Thread: Door replacement (and wing) - 2000 HSE

Front passenger door and front wing (LHF guard) replacement swap

I bought a replacement front passengers door and wing as mine had some damage, while the wing is straight forward, the door wasnt. When I pulled my original door of my 2000 HSE, it had different plugs to the donor door. The donor door must have come off an SE, or an S (or was an earlier model). My 2000 HSE has three plugs from door to body, and the donor only had two, and they were all different shapes. So I didnt even have the option to put it on with only 2 plugs connected and (for example) do without the heated/auto dimming wing mirror.

So I began the job of switch out the wiring harness from the HSE door to the donor door. The HSE has an extra amplifier module, and a much bigger connector for the wing mirror, presumably to support heated mirror and auto dimming feature, so it meant I couldnt use the new wing mirror either, and had to transplant my damaged HSE one onto the new door.

I was hoping to just change the wiring loom, but oh no, the connector for the door latch is different and that means pulling the latch out, which means disconnecting the steel rod for the manual door lock, and the wire cable from the internal door handle.

When the puddle light was removed they disintegrated on both doors. The wiring goes a surprisingly long way around to get from the door outstation to the latch, then the puddle lamp, and finally the lower speaker.

All up it took me ~8hrs to switch over the door and wing (with many kid-based interruptions), including transplanting all the electrics. Happily the older door supported all the extra modules/wiring.


Tips for doing this job:
- Start with the window up, once the door is off, I couldnt wind it up using 12v on the connector.
- Check the door plugs before you begin, but check the connectors on the item you are purchasing.
- Use a screwdriver or similar to carefully remove the adhesive between the door and the foam sheath under the door card, it is possible to remove it without teariang it at all. It can be put back on.
- Get saw horses or tables to rest the doors on, so you arent on your knees.
- Door bolts are all 13mm, latch bolts are torx, wing bolts are all 10mm.
- The final cable clip holding the wires near the lower speaker cannot be removed without being destroyed.

Photos in next post.

They really are a labour of love and no doubt you have a tidy example so it's a no brainer when doing the big tasks. Good job.

How long did it take to find the replacement panels? They're getting harder to find in the colour of your choosing.