Dave928S

OK ... I didn't want to cut the seal but I hear everyone ... thanks for all the input.

I was thinking releasing the hinges and stay and feeding the seal through might be easy, but it would seem not. If the bolts are cheesy then my luck would be shearing them all off ... stuff like that has already happened on my 82 multiple times ... WYAIT spread to stripping the car to a bare shell.

I think I'll just do the cut and avoid the pain of possibly wrecking bolts, door, pulling off the door panels etc etc. I've done good, almost invisible joins on seals before, so I can on this one too.

Gary ... as I mentioned in posts #1 & #4, after MY89 they did not put the plugs in that harness ... they would have to be disconnected within the door. I've laid upside down following the harnesses on both sides and I've confirmed there are no plugs.

Stan ... I always value the info in your posts ... thanks ... if you hadn't figured it out already, I'm a bit of a pedantic perfectionist ... not so much with my 82 but certainly with my GTS.

Dave928S

Thanks George ... I was thinking, from what everyone was saying that the door panel way would be a PITA, but if it's that quick and it's only one plug without ripping the whole door to pieces well I'm up for it. 10 to 15 minutes a side to avoid the cut seems worthwhile ... it was that easy?

You didn't see harness plugs under the dash because, like mine, they aren't there. I was only considering the hinge idea because there are no under dash plugs, and it seemed the door panel removal and associated work would take forever.

GeorgeM

I have removed my door panels more than a few times for various repairs, etc., so I literally have it down pat. It really is not difficult, just a dozen or so screws and bolts removed in the proper order and knowledge of how to pull and/or slide certain parts to avoid breaking stuff.

Just a few gotchas/things to be wary of if you've never done it:
- Once the door latch surround is removed (one screw), the leather trim panel pops out at the top, then pull up on it as there are two clips that simply slide down over the plastic panel below it

- The door pull/armrest/air vent assembly is a separate piece from the rest of the door panel and comes off first by removing 3 bolts under the armrest, two below the door handle, and one behind the HVAC air inlet trim piece (which must be removed for access - the tabs that hold this trim piece must be lifted slightly rather than pushed to free the trim piece), then it just lifts right out

- Remove and dissconnect the courtesy light before removing the panel - on the rear end of the light is a spring clip, if you push that fwd and lift, you'll avoid breaking the plastic tab on the other end of the light

- There are door panel "retainers" all around the panel and also 3 more just below the window above the leather trim panel. The round door lock **** assembly holds the upper rear corner of the panel on. Once you removed the lock surround (I use a utility knife blade to remove the door lock **** center trim cap) and pop the retainers with a door trim tool or with a putty knife, you'll need to slide the panel towards the front of the car to get it free. There's a metal tab that slides into a slot next to the door lock stem, and if you try to pull the panel straight off, you'll bend or break that tab.

- There's a plastic trim piece around the wire channel at the front of the panel that will keep it from coming free of the door panel - two small srews hold that

- You may want to replaced some of the door panel plastic "clips": clipsandfasteners.com has them-
A20252 Volkswagen Trim Panel Retainer 9mm Stm Dia 14mm Stm Lgth

- Once the panel is free, you'll have to disconnect the speaker wires, and free the wire channel at the front through a slot cut in the door panel and pull it free.

- You'll have to disconnect two of the harness plugs, then remove 2 bolts holding the rest of the harness to the door - then just let them hang.

- A long allen wrench socket helps alot when removing the door strap bolt, Once removed, push the door closed carefully to recess the door strap. If you push it closed too far, the strap will pop out into the door cavity. No big deal, you can cut or peel the plastic barrier and reach in to retrieve it. Then reinsert it, hold the strap from the inside, close the door as required to get it into the bracket and the holes lined up, slide the bolt/pin through the whole, then open the door a bit and it'll snap into the first detent. This is actually a great time to replace your door straps. I used to have the titanium shim quick repair, but much prefer a new strap. Also a good opportunity to reglue the vinyl or leather covering where it has come off on the backside of the panel - I used Weldwood contact cement

- Installation is basically the reverse. The 3 panel retainers in the middle of the panel below the window can be tricky to find/line up, so you'll have to be patient. If you don;t get them snapped in, your door bpanel will have a slight bulge in the middle and will not sit tight where it sits close to the window at the top of the panel.

Clear as mud? Sorry I don't have any pics... there might be some out there. WSM may have some as well.

Dave928S

Thanks so much for taking the time to detail all that George .. that's great ... I hope I can repay the favour some time.

I have a few squeaks in the drivers door panel that I'm sure will be easy to fix that I can do WIAIT, I want to check door speakers, and it'll be a good opportunity to clean, check and lubricate everything.

I've had the initial learning on my 82 and I've seen, and fixed, lots of things worked on before by so called experts. My GTS has got a few little annoying things to fix still, as a result of s**t work by a radio installer, windscreen installer, and 'expert' lazy bastage Porsche dealer mechanics.

I'm slowly working my way through the whole car to sort all these minor issues out, as it's such a unique and rare car here in Australia (the one and only manual 1995 imported) that I want to get it perfect. Going over each door in detail will mean I can tick them off the list .. and know everything is spot on.

I'm going on holiday for a few weeks soon, but when I get back and do this, I'll post pics of what I do here.

Randy V

Common sense prevails!

GeorgeM

Maybe I need to swing by and lend you a hand. Haven't been in Taz since '98, way too long.

Mrmerlin

for the door panel removal part ,
once you remove the harness cover at the front of the door,
then remove the 2 screws along the bottom edge,
and then one at the rear edge of the door panel this one sits under the the arm rest cover,
first pull the panel free of its clips then slide the whole panel forward about 2 inches this will free the metal tab that hooks behind the lock button,

then the panel can be pulled rearwards to make it easier to remove the wire harness from the front of the door panel slide it past the plastic housing then feed the wires out of the panel. Then tilt the p[anel out to remove the speaker wires

make sure to fix the vapor barrier or even install a new one make sure all of the door cut outs have water drip panels inserted first, the dollar store sells very good clear shower curtains for use and the brush on Weldwood adhesive will go a great job of sealing the the plastic

pictures, a rear side of the door panel showing the clips, note the metal tab next to the door lock openiong

and the door itself with the vapor barrier installed its hard to see the water drip panels as they are installed first

Leon Speed

Originally the two smaller water drip panels are glued on the outside of the door and the larger one is glued to the vapor barrier itself and hangs down inside the door through the large opening. Don't know why that is.

Btw two-sided 1" wide tape works great for attaching the vapor barrier, it allows a bit more play. Get the tape on all around and then remove the non-adhesive backside at the top of the door. Attach the vapor barrier and work your way down and around.

Podguy

A more brutal but effective method of removing the bolts is to heat them. They come right out. Of course this burns the paint but I have found they are very difficult to drill out. I have never been able to get the bolts out on the later cars with out destroying them. The very early cars had steel bolts and can be easily removed.

I am surprised that the doors do not need a bit of adjusting with the new gaskets. I have found you can use a thin brass brazing rod as a spacer to adjust themselves.