DIY fixing "bloated" S-line door blades

[Polski]

I've made a little DIY for those who can't/don't want to source a new/used door blade.
I would label this a 1/10 in terms of mechanical complexity.

Try it at your own risk, even though you were probably going to toss the blade out anyway.

I couldn't find anything online that could fix the issue I had, so here it is:

My door blade was sticking out to the point that opening the rear passenger door would make a loud pop noise (the rear door blade hitting the front door blade while opening the door). I would say it was sticking out a good 1/4 inch.

In my case, the tabs and screws were fine, the blade simply had expanded from the inside due to water infiltration and rust building up. Decided I had nothing to loose by taking it apart and trying to fix it.

Tools:

- Cross head screwdriver
- Flat head screwdriver
- J-B Weld glue




Step 1) Remove the two screws securing the door blade with the cross head screwdriver, then slide the blade to the left (passenger side) or to the right (driver's side).







Step 2) With the blade out, remove the three plastic parts (1,2,3) as shown, I simply pried them out with the flat head. Warning, parts 1 and 3 will need to be broken off, no worries, J-B weld will hold them in place.





Step 3) Gently pull back the plastic that was underneath, you will find the culprit that was pushing out the door blade (rust). Take a flat head screw driver and scrape it all out.





Should look a little something like this when you're done.





Step 4) Put some J-B weld along the whole line and snap parts (1,2,3) back to their original position. Make sure parts 1 and 3 are as flush as possible with the cover. Be careful not to get J-B weld into the threads of parts 1 and 3. Part 2 doesn't really need the J-B weld as it snaps back into position but I put some anyway. Let the glue cure, I used clamps on it over night so that nothing moves while it bonds, it also keeps part 1 and 3 flush.


Part 1


Part 2




Step 5) Install the blade back in. I Remember to again glide it back in so the tabs line up properly, you can look from the side if the tabs are in their place. If the blade doesn't sit flush, one of the tabs probably didn't go into its socket.




Here is the end result.








The cost for this DIY is simply the amount of J-B weld used, thats about it, saves you the hassle of having to buy a door blade or even a full set since some buyers don't like spitting them up.
These were B7 A4 S-line door blades, im assuming this can work on B6 or S4 door blades as well, but dont quote me on that.

[p0isin]

Mine are pretty bad at the moment. I'll have to try this.

[Okedokey]

I suspect that is from storing car outside? May be a small inconspicuous bead of silicon to prevent ingress?

[Denio24]

I thank you for this DIY. Nice job, the polish way. I've been wanting to fix these on my own car but haven't had the time to try to fix it. Thanks for delving into this.

[Axis]

Good job making the diy Polski! I remove them once a year to clean under, I shoot Krown rust proofing on them and on the door side.

[kS_Method]

Finally a DIY for this!
My Saturday project, good write up!

[mtroxel]

I remove them once a year to clean under, I shoot Krown rust proofing on them and on the door side.

Seems like a good project. Do you just brush the Krown on the door?

[Axis]

Seems like a good project. Do you just brush the Krown on the door?

Comes in an spray bottle at my local parts store. I get the car treated ince a year too.

[seal66]

pretty neat fix. I was looking at doing this but never did. Now I am going to try it with my spare set to throw on the avant

[Denio24]

It probably doesn't help keeping the car outside, but after removing the rust it makes me wonder why they placed these metal inserts in the first place.

[Okedokey]

It probably doesn't help keeping the car outside, but after removing the rust it makes me wonder why they placed these metal inserts in the first place.

Yeah, you could also get some phosphoric acid to nuetralise the rust and if you're super keen an epoxy primer rust proof paint. Then add a nice bead of silicon, and you will not have to do this again.

[Denio24]

Ok I have to say I just tried this, and the door blades are still the same. When the phillips screws are screwed in, the door blades go back to the same old sticking out position.

[Danaldson]

Ok I have to say I just tried this, and the door blades are still the same. When the phillips screws are screwed in, the door blades go back to the same old sticking out position.

I had the same issue as you. Tried this diy last year and didn't work at all. I gave it another shot a month or so ago, and actually pulled the door blade apart. the painted part is plastic welded to the piece that attaches to the door. Break the plastic welds, clean everything out and then re glue or plastic weld.

Before:


After:

[Denio24]

I had the same issue as you. Tried this diy last year and didn't work at all. I gave it another shot a month or so ago, and actually pulled the door blade apart. the painted part is plastic welded to the piece that attaches to the door. Break the plastic welds, clean everything out and then re glue or plastic weld.

Did you end up removing the metal part altogether?

[Danaldson]

Did you end up removing the metal part altogether?

I hope polski doesnt mind me editing his photo, but yes, you need to remove what he did here in the photo and clean out all the gunk, but you also need to break apart the welded plastic along the thick red line and the painted exterior portion will come apart from the inner assembly.

[IMG]180t8p by daniel donaldson, on Flickr[/IMG]

[Polski]

I'm glad you guys liked it!

Ok I have to say I just tried this, and the door blades are still the same. When the phillips screws are screwed in, the door blades go back to the same old sticking out position.

Denio24, your door blades might have more oxidation on the inside than mine did, I would try what Danaldson suggested and take the whole thing apart at this point.

Its very important that the two little pieces with the thread are as flush as possible with the side plastic when glueing it back.

I even glued mine in a bit deeper than flush, its hard to see from this angle:

[Polski]

Good job making the diy Polski! I remove them once a year to clean under, I shoot Krown rust proofing on them and on the door side.

Thank you!

thats a good call, I'll definitely go pick some up.

[hightime80]

Just fixed my warped blades this morning. Didnt have jb weld so I used my wife's hot glue gun. Hope it holds. Thx for the info!

[avants-line]

Will try this real soon, same problem with both back doors on the avant also. Thanks for the DIY !

[mtroxel]

Did mine a couple weeks ago. None needed any attention, just cleaned them out good. But, on the RR door there was just a bit of rust starting in the door steel around the screw holes so take a good look for that too. I sanded with a Dremel wire brush, primed and painted. Doesn't look pretty, but doesn't need to. Let it cure for a week before I put the blade back on. And even then I put a thin layer of RTV on the blade where it presses against the steel just to cushion it a bit. Let that cure for a couple days before putting it all back together.

[Mech_Mike412]

What's the best/cleanest way to break the plastic welds?

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[mtroxel]

What's the best/cleanest way to break the plastic welds?

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

Not sure what you mean. Mine pretty much came right off. No plastic welds to deal with.

[Mech_Mike412]

I thought someone talked about taking the whole blade apart too, not just the three pieces. The bow on mine is pretty bad. I already cleaned out the rust but I'm not sure if that will be enough considering the amount of bow mine has

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[lkslawta]

I did this on my avant only I did not re use the metal pieces inside the blades themselves. I threw them away and just JB welded the door blade to the car itself and boom was done and good to go. Has been solid and held in place for 6 months now. Keep in mind I live in the High rockies so the car is always subject to harsh weather conditions.

[tigger_78]

Did something similar - I completely disassembled each blade and removed the metal strip that is prone to rusting (just a poor design decision IMO - its not needed if using some type of glue/adhesive afterwards). Throughly cleaned each piece and then used JB weld to put everything back together. No more worrying about future rusting and I can still remove the blades from the doors to clean out any dirt that accumulates (and wow, can it build up!).

[fR3ZNO]

I just used this DIY for one of my S4 blades... ended up taking it all apart to remove the metal strip completely since some of it wasn't completely rusted and couldn't scrape it out. Besides, with the metal removed completely, should also prevent future rusting completely (like poster above mentioned). Also agree it's a poor design, not sure why it wasn't made completely from plastic.

[onlyjuancannoli]

I just used this DIY for one of my S4 blades... ended up taking it all apart to remove the metal strip completely since some of it wasn't completely rusted and couldn't scrape it out. Besides, with the metal removed completely, should also prevent future rusting completely (like poster above mentioned). Also agree it's a poor design, not sure why it wasn't made completely from plastic.

Mega bump. Any photos of how to bonded them back together? I removed the metal strip, but since there was nothing behind the part that slides and locks to the studs on the door I filled it with silicone. Put the blade on once it cured and it looked awful. Gaps were horrendous.

[krewbrew]

I cleaned it out and put the metal piece back in. I JB welded it and the plastic end pieces as close to the blade skin as possible. The metal piece and its slides seem necessary to keep it tight to the door.

[H8PVMT]

wish the pictures were still there to see.... dang it all.

[simon b]

Yeah bummer about the pictures