Hello all,

Our Ford Fiesta was reversed with the door open, the edge of the open door got caught against a low wall. This took out most the wall and the door was damaged and warped in a twinkle of an eye 😐. 

 

It looks worse than the accompanying images, and the front door is barely able to open more than 15⁰ as the impact pushed the door past the front panel...well past its safe opening limit. The door latch even snapped in two by the impact, the wall is a total right off! 

it's a tight squeeze and an amazing core workout exiting the vehicle via the driver door. I now prefer to exit via the passenger door, I have had a few odd stares in car parks and only a matter of time before I am confronted 🤦‍♂️

I have managed to find a replacement door (bare) and considering doing the swap over by myself. Would anyone know the best way to go about this? Has anyone got any experience to care to share with me? Are there any pitfalls I should be weary off? The door is bare, with nothing apart from the hinges & latch and is going to cost me under £50.

I'd appreciate any advice, but selling it is out of the question...not with this much damage unless it's scrapped. I was quoted just under £200 to just get the door banged into place to allow it open and shut, but no other repairs including replacing the broken door latch was offered. Hardly worth the spend!

If the door isn't repaired properly I worry it would pass the next scheduled MOT, hence the reason I'm attempting to do this myself. 

77,000 miles on the odometer.

Whoops!

Swapping the door is the easy part.  It's just a couple of hinge bolts and one electric multi-plug.

The hassle will be swapping over the internals.

First issue is you'll need to get the door card off.  Then you have to line up the window regulator bolts with holes in the internal panel.  Then roll the window up and tape it in position.  Then lower the window reg again and that allows you to remove the panel with the window regulator.  Then you have to remove the door lock parts and the wiring loom.  

Not easy to explain in text but there will be YouTube videos showing the process.  It's fairly straightforward, just time consuming.

Must admit £50 sounds a lot for a bare door for a common car of this age.  I assume it's the same colour at least?

Edit: Tom beat me to it (I got distracted before finishing my reply), but I'll post it anyway.

Is the replacement of identical colour? Otherwise you'd either have to live with it or remember to factor in the cost of a repaint.

I've no personal experience of replacing a door, and I'm not quite certain to what extent you mean it's "bare" and thus what bits you may need to transfer over to it, but the removal and replacement procedure of the door itself is probably going to be just the same as in the Haynes manual for my Focus, which is simply as follows:

• Disconnect the battery, prise out the rubber gaiter and unplug the wiring connector (Haynes actual lists this last, but I don't see why, I'd imagine it would be easier to do first in my humble opinion so you're not having to hold the door whilst doing it).
• Undo the "check strap" bolt (the rod that helps hold the door in the position you open it to and helps stop the door opening too far).
• Undo the hinge bolts and lift out of place.

Fitting the new one just involves doing this in reverse of course, though Haynes note that if the door lock does not pass over the "striker" centrally you may need to reposition the striker.

The only other thought I have is that since this is the driver door it presumably has a barrel for you to insert the key into which you'll need to transfer over to the new door. This could potentially require quite a bit of dismantling of the door.

I wouldn't expect any computer modules within the door to need reprogramming, but I could be wrong.

Your post reminds me of an old neighbour who replaced a door themself. I've no idea what they did wrong but somehow they messed it up because I recall it wouldn't lock afterwards.

1 hour ago, tekopikin said:

I was quoted just under £200 to just get the door banged into place to allow it open and shut, but no other repairs including replacing the broken door latch was offered. Hardly worth the spend!

😲

1 hour ago, tekopikin said:

If the door isn't repaired properly I worry it would pass the next scheduled MOT, hence the reason I'm attempting to do this myself. 

Indeed, if it won't open or latch properly that would be an MOT failure, see 6.2.3 here https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mot-inspection-manual-for-private-passenger-and-light-commercial-vehicles/6-body-structure-and-attachments.

Be aware that in the UK a 2004 Fiesta is a Mk6 not a Mk5.

Just had a quick check on eBay and bare doors are typically going for around £29 and for a complete door about £50. So unless the door you have found is the exact colour I'd say you are paying a little too much.

The amount of extra work needed to transfer everything over, I'd personally pay the extra few pounds and get a complete door.

7 hours ago, unofix said:

The amount of extra work needed to transfer everything over, I'd personally pay the extra few pounds and get a complete door.

If you do get a complete door then you MUST make sure the latch and the harness are the exact same part number as yours, if not you will need to use the latch and harness from your original door

My issue wouldn't be swapping the door over...... But the door pillar & hinges that the door attaches to! Any slight twisting caused by the door damage will cause you right headaches, the latch/lock will not align up and the door edge closest to the wing will either be stuck Out or In, this alignment will be clearly seen looking down the length of the car.

I helped replace a door on a Astra, bad winds flung the door open with such force snapping the check strap and bent the door right back, an exact same colour door was sourced and we were happy it would be a simple swap over, far from it, the pillar had a twist in it with both hinges bent, only evidence something was wrong was seeing cracked paint around the hinge points, we was at it all day trying to straighten everything, putting the door on & off several times was very frustrating, but got there in the end.

22 minutes ago, Ian Lanc said:

My issue wouldn't be swapping the door over...... But the door pillar & hinges that the door attaches to! Any slight twisting caused by the door damage will cause you right headaches, the latch/lock will not align up and the door edge closest to the wing will either be stuck Out or In, this alignment will be clearly seen looking down the length of the car.

I helped replace a door on a Astra, bad winds flung the door open with such force snapping the check strap and bent the door right back, an exact same colour door was sourced and we were happy it would be a simple swap over, far from it, the pillar had a twist in it with both hinges bent, only evidence something was wrong was seeing cracked paint around the hinge points, we was at it all day trying to straighten everything, putting the door on & off several times was very frustrating, but got there in the end.

Agreed, if you've snapped the check strap then you will have a bent A-Post

51 minutes ago, DaveT70 said:

Agreed, if you've snapped the check strap then you will have a bent A-Post

Or possibly even if you haven't ☹️

2 hours ago, agraham said:

Or possibly even if you haven't ☹️

So true! 😞 Lets hope & fingers crossed that the OP hasn't a out of shape pillar.

On 6/22/2023 at 7:54 PM, TomsFocus said:

Whoops!

Swapping the door is the easy part.  It's just a couple of hinge bolts and one electric multi-plug.

The hassle will be swapping over the internals.

First issue is you'll need to get the door card off.  Then you have to line up the window regulator bolts with holes in the internal panel.  Then roll the window up and tape it in position.  Then lower the window reg again and that allows you to remove the panel with the window regulator.  Then you have to remove the door lock parts and the wiring loom.  

Not easy to explain in text but there will be YouTube videos showing the process.  It's fairly straightforward, just time consuming.

Must admit £50 sounds a lot for a bare door for a common car of this age.  I assume it's the same colour at least?

Hello TomFocus,
Thanks, I was told it was straight forward by the chap who sold me the door. He had other doors at £39 but they were for the older and three door models. They way you just explained it is almost the manner he described - thanks for the taping tip 🙂. He did say it'd take a bit of time, but doable, I now call him the "Fiesta Man" he insisted I call him if I got stuck.

Yes, the colour is close enough...what do you think? Can't say till it's hung and cleaned up, but I think it's good enough, as long as it's not black I can live with it 😅

On 6/22/2023 at 8:15 PM, rd457 said:

Edit: Tom beat me to it (I got distracted before finishing my reply), but I'll post it anyway.

Is the replacement of identical colour? Otherwise you'd either have to live with it or remember to factor in the cost of a repaint.

I've no personal experience of replacing a door, and I'm not quite certain to what extent you mean it's "bare" and thus what bits you may need to transfer over to it, but the removal and replacement procedure of the door itself is probably going to be just the same as in the Haynes manual for my Focus, which is simply as follows:

• Disconnect the battery, prise out the rubber gaiter and unplug the wiring connector (Haynes actual lists this last, but I don't see why, I'd imagine it would be easier to do first in my humble opinion so you're not having to hold the door whilst doing it).
• Undo the "check strap" bolt (the rod that helps hold the door in the position you open it to and helps stop the door opening too far).
• Undo the hinge bolts and lift out of place.

Fitting the new one just involves doing this in reverse of course, though Haynes note that if the door lock does not pass over the "striker" centrally you may need to reposition the striker.

The only other thought I have is that since this is the driver door it presumably has a barrel for you to insert the key into which you'll need to transfer over to the new door. This could potentially require quite a bit of dismantling of the door.

I wouldn't expect any computer modules within the door to need reprogramming, but I could be wrong.

Your post reminds me of an old neighbour who replaced a door themself. I've no idea what they did wrong but somehow they messed it up because I recall it wouldn't lock afterwards.

😲

Indeed, if it won't open or latch properly that would be an MOT failure, see 6.2.3 here https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mot-inspection-manual-for-private-passenger-and-light-commercial-vehicles/6-body-structure-and-attachments.

Thanks so much Lyndon,

I have taken all you mentioned on board particularly isolating the battery once the window is in the desired position to be removed. The colour is close enough I have posted an image of the door I got in Tom's comment. Yes, I was almost certain the door would be an MOT failure (I meant to type "I worry it would NOT pass the next scheduled MOT") as it needs a really hard slam to get it shut...which is not good at all.
The door is "bare" i.e. all that comes with it are the rubber seals, the hinges, the door strap and the B-pillar protective trim. I did find a door handle inside when I got back which might come handy if I snap the current one 🤦‍♂️

Much appreciated.

On 6/22/2023 at 10:33 PM, unofix said:

Be aware that in the UK a 2004 Fiesta is a Mk6 not a Mk5.

Just had a quick check on eBay and bare doors are typically going for around £29 and for a complete door about £50. So unless the door you have found is the exact colour I'd say you are paying a little too much.

The amount of extra work needed to transfer everything over, I'd personally pay the extra few pounds and get a complete door.

Hello Unofix,
Thanks for the support, I live in Kent and there were a few doors only but a bit of a trek away. I also wanted to go to the yard and be doubly sure of what I was getting. Saved me on fuel costs and the travel, I work a tight shift so I was happy to pay no more than fiddy for the door. 
Definitely a Mk5 but you are correct check this out 👇

Quote

On April 1, 2002, the Fiesta Mark V was unveiled. This generation of the Ford Fiesta (Mk5) is often referred to as Mk6. This is because the previous model, the Mk4 Fiesta, was often called the Mk5 after it received a facelift in 1999. In other words, the 2002-2008 Fiesta is the fifth generation model, and what is often referred to as Mk5 is just a facelift model of the Mk4 – different looking front but still the same car

I don't know what the outcome of this repair job will be, I suspect there could been deformation to the door pillar (it's been suggested in this thread already) when I eventually take the door off. If that's the case then it's the scrap heap as it's def an MOT failure. 
This is why it has to be a DIY job for me as I am not prepared to spend top dollar only to be told the car's a write off. I do love the challenge and don't see it as "extra work" 🤩

Regards,

28 minutes ago, tekopikin said:

Hello TomFocus,
Thanks, I was told it was straight forward by the chap who sold me the door. He had other doors at £39 but they were for the older and three door models. They way you just explained it is almost the manner he described - thanks for the taping tip 🙂. He did say it'd take a bit of time, but doable, I now call him the "Fiesta Man" he insisted I call him if I got stuck.

Yes, the colour is close enough...what do you think? Can't say till it's hung and cleaned up, but I think it's good enough, as long as it's not black I can live with it 😅

Times have changed.  I used to sell complete doors for £20 or less...and I'd clean them first!  As long as it's the correct colour, that does make it worth paying a little more.

I wouldn't disconnect the battery for this job personally.  You'll need the radio code after reconnecting if you do.

Good luck with the swap.  Hopefully there won't be any pillar damage as others have suggested.  There is a bit of movement in the hinges and the striker plate if it doesn't fit first time.

Thanks everyone for your response to this thread, particularly the possibility of damage to the door pillar which I had suspicions about. I believe I now have enough in the bag to work with on this project. 
Fingers crossed it might not turn out too bad when I embark on it this coming weekend, I will post the outcome hopefully on Sunday. I will spend the rest of this week watching how-to YouTube videos and Googling most of the bits you mentioned, wish me luck 
Have a great week 🙃

Hello friends,

I took the plunge and cracked on with the project. Turns out the front wing needed to come off in order to get access to the door hinges (since door could not fully open for access on the inside) As you can see that’s now out off the way. I can’t see any damage to the pillar, it looks like the hinges took the brunt of the impact so fingers cross it’ll be a straight forward swap. 

The door card and window is next on the list. Hopefully I should be able to get the job completed before sunset 😅

I managed to get the door off along with the handle and lock, and put it all together just before 5pm on Sunday the 2nd. As @Ian Lanc suggested they’re is some damage to the pillar as both top & bottom hinge do not sit flush, they’re out by a couple of mm 😔. I compared the fit to the passenger side (the hinges are the same). The door does shut and lock but not as perfect as before the “accident” 🦉 

I lost a socket and in the process of rummaging through the engine bay for it I discovered I have a leaky radiator which explains why the fan keeps running after the engine is turned off!

 Another job for the coming weekend 🤦🏾‍♂️

Time to upgrade to a Mk7 😅