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Hi all,
I've just attempted to replace the passenger side door, it was very tricky but the main problem I have now is that the part you screw the door hinges into have dropped off inside the car frame, I was connecting the hinges to the car using the bolts and then I could hear something drop inside the car.
Does anyone know how I can fix this as without something to bolt the hinges onto I am unable to complete the installation, I can't see how to locate the parts that have dropped off or even how to put the part back into position. Any help would be much appreciated.
I've attached some pics as I'm sure my description isn't too clear
Welcome! There are model specific fora that you might get faster or more replies, if you post there. Lacking a nut in the hinge pillar is tricky indeed. Thinking out loud - disassembly of the interior trim is one option, to see if you can access the hinge pillar and floor sill, from the inside. A low probability option, but I think you need options.
thanks for that, it’s actually the passenger side front door, it’s the top hinge that’s fallen off, do you know how I access that nut plate?
Do I have to take the wing off? Or can I access it if I take out the battery?
thanks again for your help
Originally Posted by RedGray
Fill out your profile info. Year, model, etc.
Also, front or back door. It looks like the back door.
Likely, the nut plate came off.
Examples:
If it's the back door, take the trim off the pillar. There is likely one or more access holes.
Here’s more details about the car
it’s a 2001, w203, c class, c200 Kompressor, Elegance.
i’m replacing the front passenger door and wing as someone drove into me, the car drives beautifully and has only done 70k miles which is why I want to fix it.
mine is a pre facelift model and I've used a door off a facelift model and I’ve already noticed that the door wiring connector is a bit different.
I’ve connected the parts of the door wiring that I can to the car but the yellow connector is different and won’t connect, does that mean I have to strip everything from my old door including the wiring and all the door components and put it in my new door for it to work or is there a quicker solution?
I’m still trying to find out but I’m going to take the wing off at the weekend as I need to change it, I’m hoping I’ll be able to locate the missing connection then, as soon as I find out I’ll post an update for you no problem
So I managed to swap my wing over today and everything went well.
i still have the same problem with my passenger door, I swapped over the door as someone dented my car but when I started bolting the hinges back onto the car frame the top nut connectors that are inside the frame of the car fell inside the car, I now have nothing to bolt the hinges into and I can find out how to access to put the nut back into position, does anybody know how to access the top nut connector?
attached is a pic of the bottom nut connector so you can see what part I’m taking about.
Ive already removed the inside trim and glove box but I still can’t access it.
This is the passenger top hinge from the outside, the nut connector plate on the inside has dropped inside the car.
This is a pic of what the nut connector plate looks like from the inside, this is the bottom hinge connector plate which is easy to access, the top hinge connector plate is what I’m struggling to access.
As you can see I’ve taken the glove box out but I still can’t access behind, does this mean I have to remove the whole dash and the dash frame to get to it?
No real answers from WIS. It seems like if you remove the dash, then you should get the access you need. But, it's not guaranteed.
See the attached documents. Also, please download and save them. I'll delete them later, since I'm close to my total number of attachment limits.
Fwiw, I would first try using new and good "tin snips" to cut the pillar, to get the needed access. Note, if you do that, then you must wear gloves and long sleeves when in that area, or risk getting a lot of blood and guts and gore in and around the car.
Also, to get the nut plate at the bottom of the pillar, try to use a magnetic pickup tool, or a thin 3 "jaw" spring loaded pickup tool. You can use an inspection camera ($20 -cheap USB on Amazon -> ~$70 cheap stand-alone) to see the nut plate, and to guide the pickup tools.
For the magnetic pickup tool, you can bend them if needed. They are cheap. So, I wouldn't worry about ruining the telescoping ability.
I really appreciate your help, I’ve dowloaded your pdf so you can remove them if you need to.
just so you know I’m halfway on removing the dash already so I’ll keep this post up to date with my progress as it might help someone else out one day
There is only two bolts that hold each hinge to the frame but behind the frame is the hinge mounting plate that is held in by what looks like a slot, see pic attached.
my mounting plate has come out of the slots all together
Just to update this thread, I managed to fit the door back on and yes the whole dash, Centre console, instrument cluster and the frame that holds it all the the car had to be removed, it took a while but had to be done as all is working as it should be now. There is a video on YouTube where someone was replacing the air con that helped locate all the bolts that needed to be removed.
Just to update this thread, I managed to fit the door back on and yes the whole dash, Centre console, instrument cluster and the frame that holds it all the the car had to be removed, it took a while but had to be done as all is working as it should be now. There is a video on YouTube where someone was replacing the air con that helped locate all the bolts that needed to be removed.
How did you manage with the nut plate that fell into the vehicle? Did you retrieve it or use a new plate?
The door I fitted came from a used car and matched really well, I just need to align it a bit better but will wait til I get another pair of hands to help me this time.
i made sure the replacement door was the same year as Mercedes made a lot of changes to the wiring and door control module was different on the facelift version than mine which is a preface
I never retrieved the old nut plate, it’s still in the framework somewhere, I bought a second hand plate.
It was a lot of work but well worth it as the car is really looking well as I’ve fitted amg seats and body kit 👍
08-04-2019, 07:20 AM
W203 2001 replacement passenger door issue
