Another Quick Front Door Repair!

So a couple of weeks ago I posted how I fixed the passenger side front door lock mechanism (or rather, it was making a weird noise and so I just replaced it with a used part off of Yahoo Auction) and while I was doing that, I lubricated the window assembly as the motor was struggling to raise the glass. All is well that ends well, and I learned a bit more about electric door locks and windows.

I had actually also ordered a replacement motor for the window glass, but it had not arrived in time.  But it was too much of a hassle to re-open the door panel and do the install. 

However, the other day when I picked up the Elgrand from BlackCats Detailing, Takahashi-san had pointed out that for whatever reason, the outer door handle of the passenger side front door was no longer working.  The button to lock and unlock worked; but not the handle pulled at nothing so the door did not unlatch.  From the inside, if the door was unlocked the inside door handle worked and opened the door.  So I suspected that perhaps when I did the door latch swap, maybe I had not properly secured the cable to the outside door handle.

Since it was a sunny day today, even though I now have to park the Elgrand outside, I figured I could move quickly and at least open up the door panel to see what the problem was.  So...

Just LOVE the Koken sockets and this KTC socket wrench (Japanese tools are amazing)!

Easy enough to take off the inner door panel - this is probably my 5th time?

Here is the motor for the window glass

Once I got the inner panel removed (where you also have to take off the window glass motor), I immediately found the problem to the door handle issue.

My finger is resting on the black plastic grommet that secures the cable to the outer door handle

As I suspected, the cable connecting the outer door handle and the door latch mechanism had come undone, so I struggled a bit but finally got the pieces to snap all back into position.  Just in case I tested it too before putting everything back together.

Oh, and even though I was happy that the silicon lubricant had greatly improved the up and down movement of the window glass, I decided to swap out the motors just in case there was any improvement. 

Yahoo Auction part all wrapped up, on bottom.

So the most painful part was putting the motor assembly back together as you have to wedge the inner door panel in between the motor and the window assembly, but somehow by using my toes to hold up the door panel as I tightened the bolts, I got it done.

After that, it was just a matter of bolting everything back up, running the wires where they should and connecting things back together.  The window speed does not seem to have changed, but the replacement motor seems a bit noiser so I will have to see how it works out. 

The good news is that I was surprised at how quickly I was able to do this, probably less than 90 minutes since I already knew which tools to use and where everything was located. Hopefully, it will be a LONG time before I reopen this door panel...

Now, I have a couple more things I need to do so stay tuned.  As it gets warmer, will certainly be easier for me to do some more repairs and mods to the Elgrand!

Lip Spoiler Protection and Anti-UV Ray Window Tint

So one well known issue with the Nismo body kit for the E52 Elgrand is that, due to how low the front lip spoiler is to the ground, it is usually just a matter of time until it gets scraped up. 

 Having been warned by Ochiai-san at Omori Factory, I nevertheless liked the look of the Nismo kit, and thought it would be interesting to have a Nismo VIP Elgrand. But given the warning, I decided to apply some plastic plates designed especially to protect front lip spoileres and other aero parts.

The kit comes with three pieces, one for each side and one for the middle.

Faux carbon, as if anyone would look, and matching adhesive strips.

Since the front middle of the lip does not hang low, I only applied these strips to the lowest parts of the edges of the front spoiler.

UNFORTUNATELY... while this might protect against some scrapes, I quickly learned it does nothing to protect against impacts to the spoiler, which is what happened when I hit a pothole - a rare occurance in Japan, which is likely why I reacted too late.

The ipact even bent open the metal stay that supports the underside of the spoiler.

So after going to the dealer and getting a new front spoiler installed, this time I am experimenting with other aftermarket solutions.  One is this, these flexible rubber strips that you apply along the entire leading edge of the lip spoiler.  

From above, you can't seem them. However they still do nothing to strengthen the thin plastic, so I am going to have to experiment with this. I am thinking of some kind of spray-on expandable rubber foam, which I would apply to the backside of the spoiler, for example. Stay tuned.

Meanwhile, after being very pleased with the work that Takahashi-san at BlackCats Auto Detailing had done on both my Lexus IS-F and Skyline Nismo, I decided to take him up on his offer to install some high performace, anti-UV, anti-heat and anti-shatter IKCS Sylphide window film.  I asked him to darken the side and rear windows but keep the front and driver and passenger side glass only lightly tinted, which he did.  I think by Japanese law the maximum for the fronts is 70% light transmittal transparency (so they can only be darkened by 30%).

During the day, you can see the difference.

What is really interesting is that from the inside the windows do not seem to have been darkened at all. This isn't the best photo but as you can see the rear window is pretty dark, meaning cars following won't be able to see through as before.  And yes, even though the VIP Elgrand has those nice cloth curtains, why not add a bit more VIP-ness with darker tinted windows?