I managedd to do the driver door strut repair. I couldn't do the other side (more on that later!)
To carry out this job on a driveable car - a car that has nothing removed would be a bit of a task - but as a lot of "stuff" had been removed from my car anyway, it made my task easier.
There are instructions with the kit so I won't replicate them all here.
The interior roof panel needs to be removed - - my exterior T panel was off as I had recently performed the roof box fix down mod, however the instructions say that the s/steel T Panel can stay in place. (anybody got a good T panel spare
)
The door needs to have the strut removed and the door propped up.
I had no door seals to remove (their u/s remains are in a large plastic bag!)
You would however have to peel the seals back a bit to do the repair.
Next I removed the small black piece of guttering - mine was quite loose and I had to just dremel out one of the rivets - if it had been sealed with silicone it may have made my job harder (I would have used an old top E guitar string to act as a cheese wire - preferably an Ernie ball super slinky 009 string
)
here's a pic of the channel I removed.
I then unbolted the strut ball mounting.
I have to say that what prompted me to do this job was the fact that the strut ball mounting was a tiny bit on the pi55 - uhhh not 100% perpendicular to the tub.
Next after applying my home made concoction of releasing fluid onto the bracket mounting nuts , using a hypodermic syringe, I then used a trick passed onto me by an old mechanic - use a punch and hit the bolt squarely on - that "shocks" the bolt and reduces the risk of it snapping. The bracket was then pried away from the tub. The bracket was a bit bent. - the tub itself had a tiny hairline crack - so fine I couldn't photograph the crack. Here's a pic of the bent bracket, I propped it up to take the pic.
Next, I undid the screw on on the quarter interior trim - I felt that a bit more movement was required on the trim to give me better access to the slot..... so I also undid the seat belt mounting - was that a wise decision? - read on !!!
This exposed a slot underneath the tub - mine was sealed with black mastic so I cut it out with a scalpel. Underneath the mastic is expanded foam.
Here's a blurry photo of the slot with some of the mastic cleared out
I used a hack saw blade to elongate the slot - this is required so you can get access to mount the 3 backing plates - yup 3 - this bracket is strong stuff.
Initially I used the scalpel to remove the mastic, but it was as sticky as heck and took ages to pry away. I used a paint hook - made to hang a tin of paint from a ladder - that was amazing at removing the mastic/foam/dead lizards out,and I'll use that on the other side.
You also need to remove the rear quarter fixing screws down to the striker plate.
So I offered up the bracket, but it would not sit properly, I had to remove the section shown in the poor quality photo below to get it to line up and sit horizontally.
Thank god i have small hands /fingers and the dexterity of a guitar god
- but even with those attributes the main backing plate fell out of the slot as I was rummaging around . it slid down the interior panel like Eddie the Eagle in the Winter Olympics. Alas out of reach! ... and I thought that it was a good idea to have removed the seat belt mount!!!
Nothing else for it I used the bracket from t'other side.
I made the necessary 6mm clearance holes beforehand and bolted it all up. Reattached the mounting ball and strut - and tried it. No Movement whatsoever!
i can only imagine that all Deloreans will eventually fall foul of this problem due to the forces exerted when closing the door and the flimsey ish mountings.
Here's a few more photos
Now can anybody tell me how to remove the interior panel to get "Eddie the Eagle" out!
