Getting the door cards off was surprisingly easy. There's a screw in the door handle, a screw at the bottom of the little door cubby and three screws behind the capped covers. I pinged open the covers with a small screwdriver.
You then have to ping the 5 retaining clips holding the panel on. I can highly recommend proper trim pliers. They make this so quick - a completely stress and paint damage free process versus using a screwdriver or other methods. You just slide the jaws behind the door card near the clip and squeeze the handles. The clip just pops off, you don't even have to be right on it. I bought these Silverline ones for less than £7 - a no brainer for the agro they've saved me:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B005DQ7ZEU
You must support the door card as you pop the panel off or you risk breaking the window switch cable, it doesn't have much slack. Then pull the door handle back slightly to free the hook at the front of it and ease it through the hole. Then disconnect the windows switches. You squeeze a tab to release it - don't just yank it
Door card is then free.Next challenge is the dreaded plastic weather sheet. This is held on by a hellish sticky mastic that must be the stickiest, stretchiest substance known to man. I highly recommend wearing latex free gloves and old clothes. In my case, the sheet was already torn, no doubt by a PO thinking "what a mess, oh sod it". My original aim was to provide some thermal insulation using 3mm close cell foam (neoprene to you and me) on top of the factory fit sheet. However, as this was ripped I decided to completely remove it. The neoprene is waterproof, so I decided that I would apply this straight onto the door to form the weatherproofing after doing the sound proofing. So I carefully and very messily scraped off as much of the mastic off the door as possible.
So onto the sound deadening. I used large sheets of PeaceMat XR and small sheets of PeaceMat XS
http://www.carinsulation.co.uk/product/ ... -deadening
http://www.carinsulation.co.uk/product/ ... -sheets-20
The door inner has 3 holes that allow pretty good access to the outer skin. I put 2 pieces of the large mat into the top of the door via the large top opening and 2 large mats into the bottom using a combination of the top and bottom holes. I also put two small mats in the very bottom sections of the door front and back. The front mats were a little fiddly, but do-able. The large pads are pretty much the perfect size for each section of the door. I then stuck on 3mm neoprene over the mats as much as I could reach for a bit of thermal insulation on the outer skin.
I also put small mats on the inner skin as well. One near the speaker and 3 others on the ribs.
Next I cut the 3mm neoprene to shape to cover the inside of the door. I made it bigger than the original weather sheet to encompass the area around the speaker as well. The intention is to only remove the backing in areas where there is metal to stick to.
However, at this stage I want to take pictures. The mastic removal was such an awful messy job that I haven't taken any yet. So I tacked down the neoprene with the remains of the mastic for now. Once I have taken pictures I will stick it down properly.
Fitting the door card back on requires a bit of logistics. It is much easier with the window down. To do that you need to connect the window switches. It all requires a bit of juggling. Two things to note here:
1) Make sure you undertake this somewhere you can open the door completely - I had to move the van to complete the passenger side.
2) Mind the ends of the window seal rubber at the top of the door card - it turns out there is a metal insert inside it that will scratch the paint of the window frame if you jiggle about too much.
Put the door handle back through the hole engaging the little hook at the front first and reconnect the door switches. Now I've seen elsewhere that you clip the top of the door trim back in by angling the card backwards. I found this didn't seem to work. What I ended up doing was holding the door card with one hand, moved around the door to the outside and then held it from the top. I then pushed the door card fully forward toward the door with one hand pressing through the window opening (making sure the lock button was just through it's hole) and then dropped the door card down with the other hand. The white plastic strip running along the top of the door card then drops over the lip on the door easily. Like I say, a bit fiddly!
Then pop the clips back in by hitting the door card with the flat of your hand and refit the various screws. Job done
I immediately noticed that the doors now make a nice solid clunk (just like a Golf
) when shutting the doors.Here's a recording of tapping the drivers door when done vs the passenger door I hadn't done at that point:
http://www.prescientsoftware.co.uk/bongo/Doors.mp3
A pretty dramatic difference I think you'll agree!
Also rather surprisingly, the windows are much quieter when going up and down. I always thought they sounded, well how can I put this, a bit agricultural. Now they sound, erm, like a Golf
Things do sound quieter in the cab now when driving. Hopefully the neoprene will also help a bit thermally.
I'll take some pictures when I have time to take the door cards off again (another fact sheet perhaps?). Probably Waxoil as well at that point.
Onto the side and rear doors! The side door sounds like a tin drum now compared to the insulated door in front of it
