Bernanke

hey guys,

the door rattling is flat out annoying, I still dont understand how to tighten the door straps. I tried tightening the bolts in the door jam but they were already super tight. do i have to pull the door panel off?

dlafever

Dude, seriously, tightening them only works some of the time. Usually, IMHE, they wear out because they are not greased regularly and just rattle around in their guides. I think its under $30 for a door strap, just replace it and be done.

mbcrazy

yeah damn door thats the only reason i did not buy 96 s600 coupe.dealer had really good price on it ,but those freakin doors.anyways i finally found very good 98 s320,awesome vehicle.

Bernanke

gotta love those S320's .

dlafever - so just get new door straps

brett san diego

they will bend out and start making noise again. It may be a longer term fix to just buy new ones.

http://www.mbnz.org/forums/forums/th...id=13#M1495118

Brett

Bernanke

ya they are only like $19 on ebay so i think I will just do that , but i want to install them myself so i was looking for a good writeup. my main concern is now to get the door panel off without damaging it. anyone have a writeup on how do take the door panel off??

Rod Spohn

Omey did you ever get a dialog on taking off the door panel. I need to do the same thing.

Bernanke

nope, thats what im looking for.

brett san diego

It's pretty easy but not obvious. Try searching "that other w140 forum." There may be something there. www.alldatadiy.com. It's all there.

One major hidden screw behind the wood panel with the seat switches. Take a stiff, flat tool, preferrably wood or plastic so as not to damage the wood and leather (I used a popsicle stick with the tip sanded to a point.), and insert about 1 inch between the wood and leather at the lower corner of the straight rear section of the wood trim. Push the tool upward along the wood trim to rotate two hidden clips out of the way. They can be tough to move at first. Push upward hard. Remove wood trim and disconnect electrical stuff. Remove a couple more screws: one in the plastic trim around the latch and one hidden under a clip-in flap in the door handle. Use a plastic wedge tool to remove the numerous plastic push-in fasteners around the perimeter of the door (or just pull very carefully with your hands, if your fingers are small enough to wedge in). Pop the light out of the bottom of the panel, pull off door panel, and disconnect all the other electrical stuff and the door lock lever. Three hands are helpful here. Removing the vapor barrier is a pain. The adhesive is very sticky, and the barrier will stick to itself and be very difficult to straighten out again. I tore mine in a few places as I wrestled with it. I recommend heating the adhesive with a heat gun or blow dryer, pulling the vapor barrier off, and sticking something to the adhesive to prevent it from sticking to anything else, wax paper or something similar that can be easily removed. I don't know what would work for this.

To reinsert the wood trim piece, reset the rotatable clips outward, and place the rear straight edge of the trim in first and push the front in until it clips in place.

Removing and replacing the door strap is obvious, but it can be difficult to remove the pin from the B-pillar that holds the tongue in place. Have a pry bar and hammer ready.

good luck,
Brett

Bernanke

damn.... sounds like alot of work, i might just have my shop do the door straps.

davis449

I WISH I had the rattle when mine on my 95 280 busted. Mine broke and bent the rails the window rides on, cost me $400 to get the rails reshaped and get a new door strap.

Bernanke

damn sounds serious. I will need to take care of it asap then.