Due to the lost parcel, I had been driving around with the door card removed for weeks.   I was rather pleased to see the box arrive yesterday.   The new regulator looked identical to the old one.

I wasn’t looking forward to this job.  I expected it to be quite time consuming.   In the end, I was pleasantly surprised.   The workshop manual had a good step by step guide to removing the old regulator.   I had it out in a few minutes.   The most difficult part was removing the slide from the window channel.

Once I had removed the old W126 front window regulator, the next step was swapping the motor.   I carefully cleaned up the old hardened grease as best I could.   There is a metal plate that bolts on to hold the motor to the teeth and I gave this bit a good clean in brake cleaner.   I didn’t want to use that so close to the motor so I used rags for the motor and the window channel.

The new regulator came with two plastic spacers that were not present on my old one.   I used them on the two bolts next to the teeth.   That seemed the most reasonable place, although they were not mentioned in the workshop manual.   I’m not sure if this is right.

I put plenty of new grease on the moving parts of the new regulator.   Getting it back in was also quite easy.   The instructions had the usual (and useless) comment that installation is the reverse of the removal.   I found that the easiest way to do it was to first put the slide on the window channel (with new grease), then the bolt to the other side of the window, then the regulator to the door, then the other slide to the door.   While I still had access to the inside of the door I sprayed it with fish oil.

The most tedious part of the job was getting the door card on properly without breaking all the tabs.   The moisture barrier on my car was completely shredded, so I made a new one of out builders film.   It worked reasonably well.  I first cut a rough shape and then taped it to the door.  I then used a sharpie to work out where I needed to trim and some adhesive to stick it to the door.

Getting all the hooks into the door at the same time took me ages.   I hadn’t removed the upper window trim, so I found it easier to get the first tab on the left started away from the window trim then slide it across.   The bottom tab was also a pain.   The wiring for the light then needs to be pushed into a little hole which leads to the cavity where the light is.   I found the only way to do that was lying down under the door.   I also used a pick tool to get the door lock button through its little hole.

All this trim is now very brittle after 30+ years.  I managed not to break any of the door trim but the tab to hold in the lower light snapped off.   I’ll have to see if that light is still available.   After replacing the W126 front window regulator I now have a properly working front passengers window.   There is also a strip of glass I have never seen now it rises to the top.

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I had purchased a good used W126 window regulator a couple of years back.   Yesterday I decided to try and fit the regulator.   To get to the W126 window regulator, the door card must be removed.     To do so, there a few screws holding it in place.    Two holding the little chrome embellisher near the door striker,  one behind the plastic backing for the door pull and three for the arm-rest.     Once the screws are out, the door card lifts up and out.   Many of these are damaged when people attempt to just pull it outwards.

Behind the door card is a moisture barrier.   Mine was in a sorry state.

I will replace this after I get the window regulator working properly. Next step was to check why the regulator wasn’t working properly. A quick test confirmed the behavior I had seen.

When I took a closer look at the mechanism, it was pretty clear why the motor was jumping like that.   The regulator was missing multiple teeth.

I wasn’t able to replace the regulator as the used unit I had was quite different to what was installed in the car.   Doing further research, it turns out it is for a coupe.    This isn’t so bad as having a coupe spare is quite useful as they are now hard to come by.

Looking at the parts catalog there are two regulator types possible for my car.   The first type was made by Brose and has part number 126 720 13 46.   I have this type on my car.   The second was made by Reitter & Schefenacker and has part number 126 720 17 46.   I understand the main difference is the number of teeth on the motor.   Therefore the difference doesn’t matter if you’re going to swap the regulator and motor as a unit.

While I was doing this job I noticed another wiring harness in the door.   It even had the little Mercedes-Benz pin connectors, so it was unlikely to be aftermarket.   Most aftermarket radios and alarms I have found in these cars were quite sloppily installed with the wires just twisted together.

I started a thread on the ozBenz forum and it turns out that it is likely from option code 551, which was the anti-theft system.   An unusual option for a low spec 300SE like this one.

I’ll leave the door card off while I source the new regulator.   It sure makes a difference to road noise though.

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I also decided to fit new moisture barriers.   The previous ones were not in good shape and new set was not expensive.   Unlike in other cars, the moisture barrier is one one big sheet, but small pieces the cover the inspection holes.

There are three per door.   I checked the window alignment again and made some minor updates to the front passengers door before I did the barriers.   The drivers door alignment could use a minor adjustment, but this looks like it is done at the hinge.   The door cards just pop one and what a difference they make.

The last door trim of the day was fitting some of the rubber covers for the window adjustment mechanism.   The reproduction rubber seemed quite thin, so we will see how well they hold up.   DS reproduction rubber does not have a good reputation.

The window winders go on next.  I didn’t fit them yet as I wanted to review some of my DS books and see which direction they are supposed to face when the window is wound up.   I bought some used window winders at the same time I got the other parts as mine were the wrong type.  This will be the next job.   I have also ordered the parts I need to finalize the rear lights.

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Therefore, before I fitted the door card, I wanted to fix the door.   The mechanism is actually quite simple, just hard to see and get to.

Essentially what happens is that the rod (12) gets somehow misaligned, which stops the little star in mechanism (2) to hold the door, and the little cam to lock it.    After various attempts to try and adjust it, something worked, as it started to work properly.  Access is not easy, as can be seen through a mirror.

Once the lock was sorted out, the door cards are easy to install – in the same way as has been outlined already.  As usual, a little autosol on the winder mechanism completes the job.

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This is a job that gets far easier with experience.   Some of the websites mention needing far less of the clips than I used, but the holes were all drilled in my door, so I used them anywhere.   Where a hole had been drilled I made sure I used some anti-rust paint, which is the black you can see.   The plugs are easy to guide in with the wooden handle of a hammer.   They need steady pressure or they will bend.

The old door cards were in a bad way – the wood was cracked in some places and soft in others.  The mounting points were worn, and the previous owner had screwed directly through the card into the door in some places.

The new card on the other hand had lovely new backing wood and all mounting holes pre-drilled.   The clips are sold separately and are easy to add if you bend them outwards a bit with a flat head screwdriver .   I figured the more the merrier.

Once you are ready to mount it on the door, the longest set of needle nosed pliers you own is ideal to slightly adjut the clips so they can fit into the door plugs.      The first job took me an hour or two, this time it took me 15-20 minutes!

The finished product looks great, especially after using some autosol to polish the window winder.

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The door cards come without the clips, but with the attaching holes pre-cut into the backing of the door card.   The clips have to be eased onto the backing facing the correct direction so they can slot into the door.

It would appear that my door had a few additional holes to get a good fit from the door card, so I ended up using nearly all of them.  Once the clips are on, a few minor adjustments are needed to make sure that the door card will fit properly.

A small hole needs to be cut in the fabric for the window winder mechanism, which is refitted the same way that it was removed.  While it was removed, I polished up the window winder handle with a bit of Autosol.

Once fitted, the new trim looks great!  A huge improvement on the old one.

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To ensure that the door card does not get wet, there are plastic protectors for the larger holes that are needed if access to the window winder mechanism is required.   If they are missing they are available from the normal parts stores, or can be hand cut.

Pallas models are most likely a bit more tricky as they have the trim above and below the door card to deal with.   I had purchased a new set of door cards in grey cloth that are replacing these cards in black Targa.   The Targa door cards are in below average condition, but will be for sale at a reasonable price if anyone is interested.

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