Tackled my first one recently: the right rear. Waited to post until it rained 2 inches yesterday and passed the test perfectly. Follow this DIY at your own risk.
Parts from Tischer were: “sound insulation” 51488230222 for ~$14 (for a rear airbag car), and 3M 8610 windo-weld for ~$20. One pack of 15ft x 1/4in windo-weld is just right to do 2 door gaskets.
Tools I used, in order: plastic knife, small flat head screwdriver, T20 torx screwdriver, moist towel, 10mm socket wrench, plastic finishing tool (shape of a putty knife, ~$2 from Lowe's), flashlight, safety knife, electrical tape, tasty beverage.
1. Remove trim
This is optional, unless you have window shades. The object is to get the trim out of the way so you don’t damage it. Pry out the trim under light forces, using the handle of a plastic knife to gain access. There are 5 attachment points to the door. They are tabs which hug screws on the back of the trim. Avoid disrupting of a line of tape trying to hold the tabs in the door.
2. Remove sidewalk light
Look under the door. One side (inward on my car) has a tab where your plastic knife or fingernail can pry it out. Optionally, you can disconnect the plug and free the light. For this you could wedge a small flat head screwdriver to clear the retaining bulge on the connector. The advantage here is simply getting the light out of the way; avoiding energy drain and burning skin on the bulb is a bonus.
3. Remove torx screw
Use the small flat head screwdriver to pry out the slotted circular cap behind the door handle. This uncovers a torx screw, T20, which you need to remove. Be careful not to scratch any plastic with metal in this process.
FYI, my window was closed this entire process; it may be fine either way.
4. Detach inner door panel
The inner door is now ready to be literally pulled off. Start with the inner lower corner. In this picture my left fingers were in the seam between metal and leather on the lower left, and my right fingers were wrapped around the stitched edge by the ash tray. Pull smartly, in short bursts. Plastic rivets will pop free. Don’t be startled by the sound. Work from the bottom, up each side, then free the top last. The top is connected by weaker metal tabs.
5. Remove window switch
One upward tug should free the door and let you clear the door lock post. As you tilt the inner panel away, you will meet resistance from the window switch wires. Follow that wire to the sticky foam. Extract the foam, stick your finger inside the space the foam left, and push the window switch out from the inside. Use the moist towel to clean your sticky fingers. Unplug the window switch (no tool assistance req’d). Put the inner door panel down somewhere on a non-scratch surface.
6. Reseat center clip
Find the black clip for the center of the door. It could be anywhere. Seat it back on the “outer” face of the inner door panel. This resets it for remounting.
7. Clean door panel
Examine the lower edge of the inner door. Disinfect for mold. If you choose bleach, make it dilute, wipe precisely, and keep it away from the leather.
8. Examine gasket
Now you can investigate the old gasket on the door for gaps where the adhesive has let go. The only place where adhesive was never present was my top inner corner, where the wire leads into the pillar. If you find a tight seal all the way around, and you still think you’re getting water on the lower door sill, then check your door’s drain hole for an obstruction. Otherwise, continue on.
9. Remove air bag
Remove the airbag’s 3 x 10mm bolts, and set it aside in a safe place. FYI, mine was not activated (unplugged).
10. Remove door handle
Take a mental picture of the orientation of the handle assembly and the hook of its cable. Remove the door handle by rotating it to face downward. This exposes a wire track and a green tube. Extend the handle assembly cable inward. This will help the green tube clear the groove and pop out. Turn the handle assembly off the hook and set it aside.
11. Remove old gasket and old adhesive
Now you are ready for the only tedious part. Think of the gasket as a big piece of tape. The old windo-weld is trying to decide whether to stick to the gasket or the metal. You want to coax it onto the gasket with the plastic finishing tool. I used scraping-pulling and repetitive stick-and-unstick motions to accomplish this. As you stretch the old windo-weld it becomes more compliant. The idea is to keep your skin out of contact with the windo-weld. Take note that there also is a dollop of windo-weld dead center on the door. Once the old gasket is off, you can ball up some old windo-weld and remove fine remnants of whatever’s still attached to metal. Tip: don’t take off so much that you lose track of the old windo-weld trail. You’ll probably want to follow that again, unless you think it was poorly aligned originally.
12. Inspect drain hole
With the inner workings of the door fully exposed, take a flashlight to look for debris which may obstruct the drain hole. If you can’t find the drain hole, pour a cup of water in there.
13. Orient new gasket
Test fit your new gasket. You want to mount it in one clean shot once the new windo-weld is applied. Now is your only chance to understand the mating contacts between metal and gasket. Take note of where the wires and door handle cable go.
14. Apply new adhesive
Optional: clean/prep/dry the metal surface. Applying new windo-weld is easy. Have your safety knife ready to terminate the end of the single strand. Go slow. The backing tape is your friend. Follow the old trail. Don’t forget to re-do the center dollop. Peel off the backing tape. Attach the gasket according to your dry run above.
15. Seat new gasket
Take your time to press firmly all along the trail of unseen windo-weld. This is probably the most important step, because what’s the point if you are not going to insure a tight seal between metal and gasket, via fresh windo-weld? Remember to press down that center dollop too.
16. Replace stuff
Anchor the unused airbag wires with new electrical tape. Reattach the door handle. Reattach the airbag. I poked tiny holes where the 10mm bolts go to “tap” them.
17. Replace window switch
I rested the inner door on the lower plastic rivet points so I could reattach the window switch connector, and re-stuff the sticky foam. If you forget which way your switch is oriented, just look at a different door. Note: I have not snapped any part of the door in yet.
18. Replace inner door
Set the sidewalk light wire through the bottom. Next, the tricky part is feeding the door handle assembly back through, as you re-hang the door on the door lock. I found that a twist and slight tension made it happen. Now you can press or lightly hammer-fist down the rivets. I did the top first, then the bottom, then the sides. The sound is great feedback on success here. Finally, press firmly on the center of the door. This one does not make a sound.
19. Finishing touches
Reattach the sidewalk light. Don’t worry, all these connectors only work in one orientation. Carefully re-seat the trim. The final bit of frustration may come in centering the torx screw in the handle assembly, such that the slotted plastic cap fits flush.
Have a drink, you’re done. It might not be as simple as the oil change on this car, but it’s certainly in the ballpark.
The Following 4 Users Say Thank You to chowdah For This Useful Post:
thanks for the writeup!
Hmm... this looks different than the factory vapor barrier method. Did you notice the car driving quieter with it done this way?
the only thing i did differently was use a heat gun to make the windo-weld extra sticky before putting on the new vapor seal... it's a really cheap thing to fix on this car if you do it urself... great write up tho...
ps- im going to have to do the fronts soon as i just did the rears acouple months ago... the passenger front is starting to leak...
thanks for the writeup!
Hmm... this looks different than the factory vapor barrier method. Did you notice the car driving quieter with it done this way?
Can't comment on the factory method beyond what I observed. I did spend time between steps 13-14 pondering a way to keep future water off the windo-weld, because with time, this seems to be the mode of separation (failure). In the end, I just copied what was there before.
The new gray gasket appears to be the same density and thickness as the old black one. Thus the quietness I would say is unchanged. My car has been squeak/rattle free, and I'm the type that would notice. Then again, I don't sit back there
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