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Old 03-24-2002, 12:05 AM
minman
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What are these pieces inside my door???

I pulled the front interior door panels off my car this evening to reaffix the map pockets and arm rests. Thanks to the forum for previous posts that made this a relatively easy job. Only casualties were the clips at the top of the side mirror covers. One was busted by previous mechanic, then I broke the other one tonight.

The previous owner of my car had been backed into on the left side. This was my first opportunity to pull back the interior panel to examine the repair work. Two questions for the forum:

1) Pulling the panel revealed a kitchen plastic garbage bag taped over the door. I didn’t have this on the right (non-damaged) side. Do drivers side doors normally have a sound barrier over the metal housing (in addition to the particle board on the interior panel)? Did I discover a cheap replacement?

2) The passenger side had some clips fall out when I removed the panel. They look like the below picture. I couldn’t find their function, even when comparing to the drivers side door. Any ideas? A similar looking clip was used to hold one of the panel hooks to the panel, but it didn’t look like the panel was missing any hooks.

My door rattles are reduced dramatically. Also, I plan to use Velcro to reattach the mirror cover, unless anyone has a better recommendation.

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What are these pieces inside my door???-door-clip.jpg  
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Old 03-24-2002, 01:23 AM
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1.) trash bag is considered a reasonable substitute for the original clear plastic rain/moisture barrier (many mechanics and body men don't even bother, but it's nice to have.)
2.) Assuming thats gold colored aluminum, those clips are for the flat semi padded door panel insert to attach it to the larger door panel. If yours are all ther these must be extras from previous work/panel. If they are white plastic they look like the seat back spring aligners against the horsehair seatback pad; what those would be doing in a door is beyond me.(jerry rigged clip replacement?)
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Last edited by jbaj007; 03-24-2002 at 01:29 AM.
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Old 03-24-2002, 01:58 AM
minman
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jba,

Thanks for the response. The clips are plastic, and each clip is comprised of two interlocking pieces, which you can't tell from the photo. I'm as puzzled as you what they were doing in there.

Having a moisture barrier seems odd, though I wouldn't be surprised to see it employed often. Seems moisture would be more likely to by trapped by the location of the barrier (i.e. roll down wet window into metal door interior) than keeping moisture out, unless it's for general humidity in which case it would need to be nearly air tight.
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Old 03-24-2002, 02:41 AM
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That moisture barrier plays a very real role in keeping water, or water vapor, out of the cabin. For all practical purposes, the inside of the door is still "outside". It may be the inside, but remember rain, dirt, water from washing the car and all sorts of other stuff gets inside the door - that's why there are drains in the bottom of the door. That plastic wrap does it's part in keeping the moisture on the outside.
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Old 03-24-2002, 09:51 AM
minman
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Ok, I guess I was thinking of the moisture barrier's function in reverse. I thought it was to keep moisture away from the wiring inside the door. Mike, based on your comments, its not the wiring thats being protected but instead the door panel. I guess I should give the body shop credit for trying to maintain the barrier with the plastic bag. Sounds like I'll be pulling the panels back off today and applying barriers. Hope the 15 year old plastic hooks hold up with all of this intrusion.
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Old 03-24-2002, 02:42 PM
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The plastic sheet should hold up without problem. I just pulled the barriers off the 560, 16 years old, with no problem, then reattached when done. The secret is to be very careful, take your time and pull gently. For reattachment I used a small amount of 3M trim adhesive - a little one the door where the barrier attaches and a little around the edges of the sheet.

Should the barrier tear or otherwise come apart on you, simply use pieces of the 13 gallon white trash bags.
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'73 280SEL 4.5 (9/72)- RIP
Only 8,173 units built from 5/71 thru 11/72

'02 CLK320 Cabriolet - wifey's mid-life crisis

2012 VW Jetta Sportwagon TDI...at least its a diesel

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Old 03-24-2002, 03:02 PM
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that piece of plastic is called a "moisture barrier" alright. But I've found that it plays another role:

one of my doors did not have that plastic barrier, as some work had been previously done on the inside, and they never bothered to replace it. Ever since, i've been hearing creaks from that door whenever i'm on a bumpy road.

When i installed a new plastic film using a "contractor-grade" garbage bag, the creaks magically went away. The plastic film prevented the creaking caused by the inside panel rubbing against the metal parts of the door.
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Old 03-24-2002, 03:16 PM
minman
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Never thought about the creaks being reduced by the friction-reducing moisture barrier. I have pulled both front panels back off and used a semi-industrial grade plastic bag. Hope I experience similar results. Now on to the rear doors for more fixes.

Mike, thanks again for your comments. I used mailing tape to secure the sheeting, looks like it should hold quite well.

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