Replacing a door.....how hard can it be?

[haytch75]

Anyone got any pointers on how difficult it is to replace a whole door?
I can't seem to find a guide anywhere.
My drivers door has been damaged for a while and I was going to live with it but it gets to me every single time I look at the car.
I'm not confident I could get the alignment right. I'm worried that I'd get half way through the 'procedure' and get stuck with a door hanging off or bend hinges/brackets/pins etc.
Any help/advice appreciated.

 

[biggles195]

Hi , this may be helpful, but refers to an A3 not A4, my A6 is basically the same though.

I've just replaced 2 doors on my 2006 sportback and its relatively easy, front door can be removed by opening it fully removing the top hinge bolt and the bottom T45 torx bolts that go into the door (dont remove the one on the bottom hinge at the top this bit stays on the door when you lift it off). The wiring is one plug on the A pillar, pull off the rubber cover and there is a bit of plastic to press in on the side of the connector and it should pull off (the other part of the connector stays in the door pillar). Door then just lifts off.

Rear door is easier as you have more room to get at the wiring connector and Torx bolts but is basically the same principle.

I got doors the same colour so no painting required on innner or outer skins and mine were passenger side so no locks needed changing. If you need to change things like mirrors or locks it gets a bit more complicated, but I found once I'd worked it out everything was relatively easy to change over (but there are lots of bits and bobs to remove before you can remover the door frame which you need to do to change the mirror because you cant easily get the wiring in and out without doing this).

My doors aligned perfectly (good consistent audi build quality) without any adjustment, but it looks simple to fine adjust with shims on hinges and door catch on A and B pillars if required.

hope this helps

Chris

 

[Turkster]

use a trolly jack to surport the weight of the door as your fitting it, 2 people are better than 1 for this job,