A New Owner's Woas

[Maximillion]

Hello my fellow ti enthusiasts. I'm a first-time owner, and over the past month or two I've fallen head-over-heels in love with my car. I'm hoping some of the more experienced owners will be able to help me out with my new car.

I recently purchased it from a nice but ignorant gentlemen who demanded before he bought it from a used car dealer that they fix the window tracks. They did a patch-up job to get it off the lot, and when we went to pick it up off of him, the driver-side track was broken. We recently got it fixed at a local BMW/Volvo/Audi specialist, but a couple of issues have arisen since.

The first is that the plastic panelling on the door has come loose since the specialist put it back on. Apparently the glue used to hold the plastic support screw's rectangular T-beam wasn't strong enough. It's only hanging off on one tiny corner, but it's an issue that I'd like to know how to go about addressing (and hopefully preventing in the future).

The second issue is the A-frame cloth covering. Between the driver-side window and the front windshield, the plastic tongue that held the cover inside a metal grip broke. I'm wondering how best to handle this issue, too.

Thanks in advance for any helpful or supportive advice, and thanks to any who have bothered to read this far down!

Good luck to all of you, and happy driving!
--Max

[ATF]

Easiest and cheapest way to replace the A-Pillar cover is to go to a junk yard and buy a new one, or pm some of those eBay recyclers and see if they've got one to sell. You could try the dealer.

As for the door panel, I think what you're describing are the clips that hold the door panel to the metal frame? If so, those can also be purchased at the dealer.

[96cali]

I think he is talking about the large T shaped plastic piece that then holds the small snap in plastic barb. I had to reattach one of the T pieces and I used a lot of epoxy underneath, around the edges and over the top and it worked fine. You'll have to remove the inner door panel (check the Ti Notebook on this site). There will be a distinct indent where the bracket seperated from the factory glue. Just butter with epoxy and let sit overnight. Woth the A pillar I'd probably buy new from the dealer or buy one from someone parting out. They're very common.

[Maximillion]

Alright, excellent. Thanks a lot guys, your advice is very much appreciated!

[SporTi]

Max

If the black plastic panel mounts have come loose (like they all do), it is an easy fix with epoxy or crazy glue. I think I did better with Krazy Glue, not sure had to do them twice.....BUT, my point

Some of those clips match the glueing indentation in either direction. However, the white clip which hits the hole in the door is not centered. What I am telling you (poorly) is that if you glue the black clip in the wrong direction then the white clip won't hit its hole and you have to take it off and start over.

I don't know if someone has documented which side goes which way. I think (not my strong suit) that all the open sides of the black ones point in the same direction. I just ended up keeping a spare pristine panel that they had all stayed attached too as a template.

HELP! Someone help this poor guy. I'm tired. I'm babbling. and I've probably confused him. But there is a difference in how you glue them.

I'm gonna go back to sleep.

[CirrusSR22]

^ Bingo. I've glued the little black numbered mount upside down. What a pain! Just be careful matching up the imprinted numbers (one on the mount itself, and one on the factory harderend glue.)

[96cali]

Sorry, thought putting the part back in the same orientation would be assumed. Just in case, here is a pic of the back of a drivers door panel to let you visualize ahead of time.

[Maximillion]

Fantasic. Thanks a lot, these descriptions and images really help!

And don't get so down on yourself SporTi, few of us are articulate when sleepy.

[rholbrook]

Mine were busted too, it's because idiots don't know how to take them off properly and gently during a windshield change. Do yourself a favor and just buy some new factory pieces, they are about 40 bucks each. It's worth it. Just be sure you get the hardware as well as the retainers don't come with.

[L84THSKY]

The cloth on mine started coming off, after my windshield was replaced. I swapped the material to a suede grey, and they looked fine. But eventually, the pillars started coming loose, since I broke the tabs.

You want the cheapest fix, do this. I drilled a hole through the pillar, where the tab would be. Then used a screw that had a thread wide enough to grab the rectangular hole that the tab is supposed to go into. It holds super tight.

Originally Posted by rholbrook

Mine were busted too, it's because idiots don't know how to take them off properly and gently during a windshield change. Do yourself a favor and just buy some new factory pieces, they are about 40 bucks each. It's worth it. Just be sure you get the hardware as well as the retainers don't come with.

[Kaliimc]

I found out that my driver side door panel was mostly disconnected from the T- connectors that attach to the metal door because the lock was not working(temp fix was WD-40). I used Gorilla Glue for the T-Connectors and the panel is sitting overnight in the house. I hope that the connectors are seated correctly too. You can tell on some of them which way they are supposed to be, but a couple may hold up progress. We'll see on Friday.

The door panel takes about 5-10 minutes to take off and put on, super easy even without any directions.