A few days ago I decided I needed to make sure I hadn’t left the wideband output offset when I initially installed it. I couldn’t find the connection cable so ordered another one. Once that came in I removed the gauge thinking that all I needed to power the gauge was the connection cable. WRONG! So I had to put that back in place and connect the cable once the power was restored. As it turned out I had removed the offset but it was good to confirm that.
Yesterday the dealer called to say the other weatherstripping piece had arrived. I was wrong, the first one that showed up was the driver’s side and this was the passenger side. Reason I was wrong is because the larger part number is for the driver’s side (go figure). Here are the part numbers you want if doing this:
My schedule was slack today so I dove into the job. The first thing I did was adjust the window position and top weatherstripping using the factory manual to be sure everything was where it should be. I ended up lowering the forward window stopper on both sides, the other measurements were within spec. I also made some minor adjustments to the top strips on both sides so they would line up better. I should note I did the work on the driver’s side first then the passenger side (which is where I took all the pictures). First step is to remove the door interior panel. On the driver’s side I discovered one of the wires to my tweeter had broken and was intermittently making/breaking contact. This was probably the cause of my occasionally losing the left channel, so glad I found that. Once the door panel is off you need to peel back the vapor barrier at least in the front half. Next you want to remove the lower bolt holding the vertical piece for the vent window. Then go to the top of the window and remove the screw in that piece that is visible in the middle of the weatherstrip. The factory manual talks about removing the vertical piece but I just left it in place and loose. I then pulled out the part of the weatherstrip that goes down into the door on the vertical piece. Once that’s out continue peeling it back and then remove the second screw at the top of the vertical piece. Note that those two screws are different sizes. The larger diameter, shorter length screw is the one underneath the weatherstrip and will be in the hole towards the front of the door. See pictures below:
There are several plastic fasteners that you will need to reuse, one at the front of the door and one at the rear. I used some WD-40 to soak them prior to attempting removal. Fasteners are here:
You can coax the large tab on the weatherstrip out from under the front fastener while it soaks. The new weatherstrip comes with two of the fasteners on the rear of the strip so you don’t have to be as careful removing those. What I did then was pull the weatherstrip off the numerous small fasteners located around the perimeter of the door, leaving those in place. I gave those the WD-40 treatment as well.
Here is what the weatherstrip looks like off the car:
It’s a large piece as you can see.
After a little soak time I started playing with different removal methods on the small clips. What worked amazingly easily was using a small flat-blade screwdriver to get underneath the flange on the fastener with the screwdriver held perpendicular to the wings of the fastener (see picture):
You push inward and the fastener will release at least on that side. While holding that side away from the door, rotate the fastener until you can access the opposite side and do the same. Voila! They pop right out. There were a couple that only required the push on one side to come out for whatever reason.
After that it’s just a matter of putting the new weatherstrip in place. I used some normal silicone spray to lube up the channels where I had to slip the weatherstrip in. I also used some ShinEtsu grease on the inside of the strip where the window would ride. I inserted the strip in the vertical window piece first, working it down until it was far enough that I could reach in the bottom and pull it down. Procedure looked like this:
Once that is in place you just work your way around the door. One thing to watch out for is the routing on the hinge side, you need to go between the hinges and the stopper bar:
Put all the plastic fasteners you saved back in place and you are done. Well, after you install the door panel.