Door swap/Door wiring harness swap

[TTait]

Years ago I found a great write up on a door swap - but can't find it now - I remember the major points but can't find it now.

I've been watching some videos and think I have the basics covered, but I have a few questions...

I need to build a spacer block to help keep the base plate from potentially breaking the rear window - any pictures or dimensions? It sits on top of the rear glass - right?

Approximately how many foot pounds for a torqued rod? I have a 30" breaker bar but I want to make sure that is long enough for my wife. I know I can't set the tension using a torque measurement - I intend to just put it back where is was and then adjust at the end if I have to. But how much force does the bar hold?

I'm planning on leaving the hinges attached to the car and unbolt the door from the hinges - good plan? I know I will probably have to realign but I want to move forward with the best chance for minimal adjustments...


Now - the wiring harness...

My "new" used door already had glass and some components in it - but most of those bits are easy. When it was salvaged someone just cut the wires instead of taking the time to unplug them. I need to put my existing harness (still on the car) and get it into the "new" door.

I've uncovered the connectors in the middle of the roof, and found the plate where the wires enter the top of the body tub. I have a damaged screw there, but even if I pull the connectors out that way and free the existing harness from the body - the wire is not in the new door yet.

If the siring harness feeds into the door from the top down then I may as well leave the harness on the car and leave it in place while installing the new door, and then dress the wire down into the new door. So...

When installing a new door wiring harness into a door, do you feed it from top down, or bottom up? Any Tips? at this moment this seems like the new hardest part of the job - what do I do here?

Any help, photos, videos, write ups, or sympathy appreciated.

Tom

[painterdave72]

I just completed a passenger door swap.. this was my second door so i knew what i was doing... i had to cut the harness inside the door so i could feed the half of it out thru the top of the door.. u cant feed the harness thru the door with all the connector pins on it.. i assume they put those on after at the factory. i just resoldered all the wires back after i refeed the wire thru the door.. it goes in from the top first.. if u have any questions im me.. Dave..

[David T]

The wooden jig is so you can use a LONG extension and adjust the torsion bars without having to remove the rear sunshade. You will need to add a length of pipe over the handle of the breaker bar about 3 feet long. The jig sits on top of the engine cover. You have to remove the plug from the wiring harness so you can pass the wires through the door. Leaving the hinges on the car is the better way to do it. Use a pencil and make a mark on the torsion bar and the anchor bracket so you can put it back in the same position. It is better to "dress up" the door BEFORE you install it on the car. That is how they did them at the factory.

[TTait]

I just completed a passenger door swap.. this was my second door so i knew what i was doing... i had to cut the harness inside the door so i could feed the half of it out thru the top of the door.. u cant feed the harness thru the door with all the connector pins on it.. i assume they put those on after at the factory. i just resoldered all the wires back after i refeed the wire thru the door.. it goes in from the top first.. if u have any questions im me.. Dave..


If thats the case I may as well leave the existing partial harness inside the new donor door and cut my existing harness on the old door to match... Thats a shame. I can solder and shrink wrap the connections but would prefer not to...

Can you pull the pins out of the connectors and re-insert?

T

[TTait]

The wooden jig is so you can use a LONG extension and adjust the torsion bars without having to remove the rear sunshade. You will need to add a length of pipe over the handle of the breaker bar about 3 feet long. The jig sits on top of the engine cover. You have to remove the plug from the wiring harness so you can pass the wires through the door. Leaving the hinges on the car is the better way to do it. Use a pencil and make a mark on the torsion bar and the anchor bracket so you can put it back in the same position. It is better to "dress up" the door BEFORE you install it on the car. That is how they did them at the factory.

Same question - by removing the connector do you mean cut it, or slip the pins out?

If my breaker bar is already 30" - think that would do it - or would another 6-12" of total length make a big difference? What kind of force would you guess at 36" - 10lbs (30 foot pounds of torque) 26 lbs (75 foot pounds of torque)?

Definitely dressing the new door on the bench before installing - a little heavier but assumed that was best.

Thanks to all!

T

[painterdave72]

What Dave said about pulling all the pins out of the connector is correct.. but what i found on both doors i have done is that with the metal pins attached to the wires u cannot get the harness to feed thru the door.. hence the reason i cut it and fed that part thru the door from the top.. and i just soldered and shrink wrapped the connections back and have no probs..

[TTait]

I just tried on a whim to do something a little different - and I'm encouraged so far.

It looked to me like it might be possible to fish the entire harness up and out the top of the door with all of those smaller connectors on it.

First I drilled out the two rivets and removed the closing plate at the top of the door.

I connected a pull wire to the last connector on the bottom of the harness, and carefully fed a little harness into the bottom of the door, and then pulled a little at a time out of the top. First I hit a plastic clip, kind of like a chip clip, and worked that through gently with needle nose pliers, then there were two metal clips around the bundle. I again worked those through patiently using a standard screwdriver and the needle nose.

I thought I was stuck when I got to the first nylon connector, but by pulling the wires from the connector through first I backed the connector so that the tab on the back side of the connector caught the bottom lip of the door opening, then slid the connector back some more so it was almost clipped onto the door, then I could pop the end of the connector through and release it.

After I got the first one through the rest were the same - piece of cake.

I have, therefore, removed the harness intact, with no damage. I assume I can reverse the process, easily now as I have a pull string/wire in place still going through the door that the last connector pulled up to me.

Any reason not to reverse the procedure going in? I think with a little wire lube (or I'm told dish soap is acceptable) it should go back in even easier than it came out...

Are the metal clamps on the harness and the chip clip serving any function?


And back to my first post - I understand the large wooden jig to hold the extension, but I once read that one should cut a wood shim about 1/2" or so and install it between the locking plate and the top of the rear glass - that such a shim would help protect the glass and aid in aligning the plate when re-installing. Was that a quirky thought by that one poster - or is that recommended and common practice?

Tom

[TTait]

Major milestone passed, the torsion bar has been untorqued.

The torsion bar was inserted very snugly into the front hinge - It took me a while to figure out how to get it loose from the front hinge - could not pull it free till I put the allen and a socket back on the end of the torsion bar and "untorqued it" a bit more (Top of ratchet handle toward the outside of the car. With about 5 ft pounds of force it popped slightly and was loose. Easily pulled out.

FYI - I'm going to estimate that the torque on a fully opened door (over rotated) is 30 foot pounds approximately, call it 45 to be safe and allow for variances but I know that's high.

Not a useful fact when trying to set the pre-tension or anything - but when you are deciding how long a handle to put on your breaker bar or who might be a good choice to hold said bar when you are assigning roles.

[TTait]

So the door latch slots are different on the two doors, as as the pre-drilled holes for the guides.

Can someone educate me on the differences? The new door is set up I think for plastic guides (it came with none) and has slots for the door latch. The door coming off has metal guides and V shaped cuts for the door latches.

Should I make a template and cut the V in the new door? Do I have to find plastic guides to use this new door?

Are there any other modes I should be thinking about as part of the door swap process? I read something about extending blue wires?

Tom

[David T]

So the door latch slots are different on the two doors, as as the pre-drilled holes for the guides.

Can someone educate me on the differences? The new door is set up I think for plastic guides (it came with none) and has slots for the door latch. The door coming off has metal guides and V shaped cuts for the door latches.

Should I make a template and cut the V in the new door? Do I have to find plastic guides to use this new door?

Are there any other modes I should be thinking about as part of the door swap process? I read something about extending blue wires?

Tom

I wouldn't use dishwashing soap (or any soap for that matter) since once it dries it is a sticky mess. Wire lube is OK but you shouldn't need it. The torsion bar gets torqued approximately 90 degrees, it is not a torque measurement per se, it is done with a new strut till the door will stay open all the way and not bounce. You can use the metal guides but they are HEAVY! If you can get some plastic ones that is the way to go. I have never heard of extending blue wires or making wooden shims.

[TTait]

Not sure how old this new door is - It has 139-81 on the window with chalk.

I've found a few differences. Besides the guides and latch slot, there was no rectangular access slot to get to the front glass guide.

The really annoying thing is that the lock cylinder has notches on the replacement door at the 3 o clock and 9 o clock position, not 12 and 6. This means the lock would set with the opening for the key horizontal, rather than vertical. I can use the dremel to put in new notches at the proper positions, but that is a little nerve racking.

How early was this door?

Should I suspect any more surprises?


T

[TTait]

The team at DMC-CA was able to set me up with a loaner jig to file out the new notches for the later door lock - easy and precise solution.

The wiring harness can absolutely be removed and installed from the top of the door. I did choose in the end to open up that slot just a bit as well. The mod is hidden by the cover plate, so the only person who would ever find out would be someone who was glad to see it there. I did soap up the good harness just a bit as I pulled it out of the old door, just to ease thing along, then gave it a good rinse and pulled it while wet into the new door - piece of cake. Being wet did not hurt anything and may have eased things along a bit - don't want any damage.

My new drop glass came in last night and I have it in the carrier, but I'm looking for a small bit of advice on that installation. The manual says nothing about lubing the rails or the carrier. In the long term I know lube will just attract grit and dirt - so whats the best way to go here - install it dry? Just a touch of silicon lube or white lithium grease?

If there is a foolproof procedure for setting the guide rails I'd love to hear that too.

Thanks guys.

[DMCMW Dave]

My new drop glass came in last night and I have it in the carrier, but I'm looking for a small bit of advice on that installation. The manual says nothing about lubing the rails or the carrier. In the long term I know lube will just attract grit and dirt - so whats the best way to go here - install it dry? Just a touch of silicon lube or white lithium grease?

If there is a foolproof procedure for setting the guide rails I'd love to hear that too.

Thanks guys.

Very little lube. It's "self lubricating" plastic so you don't want a bunch of grease that, like you said, will attract and catch dirt.

Make sure the rails are not bent. When properly installed the base bracket will be parallel to the door, not cocked at all. A good way to do this is assemble the tracks to the door loosely, put the glass in and roll it all the way up. The tracks will sort-of self align, then you can make sure that they are straight, not preloaded, and tighten the mounting bolts. They are kind of hard to get to.

[TTait]

Sounds good - thanks! The door is still off the car and I have not installed any of the lock linkages, so access is better today than its ever going to be - now is the time.