My wife wanted a Union Jack theme on her Chili Red R56 so we purchased the Union Jack door handles along with the interior mirror cover and exterior mirror caps. The mirror cover and caps took zero time to install but trying to intall the door handles has cost me wasted time and money.

I searched but found no tips for installing the handles on the R56 but thought it couldn't be that much different than the R53. WRONG !!!!

I suggest leaving it to the professionals if you really must have those replacement handles. If you still intend to DIY the most important thing to know is that the glass must be removed first before removing the guts from the door shell. It is a very involved process.

The dealer wanted $450 to install and now I know why.
Just a friendly word of caution before diving into a major project. I think we are going to see about some stick on covers now.

 

Sadly, you're not the first to have this frustration...

 

yeah i did mine and as i got more into the hole thing the more i wished i wouldn't done it. took me like 3 hr for the two doors. never again

 

what a pain in the ***

 

Seriously? You have to remove the glass now? :( Thats a bummer, replacing the door handles is 100% a must in my case.

 

From my recent experience these should be the steps to disassemble the R56 door. This is not a complete detailed list, just the high points.

1. Remove "C" shaped interior door panel. This surrounds the armrest area. You will have to remove the shroud around the interior door handle, there is a plastic stud insert at the bottom that has to be taken out first.
2. Locate and remove 2 silver dollar size rubber plugs that give you access to the brackets that hold the glass.
3. Position the window so bracket bolts are visable in the plug holes then loosen the bolts. (That should allow you to remove the glass. I didn't know about this at the time.)
4. Remove all the bolts that mount the complete plastic door unit (sorry I don't know what else to call it) and aluminum top bar to the door shell. There are a bunch, 10-15, so keep looking. Also, the rubber "boots" will have to be detached from the door at each end of the window slot.
5. Reach behind the panel and disconnect the door latch cable from the inside door handle.
6. Now you should be able to start actually replacing the exterior door handle. (This was suppose to be the hardest step on the R53's but I never got that far on the R56).

Do all this at your own risk as I only learned about some it as the dealer was reparing my mess. Also, the dealer mentioned adjustments are needed after everything is put back together. I don't know what is involved with that. I did not go through all of the steps myself so don't hold me to the letter. I just want to help others avoid my mistakes.

I'll leave it to the people that know what they are doing to provide pictures and more detailed instructions.

 

I'd also add that it is an extremely good idea to mark where the window lies relative to the door. There is quite a bit of play in the two screws holding the window, and you can really get the alignment off and cause leaks. My suggestion is, before doing any other work, use a piece of masking tape to mark the whole length where the glass meets the rubber door seal (along the length of the door). Then mark the rubber seal where the glass ends at the front/back of the door.
Once all the other work is finished, use the tape marks as reference to properly align the glass.

This process will save a very big headache and quite a bit of time when putting everything back together.

 

anyone got a tutorial with pictures? looking at painting mine today

 

Yes I would like pictures also. I plan on replacing my door handles also

 

There is an often repeated idea that you have to remove the door windows to apply sound deadening to the outer door panels or to replace the door handles.

This isn't true. It isn't all that easy, but it is not so difficult that it should deter you, either.

This post from 2008 shows you (with photos) how to remove the door panel from the door. https://www.northamericanmotoring.com/forums/how-to/140287-interior-exterior-how-to-remove-door-panels.html

As a follow-up to the panel removal, AmazingGrado added his clarifying comments on the panel removal and went on to describe replacing the handles.
https://www.northamericanmotoring.com/forums/how-to/180820-remove-install-exterior-door-handles.html

I've done this to soundproof my doors. The first one takes longer, but after that learning curve the second door goes pretty quickly.

Have fun!

 

Anybody knows how much are the dealers charging now a days to replace an exterior door handle, drivers side?