SC7 Posted January 28, 2012 Report Share Posted January 28, 2012 Hi all. I'll be looking to sell my 2003 330ci shortly, but first I need to fix/spruce up a few things and require some help. First thing is my driver door handle. Unfortunately it won't open the door from the outside. The handle pulls but does not operate the latch. The door opens fine from the inside. Is this a common fault and likely to be something very specific? I assume I'll need to replace the door handle in its entirety - Will only a coupe one fit? Any info at all on this would be appreciated as I'd like to sort this myself. Secondly I need to replace the plastic inner kick plate that runs along the bottom of the driver's door, which has a small piece snapped off. The problem I'm having is finding a replacement part since I can't find it on RealOEM and don't know what it's called. It seems to be part number 1 in this diagram, but looks a bit too small in the picture - http://realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=BD52&mospid=47620&btnr=51_3738&hg=51&fg=55 Thirdly, I need to replace the small parts of the rear light clusters that are mounted in the bootlid (red/clear). Can anyone advise the cheapest way to do this but still get good quality replacements? Mine have mould/dirt inside and currently let the car down a bit. Finally, I have a leak from what I'm pretty sure is the bottom of the washer bottle. I have been told this is fairly common. If so, what is the likely solution? New bottle? Some sort of gasket or connection? The car is a pre-facelift. Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richierich Posted January 28, 2012 Report Share Posted January 28, 2012 the kickplate is the correct one, the pictures on realOEM are not to scale. And the inner rear lights are best got cheap from ebay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SC7 Posted January 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2012 the kickplate is the correct one, the pictures on realOEM are not to scale. And the inner rear lights are best got cheap from ebay. Thanks mate. When you say cheap, how much should I be looking to pay? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Posted January 28, 2012 Report Share Posted January 28, 2012 Easy Scott, the door issue is probably the bowden cable - it may have come off or stretched over time so it no longer opens. It's unlikely to be the handle itself. It'll be a door-card off job to investigate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missle Posted January 28, 2012 Report Share Posted January 28, 2012 Washer jet is actually quite easy, done both of mine in the 4 years i've owned the car. This DIY is pretty good although its a facelift the main points are the same. http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?p=23280007 Headlight out, you will then see the washer jet pump, be careful of the bracket it sits on as from memory its very fragile. About £40 for the pump i believe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SC7 Posted January 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 Easy Scott, the door issue is probably the bowden cable - it may have come off or stretched over time so it no longer opens. It's unlikely to be the handle itself. It'll be a door-card off job to investigate. Cheers Keith. How sure are you that this is the problem? The only reason I ask is because the door handle doesn't feel like it has any resistance at all beyond its own weight. I've been told that a part inside the handle is prone to snapping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SC7 Posted January 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 Washer jet is actually quite easy, done both of mine in the 4 years i've owned the car. This DIY is pretty good although its a facelift the main points are the same. http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?p=23280007 Headlight out, you will then see the washer jet pump, be careful of the bracket it sits on as from memory its very fragile. About £40 for the pump i believe Thanks for that mate. Is it not possible that mine is leaking from the bottle itself? It's just it's losing water constantly (about 2 days to empty) when the washers aren't in use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 Cheers Keith. How sure are you that this is the problem? The only reason I ask is because the door handle doesn't feel like it has any resistance at all beyond its own weight. I've been told that a part inside the handle is prone to snapping. It could be that the cable has snapped (rather than the mounting point on the handle). The outer bowden cable is prone to fraying and/or stretching (can snap too) which creates the feel that no weight is behind the handle - like you have. All you can do is get inside to have a look. Unfortunatley the outer cable is realy fiddly to check/replace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SC7 Posted January 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 It could be that the cable has snapped (rather than the mounting point on the handle). The outer bowden cable is prone to fraying and/or stretching (can snap too) which creates the feel that no weight is behind the handle - like you have. All you can do is get inside to have a look. Unfortunatley the outer cable is realy fiddly to check/replace. Cheers mate. In your opinion, is it worth attacking myself, or would I be best advised to let a mechanic have it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SC7 Posted January 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 Riiiiight... Somewhat embarrassing but I've just had to be reminded by my wife that I had the door card off last summer. I remember now that the cable seemed fine, and I could operate it from the door inner. Somewhere between the handle and the cable, a connection is not being made. Any ideas? I even started looking up guides for door card removal and thought "This looks familiar..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
