1979 Fj40 Front Door Reassembly (1 Viewer)

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Oct 24, 2015
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Clarksville, TN 37043
I recently struggled a bit when reassembling a 1979 FJ40 front door. The doors were taken completely apart about 2.5 years ago as part of a restoration project. Passage of time and not enough photos made the reassembly effort harder then it should have been.

I though I’d pass along what I learned for the benefit of future Mudders. Following this sequence, it took me half as long to do the 2nd door as it did the 1st one. To be clear my doors have a single large pane of glass. Additionally, I’m not saying there aren’t other assembly sequences that may work equally well but this one worked for me.

1. Install the new felt in the window track in the door cavity located on the front edge of the door. Align the felt to the bottom end of the track.

2. Install sound deadener in the door cavity (optional). I used self-adhesive RattleTrap Sound Deadener. If you opt to install the sound deadener be sure to cut around the door handle mounting location and the cylinder lock location.

3. Install the door latch in the rear door edge. Be sure the metal arm is pointing to the top of the door.

4. Test the door cylinder lock with your key then install it in the door.

5. Install the exterior door handle

6. Connect the metal tab on the door handle to the metal arm on the door latch

7. With the door open, if it is on the cruiser, test to make sure the door handle will unlatch the door. If it does NOT unlatch adjust step 6.

8. Lube and install the window regulator. Put the handle on it and test it to make sure it moves freely.

9. Install the INNER window felt. This is the piece that is at the base of the window opening (where your elbow rests when the window is open). I used a stiff metal putty knife to push the retaining clips into the door lip.

10. With the window regulator rolled all the way down slide the glass into the door cavity. If you’re doing this step with the door on the cruiser you may want to stuff an old large towel in the bottom of the door to keep the glass from falling all the way to the bottom of the cavity. Insert the front edge of the glass into the cavity first then with the glass fully in the cavity rotate it into the correct orientation. At this point do NOT insert the glass into the window track on the front edge of the door.

11. Move the glass out of the way and install the OUTER window felt. This is the piece that is at the base of the window opening (where your elbow rests when the window is open). Again, I used a stiff metal putty knife to push the retaining clips into the door lip.

12. Position the glass in the front felt track.

13. Bolt the window to the window regulator.

14. With the window rolled all way down carefully begin sliding the front end of the window channel (the single piece of trim that fits in the window opening and trims out the front, top and rear edge of the window opening) into the door cavity. Tilt and work it until you can get the rear end of the window channel into the door cavity. Be careful not to kink or bend the piece. Once you have both ends of the window channel in the door you can pull it back up and into its approximate position in the window frame.

15. Make sure the front bottom end of the window channel is positioned so later it can be inserted into the top of the front window track in the door cavity. Do NOT insert it. Eyeball this to make sure the top of the felt you installed in the track earlier will not interfere with the insertion of the window channel.

16. Starting at the front top rounded corner use your fingers to carefully pinch the two edges of the window channel together while pushing it into the door frame. YOU WILL DAMAGE THE WINDOW CHANNEL IF YOU TRY TO FORCE IT INTO THE DOOR FRAME WITHOUT PINCHING THE TWO EDGES TOGETHER.

17. Once the front top corner has been inserted in the frame work your way across the top of the frame and then insert the rear top corner.

18. Return to the front top corner and begin working your way down the front edge. Remember to pinch the two edges together while pushing the piece into the frame.

19. Using the same pinch and push technique insert the bottom end of the window channel into the top end of the front window track.

20. Finish installing the window channel in the rear edge of the window frame.

21. Install new window felt in the rear window track. Be sure to position the felt to the bottom of the track.

22. Roll the window up and then install the rear window track. The top end of the track slides into a channel in the door cavity.

23. Pinch and push the bottom end of the window channel into the top end of the rear window track.

24. Roll the window up and down several times to make sure it does not bind

25. Install the interior door handle/lock

26. Test the interior and exterior handles and locks to make sure everything functions correctly.

27. Install the interior plastic vapor barrier. I picked up some 6 mil semitransparent plastic from a big box home improvement store. I used the interior door panels to create the pattern for the vapor barrier. Tip – plan ahead and get the plastic early because you won’t find 6 mil plastic in the paint department. Because I didn’t, I now have enough plastic left over to do another 50 doors. I used 3M 08620 Window-Weld ¼” x 15’ Round Ribbon Sealer to stick the vapor barrier to the door. This stuff works great. I purchased two rolls, but I was able to do both doors with a single roll, but I only had a few inches left over.

I hope someone will find this helpful in the future.
 

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