Member Since: 31 Jan 2009
Location: Filey
Posts: 430
Replacing door latch / window regulator - Now with guide
Hi all,
I have the seemingly common problem with the drivers door not wanting to lock / unlock. The black lock tab on the inside moves a bit but not enough. I need to get at the latch for repair / replacement but the window regulator is in the way. Has anyone taken this out and could offer some guidance?
I have though about 'bodging' an aftermarket solenoid to operate the cable, with wiring just tapped into the existing soleniod. Is a bit rough but could save time + effort.
P.S. Vehicle out of warranty.
Thanks in advance.
Last edited by Iain G on 17th Apr 2009 9:16 pm. Edited 1 time in total
15th Apr 2009 10:16 pm
Iain G
Member Since: 31 Jan 2009
Location: Filey
Posts: 430
I have now replaced the latch assembly. I was initially going to take it out to see if I could see the problem. I decided to fit a new latch as I was surprised how cheap they were (£35.45+Vat - p/no: LRO11275) and secondly the dealer had it in stock.
So here is a guide for the replacement (as I am sure others will need to do this in the future given how many LR have done under warranty).
Guide title: Replacement of door latch assembly on RHS door.
Time: 2 hours.
Difficulty: Fairly easy, some fiddly parts to remove, 2 pairs of hands may be required.
Tools required: Screwdrivers, 10mm ratchet, torx bits, small hands, 1 x very small ty-rap.
Before starting lower the window by approx 5" (not strictly necessary but helps). I didn't bother disconnecting the battery and encountered no error codes.
1. Remove the various covers that conceal screws.
Use a flat bladed screwdriver to ease off 2 of the 4 clips on the grab handle cover. You will see access holes for these 2 clips if you look underneath the grab handle. The cover needs to be prised off in an upward direction. The Land Rover badge (located towards the upper rear of the door) simply pops out using a screwdriver, as does the round cover located behind the door release handle.
2. Remove door card.
Undo the 4 screws holding the grab handle. Undo the screw at each end of the storage pocket at the bottom of the door. Remove the screw from behind the Land Rover badge and behind the door release handle.
The door card now is only held in by clips, all of which are released by pulling the door card straight off the door (not in an upward or downward direction), start at the lower corners. The upper tweeter triangle section is part of the door card and has a small clip that releases fairly easily. You may now need a second person to hold the door card while you remove the various wiring connectors. Disconnect the door release cable by undoing the catch at the cable end of the mating.
3. Remove main door speaker(s).
No description needed for this.
4. Removing the window regulator.
Remove the wiring connector from the motor. You will see 6 nuts / bolts holding the regulator plate in place (shown in red on following picture). Undo the lower 4 and loosen the upper 2. Now look through the speaker aperture towards the front and you will see the front window guide. Remove the bolt securing this to the door inner skin (also shown in red on following picture).
Click image to enlarge
Now the fiddly bits begin. The door glass is held to the regulator in two places on the guides. The guides are fairly chunky bits of plastic. To release the glass you simply prise open, by pulling the top edge of the guides towards the outer skin (action shown in red on following picture) while you 'lift' the glass from its guide. To get to the rear most guide you need to get your whole arm into the cavity behind the regulator.
Click image to enlarge
The following picture is a close up of the clip viewed from the outer side of the door. You are trying to release the round shaped part of the fastening that is part of the glass by pulling the clip that is above it.
Now, with the aid of someone holding the window in its highest position (or get some strong tape) remove the front guide by pulling it downwards 1", then removing it through the speaker aperture. Remove the previously slackened 2 bolts from the regulator and push the regulator into the door slightly to release the sealing strip. You then need to feed the bottom of the regulator towards the front of the door and tip the regulator on its side to allow removal of it from the door. The following picture shows the original top edge of the regulator on its side and ready to be withdrawn from the door.
Click image to enlarge
Picture of rear side of regulator once removed:
Click image to enlarge
5. Removing the latch.
You can now see the inner side of the latch assembly:
Click image to enlarge
Push the door release cable and grommet through the hole it protrudes through. Disconnect the wiring plug (push tab in at bottom of connector). Undo the 3 torx screws holding the latch in place. The latch is now only held in by the outer door handle cable. I couldn't find out how to release the cable from the handle so instead opted for the awkward removal of the cable from the latch. This is the fiddliest part of the operation but you can tell by looking at the new latch to be fitted how the clip locks in place. There are two notches in the metal and the cable clips into the two notches at both top and bottom of the fastening, thus meaning there are in fact four 'fingers' holding the outer cable in situ. Just prise these 'fingers' away using a screwdriver through the latch aperture with a bit of force on the cable and it will release eventually. Picture shows this cable and its fastening (sorry about poor quality)
Click image to enlarge
Remove the latch and transfer the inner door handle cable to the new latch using a new ty-rap.
Re-fitting is the reverse of removal.
The new and old latches were slightly different. On the new latch there was an additional bit of plastic that essentially prevents you from locking the door (using the inside door handle tab) if the door is open. This is an easy way to tell if you have the new version or not. I'm not sure if any other changes have been implemented to make them last longer.
New latch on LHS V old one on RHS
Click image to enlarge
Inside of solenoid section of the latch
Click image to enlarge
I hope this guide is usefull to anyone that needs to remove the latch or indeed window glass / regulator.
Iain
Admin note: this post has had its images recovered from a money grabbing photo hosting site and reinstated
17th Apr 2009 9:14 pm
Tawny Owl
Member Since: 22 Oct 2008
Location: Here and there
Posts: 1645
Top job Iain
Great pics and explained well
Cheers
17th Apr 2009 10:04 pm
ELD70
Member Since: 28 Jan 2008
Location: Romford.
Posts: 901
Nice guide, well written just in time for me to do mine. Once you opened the old mechanism up could you tell what had failed?Previously:
2005 D3 2.7 TDV6 S
1984 90 2.25 Petrol CSW
1992 90 200TDi Hard Top
1995 Discovery ES 300TDi
2003 90 TD5 Truck Cab
17th Apr 2009 10:32 pm
SJR
Member Since: 09 Aug 2006
Location: East Manchester
Posts: 4030
This needs to be added to the Wiki, very well written guide I believe that every human has a finite number of heart-beats. I don't intend to waste any of mine running around doing exercises.
Buzz Aldrin (1930 -
17th Apr 2009 10:33 pm
Iain G
Member Since: 31 Jan 2009
Location: Filey
Posts: 430
Thanks for comments everyone. Just wanted to give a bit to the site as I know I'll need info myself in the future (hopefully not too soon). Guides are more neccassery given that there isn't a haynes (or equivalent) manual out there yet.
Couldn't tell what was wrong with the old latch, but will have a further look another day. I'm not too concerned with fixing it given the replacement was so reasonably priced.
I will add it to the Wiki when (and if) I get added to the KB editors group.
17th Apr 2009 10:56 pm
Iain G
Member Since: 31 Jan 2009
Location: Filey
Posts: 430
For info I had to replace the passanger side latch mechanism, this time I fixed the old mechanism by replacing the worn out brushes in the motor. I used a similar motor that I had lying around and butchered the end of it and swapped them over. Has been fine for months.
Motor is similar in appearance to this but has a longer shaft to mount a worm wheel on. Maybe I should see if the company in the link can make a batch.
Thanks to Iain's excellent post above I was able to replace the driver's door latch in about 3 hours this morning. Not a bad job at all, but a few fiddly bits where girly arms and hands would help, rather than sausage fingers! I took a few more photos to help anyone thinking of doing this job in the future. The key to completing this successfully is to take your time - I got a bit annoyed trying to get the winder mech back in place, and ended up pinging the wires off the pulleys . That added about an hour to the job, but not too hard to get it all back together again!
The fun starts when you try to unlatch the window galss from the winder mech - a helper would be useful as you're trying to lift the glass with one hand, whilst unclipping 2 clips with the other hand. It's do-able on your own, but always nice to have someone to swear at! In this picture you can see one of the clips that needs releasing (the glass is already out the way):
Click image to enlarge
This is viewed through the speaker hole, with the window open by about 5". There's another clip further into the door, which, as Iain says, you have to put your whole arm in there to reach. It doesn't need much pressure to push the clip outwards to release the round button bolted to the glass - just you have to release both and one tends to clip back in place whilst you try to release the other - hence the swearing All I can say is, if you're getting off go get a cuppa and chill out, rather than break the clip .
Here's the clip, out of the door:
Click image to enlarge
You're pusshing the outer part of the clip, to allow the button, which sits in the 'cupped' section, to lift upwards. This is the same clip as in the picture above, but viewed from the other side.
Here's one of the buttons attached to the glass, viewed from inside the door:
Click image to enlarge
Have some decent tape ready at the top of the door to stick the glass in the closed position - just make sure it's strong tape that doesn't slowly un-peel, because you really don't want the glass dropping into the door whilst you're messing around in there with the catch ! I found it's best to put the tape on the outside of the door / glass, as it was pulling off on the inside because of the angle the tape was at.
Once the winder mech is out, as described above, you can see the latch mechanism inside the door. Unclipping the 2 release cables (1 for external handle, 1 for internal) is fairly easy once you know what you're looking for. Only the cable to the external handle needs to come off for now, as the other one can be released once the latch is off the door. To make thinks easier, you can unscrew this Torx screw from the latch mechanism, which will allow the plastic cover to be taken off.
Click image to enlarge
You can see the screw in place on one of Iain's picutures above. Once the plasic is off, the cable and clip are easier to get at. Take off the 3 Torx screws that hold the latch to the door, and you can then get to the clip through the latch opening:
Click image to enlarge
Initially it seems you need 5 hands to release the clip, but a strategically placed flat screwdriver blade, placed where the arrow is, will release 1 side of the cable clip, then the clip comes out of the bracket. It might help to understand how it releases by looking at these 2 pictures:
The released clip:
Click image to enlarge
The bracket it locates in:
Click image to enlarge
Now all you need to do is remove the latch from the door (the electrical plug also needs to come off), and swap over the internal latch cable. It's held in place by a small tie wrap, so you will need a new one for the new latch, or a piece of wire to lock it in place.
Then you just have to put it all back together again! May be worth checking the latch mech works before re-fitting the winder mechanism etc, just in case. And take care when fitting the winder mech, otherwise you might do what I did and make it all go ping! Luckily it's quite easy to get back together, with a bit more swearing and tea Previously:
2005 D3 2.7 TDV6 S
1984 90 2.25 Petrol CSW
1992 90 200TDi Hard Top
1995 Discovery ES 300TDi
2003 90 TD5 Truck Cab
28th Oct 2009 2:52 pm
SJR
Member Since: 09 Aug 2006
Location: East Manchester
Posts: 4030
Cracking work everyone, I have added a link from the wiki to this thread
Member Since: 05 Mar 2011
Location: Barrow in Furness
Posts: 1
Hi all
New to the site so can't ask this in a PM yet but I would like to ask Iain G or anyone for that matter: I've read Iains guide to replacing the door latch and it's just what I need. My problem is though the door is locked and I can't fully remove the door card with it shut. None of the tips pressing the unlock buttons while pulling the handle etc worked for me. Is there any way of unlocking the door from inside by hand? I've pulled the wire from inside the door but this hasn't unlocked the door. I can reach inside the door nearly to the bottom but I can't see or feel anything to manually release the door lock.
Thanks in anticipation.
Matt
5th Mar 2011 4:18 pm
ARN
Member Since: 26 May 2009
Location: West Sussex
Posts: 22
Do I still need to change the actuator?
Having taken the door card off as per the excellent instructions to see the extent of the job, i closed the door locked the car (still with the door card off) and hey presto the car locks again..... does this mean that I don't have to replace the catch and that the problem may have been the cable connection on the grab handle bit?
I suppose I could reconnect everything again and find out, but wanted to ask first!
You'll probably find once you reconnect the interior handle it starts playing up again due to the increased resistance. One of the motors gets weak so your only long term fix is to change the latch IMHO.Previously:
2005 D3 2.7 TDV6 S
1984 90 2.25 Petrol CSW
1992 90 200TDi Hard Top
1995 Discovery ES 300TDi
2003 90 TD5 Truck Cab
22nd Apr 2011 12:39 pm
ARN
Member Since: 26 May 2009
Location: West Sussex
Posts: 22
You are dead right - got the part from Stealers £40 + vat and taking it to them Tuesday - they reckon 1 hours labour as the door panel is already off
Great Guide. Thanks to this I've managed to repair mine... TDV6 HSE Lux (2014MY)
TDV6 HSE (2006MY - owned for 9 years and 150,000! - now replaced)
Mini Cooper SD 5 door
TVR Chimaera 450
Series II 1960 Diesel
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. That added about an hour to the job, but not too hard to get it all back together again!
All I can say is, if you're getting 
off go get a cuppa and chill out, rather than break the clip 
.
! I found it's best to put the tape on the outside of the door / glass, as it was pulling off on the inside because of the angle the tape was at.
