S70 door removal tips?

krenekj · Post by **krenekj** » 04 Feb 2011, 13:22

I need to remove my driver door so that I can re-attach the door stop plate in the A-pillar, and I want to be sure I do this as painlessly as possible. I've not found any good pointers on the web.

It appears I can just unscrew the external torx bolts on the hinges, detach the electrical connection, detach the door stop, and just lift the door off the hinges. Correct?

Thoughts & pointers are much appreciated.

Thanks.

bill_rossington · Post by **bill_rossington** » 04 Feb 2011, 14:54

It's just as easy as it sounds. I did mine by myself, but it would help to have someone else to help. The door is fairly heavy.

It's been at least 3 years since I fixed my hinge stop.

I'm pretty sure it's well documented here, but here's a tip that I thought was fantastic. Once you've drilled out the spot welds and are ready to put in a bolt to replace them, try this. You can get into the A piller through the hole below the stop with the rubber plug in it. Take a latex glove and cut a finger off of it. Poke a small hole in the end of the finger. Push your new bolt (that will replace the spot weld) down the finger and out through the small hole. Slip the finger with the bolt sticking out of it over your finger and then go up through the hole in the A piller and push the bolt through from behind. The latex finger will hold the bolt on your finger so that you don't have to worry about dropping it while you fiddle around trying to get it through the drilled out spot weld.

Of course I found out about this after I'd done my door.

Good luck!

Bill

Post by **renns** » 04 Feb 2011, 15:33

As Bill says, it's just that easy!

One thing to keep in mind - have a clear stable spot available ahead of time to put the door once it's loose from the car. I used a few scraps of cardboard to protect the lower edge of the door, and then leaned it up against a wall.

I used a method similar to Bill's described method. I taped the 6mm hex nut to the end of my finger, and cut open the tape at the opening of the nut to allow the bolt to easily engage. By fiddling my finger with the nut into place behind the catch, I was easily able to get the hex bolts started from the outside. A wrench wasn't even needed to hold the nut, as once the bolt pulled the nut tight, the friction against the inside of the A-pillar was adequate to prevent spinning.

Be careful when replacing the big rubber plug in the access hole. Mine jumped loose and fell down inside the front fender area. I gave up trying to fish it out, and just taped the access hole shut with several layers of heavy-duty construction tape.

In case you haven't seen it, here's a good webpage that describes the door stop a-pillar repair.
http://webspace.webring.com/people/mo/o ... y_fix.html

krenekj · Post by **krenekj** » 07 Feb 2011, 09:21

Thanks for the suggestions. The door removal turned out to be fairly easy. Here is what I did:

- remove the door stop torx bolt holding it to the bracket on the a-pillar
- remove the torx on the electrical connection
- removed the two external torx screws on the door hinges
- disconnect the electrical connection - it's a friction fit - no tabs to release even though it looks like it
- lift the door off and set in a safe place.

Putting the door back is straight forward. Just reverse the steps. Here are some tips:

- placing the door on the hinges requires two people - one to lift/lower, another to line up the pins in the hinge slots
- do NOT pus the door stop lever back into the door. Leave it in the same place as it was when you disconnected it from the a-pillar plate. Manually pulling the door stop out of the door is a PITA.

Oh - I fixed my a-pillar plate by tapping/driving 4 stainless steel screws - one at each corner of the plate.

Thanks again.

golfman484 · Post by **golfman484** » 08 Jan 2012, 15:42

My V70 is also suffering from 'Clickety Clackety' door syndrome.

Given the immense PITA that is attaching nuts from within the A pillar I was wondering what people thought about the idea of using self tapping sheet metal screws. I would pre drill a pilot hole to make sure that the screws went in properly. I'm sure if you plant enough of these babies into the stopper plate from the A piller metal it would be bound to hold.

The screws I'm talking about are using in the fabrication of steel frame homes and they *really* grab well.

Post by **renns** » 08 Jan 2012, 17:38

I don't see why they wouldn't work, at least initially. Whether or not they'd stay tight over time is another matter. There's plenty of vibration while driving, as well as flexing each time the door opens and closes. It'd probably be OK, but I'd feel better with a bolt/nut combo. A bit of thread locker on the nut provides some assurance that you won't have to worry about it loosening off over time.

Fitting those bolts through is really not a big deal. I taped the bolt to the end of my finger using a piece of electrical tape with a hole cut in it. That worked fine for holding the bolt while working it into position inside the A-pillar. My bolt fix has been holding up well - over 1 yr now with no problems whatsoever.