sketchyd
05-16-2013, 07:23 PM
So i did door seals on a coupe toady, and in the process figured out the method to safely remove the inner door sill/scuff plate without breaking either the trim or any of the retainers!
I'm not sure if this applies to facelift E46s or not, but the is a TSB for the door seals, which have weak glue and separate from themselves on coupes. the fix is to replace them with updated parts. these door seals contain the pinch sensors for the windows, as the coupes don't have window frames on the door.
the first part of this will be removing, installing the door sills, as most reference i've seen to these consists of "shits going to break" which is just poor form.
you will need a pocket prybar, and some (preferably bent) needlenose pliers for the trim. passenger side can be done with out the screwdriver.
insert your pocket prybar between the dead pedal/kick panel trim and the door sill, to lightly lever the door sill up over (should already be above it, but it needs to slide up slightly more)
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j24/mambutu/e46%20door%20seal/IMAG0043_zpsf4cca2b7.jpg
just wedge it there and leave it, it'll do it's job on it's own. next from the rear of the sill, grasp the end edge and slide the whole piece toward the front of the vehicle.
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j24/mambutu/e46%20door%20seal/IMAG0044_zpsbdedd628.jpg
it should move with moderate force, and hopefully your prybar/screwdriver lifts it over the kick panel enough to jump that slight bump. that is it for proper removal, nice and easy, no broken pieces (hopefully!) (PS, that's an aftermarket wire in the picture)
you are then left with 8 clips still in the body, 6 straight down, 1 at an angle in the rear corner of the door, and one in the side near where the seatbelt anchors
(two front clips from the top)
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j24/mambutu/e46%20door%20seal/IMAG0046_zps44655b19.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/mambutu/media/e46%20door%20seal/IMAG0046_zps44655b19.jpg.html)
(two rear most clips looking from ~center console, behind seat which is forward for rear entry)
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j24/mambutu/e46%20door%20seal/IMAG0048_zps29786a6b.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/mambutu/media/e46%20door%20seal/IMAG0048_zps29786a6b.jpg.html)
next, take your pliers or other suitable utensil to remove all 8 clips from the body. bent needle nose pliers worked extremely well for this.
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j24/mambutu/e46%20door%20seal/IMAG0047_zps37486eca.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/mambutu/media/e46%20door%20seal/IMAG0047_zps37486eca.jpg.html)
these are your trim clips
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j24/mambutu/e46%20door%20seal/IMAG0054_zps8297f0da.jpg
INSTALLATION
slide the retainers into the slots on the trim
(3 rear most pictured)
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j24/mambutu/e46%20door%20seal/IMAG0065_zps0ca1c000.jpg
then starting at the rear press back into body. the clips have a slight amount of movement fore and aft, so you may have to slide skinny fingers or a srewdriver in to move one a little, but that's it, it's that easy, and nothings broken!
I'm not sure if this applies to facelift E46s or not, but the is a TSB for the door seals, which have weak glue and separate from themselves on coupes. the fix is to replace them with updated parts. these door seals contain the pinch sensors for the windows, as the coupes don't have window frames on the door.
the first part of this will be removing, installing the door sills, as most reference i've seen to these consists of "shits going to break" which is just poor form.
you will need a pocket prybar, and some (preferably bent) needlenose pliers for the trim. passenger side can be done with out the screwdriver.
insert your pocket prybar between the dead pedal/kick panel trim and the door sill, to lightly lever the door sill up over (should already be above it, but it needs to slide up slightly more)
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j24/mambutu/e46%20door%20seal/IMAG0043_zpsf4cca2b7.jpg
just wedge it there and leave it, it'll do it's job on it's own. next from the rear of the sill, grasp the end edge and slide the whole piece toward the front of the vehicle.
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j24/mambutu/e46%20door%20seal/IMAG0044_zpsbdedd628.jpg
it should move with moderate force, and hopefully your prybar/screwdriver lifts it over the kick panel enough to jump that slight bump. that is it for proper removal, nice and easy, no broken pieces (hopefully!) (PS, that's an aftermarket wire in the picture)
you are then left with 8 clips still in the body, 6 straight down, 1 at an angle in the rear corner of the door, and one in the side near where the seatbelt anchors
(two front clips from the top)
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j24/mambutu/e46%20door%20seal/IMAG0046_zps44655b19.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/mambutu/media/e46%20door%20seal/IMAG0046_zps44655b19.jpg.html)
(two rear most clips looking from ~center console, behind seat which is forward for rear entry)
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j24/mambutu/e46%20door%20seal/IMAG0048_zps29786a6b.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/mambutu/media/e46%20door%20seal/IMAG0048_zps29786a6b.jpg.html)
next, take your pliers or other suitable utensil to remove all 8 clips from the body. bent needle nose pliers worked extremely well for this.
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j24/mambutu/e46%20door%20seal/IMAG0047_zps37486eca.jpg (http://s76.photobucket.com/user/mambutu/media/e46%20door%20seal/IMAG0047_zps37486eca.jpg.html)
these are your trim clips
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j24/mambutu/e46%20door%20seal/IMAG0054_zps8297f0da.jpg
INSTALLATION
slide the retainers into the slots on the trim
(3 rear most pictured)
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j24/mambutu/e46%20door%20seal/IMAG0065_zps0ca1c000.jpg
then starting at the rear press back into body. the clips have a slight amount of movement fore and aft, so you may have to slide skinny fingers or a srewdriver in to move one a little, but that's it, it's that easy, and nothings broken!