interior door panel

[freydaddy]

is the 93 325is the same for 91-99?

[the_brouhaha]

Well if it falls between 91-99, then yes, its the same.

Door panels, pain in the arse. Best glue IMO, carpet glue, worked really well for me, dried fast and sticks tightly. My panel doesn't even sag, or move around. Don't use guerilla glue b/c it expands alot. Silicon works well but you must keep alot of pressure on the panel for a long time.

Good luck

[wippenberg]

Well if it falls between 91-99, then yes, its the same.

Good luck

They are same in fitment. Are they exact same? No.
But cars made after 97 have airbags in the doors. Hence, they have a soft and spongy spot right in the middle of the door panel.

Also, the later year models have two speakers, early models had only one. But that is no biggie.

I am not sure if it will bother you but to me it will.

Below is the pic of door panel with airbag blow up spot. Airbag sits in the door, not the panel.

http://www.bimmerfest.com/photos/data/500/bmwE36panel1.jpg

http://www.bimmerfest.com/photos/data/500/bmwE36panel2.jpg


No air bag below.

http://home.comcast.net/~palermos1/pocono/P1000731.JPG

[the_brouhaha]

I stand corrected, I forgot about the airbag later on.

[bimmerbarbie]

Well if it falls between 91-99, then yes, its the same.

Door panels, pain in the arse. Best glue IMO, carpet glue, worked really well for me, dried fast and sticks tightly. My panel doesn't even sag, or move around. Don't use guerilla glue b/c it expands alot. Silicon works well but you must keep alot of pressure on the panel for a long time.

Good luck

Slightly unrelated, but since you've taken yours off, did you have any problems with the glue holding the three clips on each side of the door panels dissolving? I pulled mine off last week and am in the middle of fiberglassing them because the glue used to upholster them did NOT like the southern sun and was bubbling up all over the place. When I undid the screws holding the door handle in place, wiggled the door panel a little to see where the clips were, the whole freaking door panel just came straight off! On BOTH SIDES! So basically it seems either the previous owner ripped the panels off and screwed em up, or the glue is MIA. I'm getting the glass sanded and painted before I worry about those pieces, but should I have any problems with the fitment after reattaching those clip holding pieces?

[the_brouhaha]

Slightly unrelated, but since you've taken yours off, did you have any problems with the glue holding the three clips on each side of the door panels dissolving? I pulled mine off last week and am in the middle of fiberglassing them because the glue used to upholster them did NOT like the southern sun and was bubbling up all over the place. When I undid the screws holding the door handle in place, wiggled the door panel a little to see where the clips were, the whole freaking door panel just came straight off! On BOTH SIDES! So basically it seems either the previous owner ripped the panels off and screwed em up, or the glue is MIA. I'm getting the glass sanded and painted before I worry about those pieces, but should I have any problems with the fitment after reattaching those clip holding pieces?

You can go to your car parts store (Kragen, O'Reily's, Autozone, etc.) and buy new clips, only like 5 bucks for one door, put the new clips in and re-glue the plastic bodies that stick on to the panel. Alot of peole used silicon, or epoxy, I found that carpet glue (comes in a bucket) worked extremely well. If you think about, carpet glue needs to be very strong b/c nobody wants to re-glue their carpet every year, it is built to last many years, and unlike guerilla glue it doesn't expand, it holds very tight.

Then once you glue the plastic onto the panel, put glue on the edges around the plastic so it sticks more, worked extremely well. I compared my newly glued panel to the panel of a new e90 and they were the same, barely budged. :thumbup:

[wippenberg]

Clips from Kragen, or autozone or pepboys will not fit without modification. You will have to streach the hole in wooden particle board (door panel).
Go to dealership, A clip is only 19 cents. Save your door panel, save yourself time, make a wise choice.
Generic clips will not fit like factory clip would.

[the_brouhaha]

+1

thank you wippenberg.

you are a very smart man.

[bimmerbarbie]

Clips are intact, the problem was the strip holding the clips.

[the_brouhaha]

Clips are intact, the problem was the strip holding the clips.

Yup re-glue them.

[bimmerbarbie]

Roger that. I'll try the carpet glue. thanks man

[freydaddy]

Clips from Kragen, or autozone or pepboys will not fit without modification. You will have to streach the hole in wooden particle board (door panel).
Go to dealership, A clip is only 19 cents. Save your door panel, save yourself time, make a wise choice.
Generic clips will not fit like factory clip would.

x2

[the_brouhaha]

Roger that. I'll try the carpet glue. thanks man

No prob, but when you do the job, wear rubber gloves, I lost my mechanix gloves and I just used my bare hands.

Do not get the carpet glue on your hands.... it feels like guerilla glue mixed with latex. Not the easiest thing to wash off your hands or clean up from the floor. haha

[bimmerbarbie]

Ew. Just getting that nasty industrial strength EVILNESS BMW used to adhere the leather to the doors (which STILL managed to give out all and puff up), even using a heat gun and certified scraping tool (butterknife worked best lol) I managed to bloody my knuckles, so I grabbed a couple pairs of heavy duty cheapy gloves my last parts run. So I'm covered. :) Hope the carpet glue will last better than the evilness the factory used.

[the_brouhaha]

Ew. Just getting that nasty industrial strength EVILNESS BMW used to adhere the leather to the doors (which STILL managed to give out all and puff up), even using a heat gun and certified scraping tool (butterknife worked best lol) I managed to bloody my knuckles, so I grabbed a couple pairs of heavy duty cheapy gloves my last parts run. So I'm covered. :) Hope the carpet glue will last better than the evilness the factory used.

Yeah I need to get new gloves. Ergh, more money.

I've had mine on for a week, so I couldn't tell you the long term solution.

But I'm hoping it lasts too!!

[BMR_LVR]

Ew. Just getting that nasty industrial strength EVILNESS BMW used to adhere the leather to the doors (which STILL managed to give out all and puff up), even using a heat gun and certified scraping tool (butterknife worked best lol) I managed to bloody my knuckles, so I grabbed a couple pairs of heavy duty cheapy gloves my last parts run. So I'm covered. :) Hope the carpet glue will last better than the evilness the factory used.

I've been reading this thread with interest because I too need to do this repair. Not to sound like one who bows down to BMW, but keep in mind Barbie that your car is 15 years old. It has been through a lot of hot and humid summers with windows rolled up. I have considered going to BMW to see what glue they used because 13-15 years effectiveness seems pretty good to me. But like others, I will likely just get something like carpet glue etc.

[bimmerbarbie]

I've been reading this thread with interest because I too need to do this repair. Not to sound like one who bows down to BMW, but keep in mind Barbie that your car is 15 years old. It has been through a lot of hot and humid summers with windows rolled up. I have considered going to BMW to see what glue they used because 13-15 years effectiveness seems pretty good to me. But like others, I will likely just get something like carpet glue etc.

Oh I know. I'm happy that it lasted as long as it did, considering where the car lived before (Miami, FL). I was just whining due to the fact it took me -- and not exaggerating at all here -- three days' worth of work to get the OEM leather off and then the remaining glue.

If you're about to tackle this DIY, my recommendation: USE A HAIRDRYER or heat-gun. Get some gloves (I got a pair of GoJo hi-tactile gloves at the parts store, they were about 5$, I wasn't about to use my good gloves), and have a friend hold the heat-gun on the area and you pull the fabric a section at a time. Go slow, and try to get the adhesive to come off with the fabric.

My biggest fight was not making sure I got most of the adhesive off. Which resulted in an extra 5 hours of heating and scraping to get the nasty stuff clean.

And seriously, use gloves even when you're scraping. Maybe I'm just really delicate, but I bloodied my knuckles all up on the particle board while I was getting the fabric off.

Good luck!!

[freydaddy]

not to get too far off subject,but what would you use for the falling headliner around the sun roof?

[the_brouhaha]

not to get too far off subject,but what would you use for the falling headliner around the sun roof?

Fabric glue.

If you go to pelicanparts.com and look up "replacing headliner" they give you the full instructions, and even the exact name of the glue to use.

I glued some of my edges that were falling, and fabric glue worked like magic! :thumbup:

[bimmerbarbie]

not to get too far off subject,but what would you use for the falling headliner around the sun roof?

The stuff I used was by 3M, FoamFast 74 (oranage). Worked like a charm. The fabric store people should direct you right to it.

Try not to get it in your hair.... its unpleasant.