Central Locking Door Actuator replacement

Repository of 'how to do' articles relating to the Z3 and M roadster/coupe
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stu
Joined: Fri 10 Oct, 2003 17:49
Posts: 3540

  Z3 roadster 2.8 supe
Location: On the edge!

Central Locking Door Actuator replacement

Post by stu »

Had the passenger door locking actuator fail and couldn't find a 'guide' so thought I'd post what I saw & did (and thanks to Deano for the advice).

The early part of the procedure is relatively simple if you have a set of torx bits - it's the door card removal.



Start off by popping the door handle surround bezel forwards (about 1cm) until the clips disengage.



Prize the blanking plate out of the door handle to expose a screw which attaches the door car to the door skin.



Next prize the door car gently (I started at the bottom rear edge) away from the door (quite strong clips in here, 2 of which detached from the door card) until you get up to the rubber seal at the top of the door card.

Then disconnect the speaker wire.



Now the door car card can be stowed in a safe place.

Next you can remove the handle & lever itself, which may require a cut in the plastic door liner (using a craft knife or similar). Again, it's a torx screw. Once the screw is removed, you need to disengage the handle from the operating rod.



You then remove the 3 larger screws which secure the lock/latch assemble from the door. It will not fall at this time.

The action next is to remove the guide rail for the back of the door window. It is secured by a hex headed screw under the bottom rear edge of the door and a concealed Torx screw hidden under the large rubber seal on the top edge of the door.







With both bolts removed, the rail can me dropped downwards by pulling the bottom of the rail towards the front of the door and rotating the top downwards (in an anticlockwise motion).



It will now be possible to move the lock around. You now have to reach up into the door and disconnect the lock from the door handle (which is difficult to get a picture of, but ins't that difficult as it hooks over the door handle.

You can now move the bulky lock assembly down and out of the large orifice (just had to use that word)!

Undo the plug to get out of the door completely.

Next is to get the actuator off the lock.



Release the plastic retaining clip from the side of the actuator and pull the actuator upwards (it sits on 2 shiny metal lugs quite snugly, so some force is necessary. Replacement is the reverse of removal.

I'd recommend loose assembly of all screws/bolts as you begin re-assembly.

First I pushed the lock up to pass the lock pin out of the top hole.

Then put the 3 large torx screws in to hold the lock steady. Re-connect and then re-fit the interior door handle.

Next, I removed the 3 screws again and took quite a while to re-insert the rear window guide rail until the holes line up. Again, loose assemble the two retaining screws.

Re-fit the 3 lock securing screws and test! Repeat as necessary (but mine worked great).

If all's well, tighten the assembly in place.

Next you can re-connect the speaker wire and then it's time to fit the door card. I started inserting the front at the top and used a small plain screwdriver to run the card under the seal, applying gentle downward pressure to the door card. Didn't take too long.

Next, re-fit the handle securing screw, re-fit blanking plate and then re-fit the handle surround bezel.

Hope this helps.

Stu
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Deano1712
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Joined: Sat 05 Aug, 2006 12:56
Posts: 1396

  M roadster S50
Location: Leeds

Post by Deano1712 »

Good job Stu. Thanks for the write up too. When I did mine I took all the glass out of the door. Your way is much easier :thumb:
Z3M with a few mods...and a little bit more power
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BonBon
Joined: Tue 08 Jan, 2008 21:10
Posts: 1227

  Z3 roadster 1.9

Re: Central Locking Door Actuator replacement

Post by BonBon »

Here is a tip to overcome the difficulty everyone encounters when replacing the window guide. Remove the rubber window seals. One can then clearly see the position of the window guide from above, and it's then easy to slide it upward in a clockwise motion into place.
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