing to swap from the old door -the two bump stops. These are 'threaded' and just unscrew.

 

[apintofmild]

With everything re-fitted and functional on the replacement door all that remained was to seal it up.
I took Jimbob's advice here and went for the Renault Sealer (Part No 7701423330). Easy and mess free to fit, just follow the groove in the door.
I started at the top and worked round to avoid a (weak) join at the bottom which is most prone to leaking.
The bead was continuous, but the backing paper needed tearing now and again to aid cornering. There was enough on the roll to do the whole door, with enough left over to put a few double thickness layers in the most leak-likely places.

With the membrane pushed firmly home the speaker and door card went back on, followed by four screws and the trim pieces. Job done.

 

[apintofmild]

All told it's a passable repair.
Not concourse by any means -but I can live with the way it looks now and I'm not £1400 quid out of pocket.

If anyone wants this DIY as a PDF (e.g. if my free hosted pictures start going off line) drop me a PM.

 

[shab_the_man]

Totally missed this thread. Nice work mate. And a very good writeup too.

 

[mattlee]

just used the first part of this as a guide to replace my badly scratched door card. i managed to do it in less than 15 minutes

used door card from ebay @ £40 inc delivery was a steal compared to a new one from Honda at £300 i now have a mint interior again....

 

[apintofmild]

just used the first part of this as a guide to replace my badly scratched door card. i managed to do it in less than 15 minutes

Glad to be of some help

 

[Stevearcade]

Amazing write up buddy. This will no doubt be useful to people. Great work.

 

[johnny 5]

wow this is awesome, I swapped out my rear window motor mechanism at the weekend, i didn't see this till just now with very detailed pics! Wasnt too difficult to work out anyway but your pics are useful none the less, esp for figuring things out without breaking stuff!