Suzuki Club UK

hi there, i made this write up for other people to fix there annoying sj doors.

i hope this is good enough for the diy page and that it actually helps people do a really simple job that you get great satisfaction from!

ive had quite alot of help from this group so hope this puts something back into the group!

you only need a fairly basic tool kit for this job and it should take you around 1- 3 hours

-philips screw drivers, one small one big.
-flathead screw driver
-long nose pliers
-pliers
-silcone grease or cv grease any good long lasting grease will work!
-good quality sand paper, 600grit or more is good!
-adjustable spanner
-cordless drill
-drill bits
-round file
-mr sheen
-clean rags
-Hammer
-block of wood/anvil


first things first.. if you have any holes (rust holes) in your doors seal them up while you do this!

now open your door, remove the handle, trim around the lever, window winder and door strap. you may need a very small flathead screwdriver to remove the clip that holds the window winder on!

now remove the door card trying not to break the plastic clips use a flat head and silde it between the doorcard and the door to pop the clips out! but be careful.

take off the plastic sheet keeping it in one piece and place to one side.

you should end up with something like this



remove the plastic trip on the outside of the door! it will be very stiff so becareful!


now get your window winder handle and wind down the window until you can see the two screws at the bottom of the window!

undo these and twist the window to left onto its side and then slide it up out of the window (dont slide the window through the door make sure you slide it out of the car)
it may take a bit of jiggling and wiggling

while the window is out take this chance to clean it, maybe with some olde method like vinegar and newspaper or a bit of mr muscle window and glass cleaner!


now undo the four screws around the window winder and the two screws to the right of it.



now get an adjustable spanner and crack off the seal like in the picture!



now remove the winding mechanism from this hole.



you should have something like this. if it is bent make sure you straighten it all out with a hammer and an anvil or block of wood ect but dont damage it!



now use your sand paper to clean all the rust, dust, dirt, lint and any other junk thats on there!

make sure you put a thin layer of grease on ALL the bits of metal you have used the sand paper on.
its a good time to get some silicone/welder depending on how many holes are in your doors and seal them up!
the grease will attract lots of grit and dust so be sure you have sealed up the holes. it will still last a long while but its best to seal it up!
get the hoover in the door and hoover all the crud/dust out, i found a 1 pound coin an earing and a few receipts! you might even find a gold bar if your lucky.















now before we put the window winding mechanism in go back to your zook and check that the door closes and opens easily. if it doesnt you may want to adjust the handle and the hitch on the body!

undo the 3 screws on the back side of the door. use your pliers to remove the metal pin with a plastic clip from the door handle.


use your pliers to remove the metal pin with a plastic clip from the door handle.


now if when you open your door you have to the pull the handle upwards alot wind the metal pin anti clockwise a few turns, (maybe more but you will see how it adjusts and how much you need to do it on your car) on the rod

you may be lucky and wont break the clip but you will when you put it back in

cut the three tips off and then push it through the handle with your pliers and put a cable tie on the end not a bodge job but more secure than a 20 year old plastic clip





now have a look in the seals on the door and you will probably find they are full up with 20 years of crud dust and stuff.



grab your mums mr sheen or i used pledge in this case. same thing ethier way.



if the curtains in your house are stiff to pull this will help there to

now you can spend some time removing all the seals from the door and clean them up to make then like brand new!

get a flathead and be really careful while removing them as they will be there in very well!!



or you leave them in the door and do them. mine wernt to bad so i just left mine in.
not hard to get out. couple of screws on the door, you will find them

now get a nice clean rag



spray mr sheen right into the seals making sure it goes all over your steering wheel so it will be nice and slippery nah be careful of that!



make sure the seals are not dented inwards like this!



once you have spent a little while doing this, make sure you do a good job as this is what keeps you warm, dry and your knuckles from getting cut everytime you wind your window!

now have a cup of tea/coffee/fag anything if you wish.

slide the window winding mechanism back in through the hole.



put the four bolts back in around the winder.


put the two screws back in to the right of the winder and do them up tight


now get your window make sure its sitting in the metal clamp firmly and that the metal isnt touching the glass.
slide the window back in from the outside of the card slopey side in first then twist it to the right

slide the bottom of the window winding mechanism to match the holes on the bottom of the window and put the screws in ethier end



now wind the window up and check that the top of the window is parralel to the top of the door and the seal!



if its not you will need to do a quick splodifcation!

wind the window down just below half way.

take out the furthest right screw, becareful as the window will fall to the left and make an awful noise try and hold it if you can.

get your cordless drill and find a drill bit that is slighty bigger the than screw you just took out.

drill a hole just below the original elongated hole.
or if you like get a small round file and just make the elongated hole longer.


twist the window back to the right and put the screw in the new hole you made.

wind the window up and hey presto one lovely seal!
you may need to fine tune the hole a bit to get it just right. take your time with it.


put the plastic trim back on the outside of the door with gentle taps from the palm of your hand or a BFH depending on how rust the clips are


remember that stupid plastic sheet you took off well grab that out the bin as it will stop your door card from rotting and getting damp

put the door card back on

window winder, trim around the handle, handle and the door strap.

i fitted a chequer plate door card. the ones of ebay, cheap and very thin but do the job quite well



thats about it i think..

if you get stuck which im sure you wont just send me a pm.

This is really helpful to a novice mechanic like me - I now feel confident about taking my doors to bits - Thanks. One quick question - I had the seals replaced a while ago and they are fine but the plastic strip on the outside of the door has gone quite crusty. I would like to replace it -any idea where I could get a new one from ? Also do they just pop-out using a flat head screwdriver ?
Alanl

good write up A+

Although not in the same league as you guys that seem to be able to completely rebuild an SJ, I am slowly working my way through the refurb jobs on my 1985 SJ413. Having done the front and back, I am turning my attention to the doors. The above guide is brilliant, but I still have a question about the rubber strip on the door, do I just prise it out ?, how is it held in ?, will it go back in again ? If I damage it where can I get a replacement from ? Also if I remove the doors ( so I can fix the rust on the bottom) is it as straight forward as removing the door hinges ? should unbolt from the body or from the door ? Is it reasonable to assume they will go back on again with the same alignment ? Sorry for being a worry guts, but grateful for any help. Cheers
Alan

I normaly unbolt the hinges from the body, but be warned if they havn't been off before the screws will be very, very tight! I snaped 2 screwdrivers before i ended up welding socket pieces on them, and unbolting them that way. If you could get hold of a impact screwdriver it would help you alot.

Do you mean the rubber around the outside of the door? or the bit in the window runners??

Thanks to inheriting my late father's tool kit, I do have an impact screwdriver, so thanks for that advice.
I mean the flat strip of rubber above the door handle that is suposed to stop water running down inside the door - clips are mentioned in the picture guide, are these liable to break? I guess my concern is I that I don't want to remove something, break it in the process and be unable to replace it.

i tryed removing mine a while ago with an impact driver and even that was hard work

I use a cold chisel and a hammer, give them a smack and it usually loosens them. as for the clips, they are metal and wont break

Now in the DIY section

Thanks for the post dude. This was really helpful for me. I've been having trouble dealing with my door. This helped me a lot.