1.
First, you will need to remove your old beltline weatherstrip. Start
by checking to see how the beltlines are held on. They use clips, staples
or screws. Most of the outers are either clipped or screwed on and the
inners are usually clipped or stapled in.
2.
Remove the staples while the inner door panels are still on the car.
Using a screw driver, get under the staple and twist out one leg. Work
out the other leg of the staple with a pair of dikes or needle nose
pliers. Screws are usually placed at the end of the strip near the rear
of the door and at the front end of the quarter strip. Make sure you
find and remove these screws before removing the old strips. These screw
holes are not in the new strips as they are not in the same place on
all cars.
3.
To remove the beltlines held in by clips, you must first lower the windows
below the felt area so that you have room to work. Remove the door panel
and the rubber stop inside the bottom of the door to let the windows
come down. The handles and cranks are held on by either clips or set
screws. There is a special tool available for removing the clips (Part # - AA7778 for $5.95) or you can use a screw driver in a pinch.
4.
The beltlines with clips can be popped out using a small screw driver
to loosen the clips. Make sure that the holes are flat when you get
the old strips out so the new beltlines will fit tight against the body.
5.
To install the new beltlines that use clips, make sure you hold the
beltline where all the clips go in at the same time. Drill new holes
at the ends for the retaining screws.
6.
The new beltlines come with staple holes pre-punched. Simply clamp on
the new strip and use it as a template. There is a carbide drill bit
included in the kit. Use a pair of pliers to bend over the staple legs
on the back side. If you have trouble finding the staple holes in the
felt, push toothpicks through from the back side to mark the holes.
Pull the toothpicks out as you drill.
7.
You can also take advantage of having the door panels off by replacing
the watershields, rubber stop bumpers and glass runs. |