Rear Door Replacement?

hberdan · Post by **hberdan** » Sat Sep 03, 2005 3:54 pm

I got rear-ended this week! An SUV (damn Jeep Cherokee) hit me. Luckily, it appears that the hit did not bend the frame or bumper. In fact, there is only a large dent in the rear door/hatch. The door still locks, the window, back up light/plate housing are all intact, and the wiper still works. I am lucky! I didn't get hurt either. There is, however, a BIG dent now.
So, I'm thinking, after getting an estimate for the Jeep driver's insurance to pay, and also the payment, I might simply replace the entire door, and use the insurance money to have the entire car repainted...
I have a parts car already. It's an 86 SR5. The car that was hit is an 87 Deluxe.
The doors appear to be the same mechanically. They are , of course, different colors, but the door on the 86 is cherry...although I would have to install the wiper motor from the other door.
So, my question is--how hard is it to change out the door? My only real concern is electrical. Is the door hard-wired all the way or is there a connector at the top that I can just unplug? There is a conduit at the top of the hatch, where it meets the body. I have not examined it closely as of yet, and was wondering, does anyone know if I was going to have to re-run an entire harness thru the door, or just unplug a connector.
Thanks!

Gasoline Fumes · Post by **Gasoline Fumes** » Sun Sep 04, 2005 12:03 am

Swapping hatches is easy.

The electrical connector is on the car's body behind the trim panel on the right side of the hatch area. So you'll have to feed the "new" hatch's harness down from the top after you pull the old one out.

hberdan · Post by **hberdan** » Tue Sep 06, 2005 4:38 pm

Wow! Thanks, that saves me some serious time digging around back there.
The estimates for repair/repaint so far run 750-950 USD. Just repainting is about $350, so I may just replace the door.
Is this a two-person job, or do you need a lift to hold the hatch in position?

Post by **Mattel** » Tue Sep 06, 2005 5:32 pm

for the rear washer water pipe (in aus anyway) there is a pipe connector that sits behind the headlining in the back right handside of the car (looking from behind) you can access it from the little trim panel that is between the headliner and the door and probably pull it through quite easily.
I reckon the door changeover is a two person job, just to line it up and get it fitting straight.

Gasoline Fumes · Post by **Gasoline Fumes** » Wed Sep 07, 2005 1:14 am

Yeah, it's pretty easy with two people. You could probably even do it alone if you balance the hatch on your head while bolting the hinges up.