Door Panel removal. - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Litton · #1 12-09-2003, 06:13 PM

Well, I'm staring to get all the running gear problems straigtened out now it's time to start on other stuff.

Both front doors have a problem with the windows, one is regulator and the other, according to the PO is that the window is off the track. Anyway, now I need to figurre out the proper way to pull the door panels and then to resistall said panels. Preferrably without braking some small but irreplacable part.

Tkfs for any advice on this matter.

The car is a '72 280 SEL 4.5

Some day I am actually going to drive this car.

psfred · #2 12-09-2003, 07:42 PM

Litton:

Remove lock button. Pry upper trim off door (at the window) -- held on by three or four (I forget) metal clips. Trim is a sheetmetal piece with foam and vinyl molded on (or wood, if perhaps you have the 300 trim package).

Pull the chrome trim ring back at the top of the armrest, remove large phillips screw. Remove the two under the armrest, watch for the aluminum bright trim bits to fall off, as they usually do. They bend if you look at them crosseyed, so catch them and put them somewhere safe.

Remove the chromed trim around the latch, two small phillips screws.

Panel is held to the door by a series of metal and plastic clips around the front, rear, and bottom. Use a wide, thin prybar of some sort to find them and peek in to make SURE you are prying on the clip and not the fiberboard, it's fairly easy to pull the clips through. I think there are four on the front and rear edge and four along the bottom, but I'm not sure.

Map pocket stays on panel.

Edit: Forgot about the door latch lever -- pry out the black plastic insert (from the front) and remove the screw holding the chrome trim in place. Lever stays on door.
Peter

Tomguy · #3 12-09-2003, 11:45 PM

Litton: If the non-working door is the front passenger (RF) it would coincide with the nonworking LR door being the fuse (under the hood, on the firewall). Make sure all the fuses are good! The RF and LR are on the same fuse, and the LF and RR share their fuse. Might save you some time!

300SDog · #4 12-09-2003, 11:50 PM

Think on it as gigantic jigsaw puzzle..... most people screw up by breaking plastic buttons that hold the door panel to sheetmetal - so you wanna pull on edges with fingers gently to find the buttons, then GENTLY pry them off with stiff putty knife or flat edge screwdriver, hopefully grabbing the lip of the button itself.

Dislodging map pockets is another newbie mistake - so dont even touch em...... and EVERYBODY scratches the rubber insert on door release to remove it - until they figure out how to grab it and pull it out of the way to access phillips screw behind it.

Everything else should be obvious like unsnapping the horizontal strip vertically, unscrewing the door pull handle and sliding the trim stips sideways to check for slip-off release below the window sill horizontal strip of door panel that you've already removed.

Tools required: stiff putty knife and assorted screwdrivers

Hard to find parts: NONE..... except the plastic door panel buttons that are scarce as hen's teeth, everything else like the door release rubber insert that you will probably scratch can be found at junkyard.

Other things to do while probing behind the door panel include replacement of spring/lever that holds the door open (if nec), scraping and painting with rustoleum any rust areas at inside bottom of door, greasing the door catch mechanism and even rubbing the edges of window glass with candle wax for easy slide. But dont grease the spring/lever that holds the door open, or it will slip..... also look for loose screws throughout that need tightening - this could be the trouble with "off track window".

And yes, you've gotta reglue the plastic vapor barrier with rubber cement because it prevents warping of the door panel when you reasemble.

Catrinus · #5 12-10-2003, 12:38 AM

Go this this web site and then click on "repair manuals".
Kent Bergsma is the owner and he has put together some very nice repair manuals for common repairs. I bought the 114/115 door repair manual and I thought it was well worth the money, although he did forget one thing on my year (i.e. the proper way to remove the vent wing window crank knob) so they're not perfect. He's located in very northern Washington state (any further north and he'd be saying, "eh?".

http://www.**************.com/

300SDog · #6 12-10-2003, 03:51 AM

yep, that corner vent window crank knob is the ultimate bear...... what nobody will tell you is about the secret hole *behind* the knob through which you can push the plastic insert out of the way with bent coathanger to access the phillips screw for removing the rest of the round hand crank....... otherwise you might get lucky pushing on edges of corner window crank while probing for an opening to pry the insert off with tiny jeweler's screwdriver.

Basically, you've got two nasty plastic inserts that will get scuffed: 1) door release clasp 2)corner vent window crank

psfred · #7 12-10-2003, 11:02 AM

Vent window on the W108 is a lever operated mechanism, not the round knob on the W115 chassis. No need to remove it, but you may want to adjust it while in there to get the vents to close completely if they leak -- unclip the ball socket and turn out a couple turns, then reclip. Have a care, you can drop the rod and its a pain to fish back up.

Peter

Litton · #8 12-10-2003, 11:58 AM

Thanks all, this thread definitely will be printed out and placed in my "tech tips" manual.

kpb · #9 12-15-2003, 08:43 AM

As I had the opportunity yesterday (in my seventh day of ownership) to work on my non-opening LR door, I wanted to update this thread as I found the advice here INVALUABLE

I thought I would have a peculiarly difficult task since pulling the door panel without a functioning door OR window seemed likely to result in damage to some piece or another. I followed the directions, particulalry of psfred and 240dieseldog. And, dieseldog, because of your excellent description of the latch mechanism, you can no longer say that EVERYONE scratches the rubber latch insert, because I did not!

After getting the upper trim off the door, the front wood veneer strip, and various affixing devices on the panel itself and also pulling the rear seat in the hopes of getting to the latch itself, I was able to visualize the workings of the latch even though there was no way to pull the panel intact with the door closed. I just gently pried the top of the panel back and, fortunately, the workings are right there in sight.

As I suspected, all rods and mechanisms appeared to be in working order so I thoroughly soaked them with WD40. I reflected on another thread where the author found that the door pin was simply rusted in place. I had tried pushing on the door and it felt so solidly secure that I was was assuming it was remaining locked or the child lock was wacky somehow. After soaking with the WD40, i decided to give one really sharp wack right at the latch and... behold, it swung open. I cleaned the pin with sandpaper, thoroughly lubed it and it is perfect. From this lesson, I decided to do the same with the other three doors and found them in need of such attention. Thanks all to a successful outcome on the (formerly) "three-door" 280SE 4.5. I have not reassembled yet because I want to investigate the non-working window on that door. All others are OK. Any ideas?

ctaylor738 · #10 12-15-2003, 09:02 AM

If the map pockets are like the 114, they latch into the metal of the door. You may have to lift the panel a half-inch or so to get them out. If you have everything off and you still can't remove the panel then that is probably the issue. Be careful - the pockets are getting hard to find.

Tomguy · #11 12-15-2003, 10:09 AM

kpb: Note that the window will NOT WORK if the wires are disconnected from the switch (now, you may be thinking "No ****" but I mean from the switch in the front console too!)

With the wires disconnected from the motor, try putting 12V through the motor, if nothing happens, try reversing the current. If nothing still happens, your motor may be dead. I HAPPEN to have a spare motor I was going to throw on eBay someday...

kpb · #12 12-15-2003, 10:18 AM

Thanx tom and chuck. Chuck, this is a rear door so there is not an issue with map pockets (at least in my car.) Tom, I'm on my way out (into 20 degrees and 2" of snow) to fiddle with the front switch to check for continuity. I will not fry an otherwise good window motor if I hook-up the 12V wrong the first time?

psfred · #13 12-15-2003, 11:59 AM

The window motor is a DC motor, goes one way with one polarity and the other when hooked up the other way. No way to fry it.

If the right rear also doesn't work, check the fuses and relay up on the firewall, they tend to corrode with age and refuse to conduct.

Clean all the grease off the door pins and lube them with graphite instead -- grease collects dirt and grit, leading to stuck latches.

Peter