low sill rocker chrome mouldings

probably you can identify the parts i am talking about, those long chromed+rubber moldings that lay on the bottom of the rocker panels/door openings and goes from wheel arch to wheel arch

my problem was when i get replacements in w&n for these two parts (LH, and RH)., i got also the clips, and it was impossible to complete the assembly using those clips

the question was that once the clips were installed in the car, they were unable to bite the molding rail, so no fixing was possible

here you can see why, the clip thickness (blue dimension) is too short:


you can see here a demonstration, if you place one clip in the molding rail, you will realise that there remains a distance between the clip and the imaginary surface that sits in the corners of the molding (here represented by the rule)

the red arrowed distance should be zero !!



so now i found thicker clips available for the e3 car: compare these black clips with the white ones, they are thicker !!


compare the pics considering that they are not at the same scale, but you will find easily common references

so new black clips are on their way now, and then i will have an answer in two weeks

any comments ?

the rubber sides of the chrome molding don't compress to this level when pressing it onto the metal panel where the pieces tap into?

Stevehose said:

the rubber sides of the chrome molding don't compress to this level when pressing it onto the metal panel where the pieces tap into?

Click to expand...

hi steve,

i found the rubber sides too much stiff to compress to that level and thus to let the clips tap into the channel

but anyway i will check it when the parts arrive

regards

Hi De Quincey

Im watching you post here with great interest as these sill covers (or the Stainless Steel trims to be exact) are confusing me?? so maybe you can help me here

On my car these SS trims are missing and there is no evedence of them ever being there??
there are no holes in the black outer sill covers where they would fix or anything???

I was wondering, when you put yours back together could you post some pictures of the procedure for me so I can try and work out whats going on?

I looks like I can still buy the SS trims for the sills (about $100USD each) but fixing them to the car might prove interesting with no holes or plastic clips that your having trouble with etc etc??????????

Any help here would be greatly appreciated

Thanks


Steve

NZ

kasbatts said:

Hi De Quincey

Im watching you post here with great interest as these sill covers (or the Stainless Steel trims to be exact) are confusing me?? so maybe you can help me here

On my car these SS trims are missing and there is no evedence of them ever being there??
there are no holes in the black outer sill covers where they would fix or anything???

I was wondering, when you put yours back together could you post some pictures of the procedure for me so I can try and work out whats going on?

I looks like I can still buy the SS trims for the sills (about $100USD each) but fixing them to the car might prove interesting with no holes or plastic clips that your having trouble with etc etc??????????

Any help here would be greatly appreciated

Thanks


Steve

NZ

Click to expand...

hi steve

yes, you are right i am referring to the trim moldings, i am not sure if they are SS, or chromed, but anyway those are the parts

in my case the car came with 8 holes in the black sill covers, but anyway it is being difficult to complete te assembly

i will receive the larger clips soon and i will comment it here

for sure the first work you should do is to drill 10mm holes in your sill covers, or all the way round, consider using a PU mastick but knowing that is a non reversal procedure

regards

Thanks, I will keep an Eye on your progress


Steve

yes I did it !

i was right, the solution of my problem was a combination of the black clips and a mechanical adaptation

those black clips are 2mm longer than the white ones, you can check it in the pics at the begining of this thread

today i assembled it in the car:

start conditions:

prepare clips:

install clips:

i used some vaseline to introduce the central plastic cilinders that way the displacement was easy and did not stuck
then prepare the molding, take a look to an enlargement of the extreme threads to permit the mechanical attachment:

compare it with the original thread:

marvelous final aspect:



i know it is a normal thing but it was more than 9 months ago when i started fixing this problem.

regards

outer sill trim piece install

Hey deQuincey, How are your trim strips holding on?I am going thru the same process right now and the new factory clips are not working!There is no way the trim strip is gonna grab the clips.I would like to try the Bavaria clips but a search of the OEM site does not list the part number.Would you happen to still have the part # available?Thanks!

Paul

PaulinPa said:

Hey deQuincey, How are your trim strips holding on?I am going thru the same process right now and the new factory clips are not working!There is no way the trim strip is gonna grab the clips.I would like to try the Bavaria clips but a search of the OEM site does not list the part number.Would you happen to still have the part # available?Thanks!

Paul

Click to expand...

hi paul,
i don't remember the part number and unfrotunately i am out of my garage and far away from my car
but you have the solution in your hands, check in the realom the e3 version, and you will get the correct number for the black longer clips

later edition:

these are the black clips that worked well:
04 ABRAZADERA PARA LISTON 18 08/1968 02/1977 51131807716 $2.39
found it by myself in the realoem, ref. 51131807716, you will need 6x2=12 units


hope it helps
have you solved the two lateral bolts problem ?
do not hesitate to ask for help
regards

I agree that the clips from Walloth are tight, but they fit.
Also, if you loosen the rocker panel, this will be a lot more pleasant job.

It's mounted with screws in the bottom, in the wheel wells and below the chrome sill covers.
The original mouldings are mounted with threaded studs and metal/plastic nuts. You can re-use these and save a lot of time and effort.

I discovered this after prying/cutting the old moulding off.
My moulding had been off before and was mostly glued, but also had some of the studs left.

I found that the plastic clips worked fine if the holes were undamaged.
Some of the holes were bent inwards, and I had to use a hammer to correct them.
But I had to use a lot of force to get the moulding fastened to the clips.
Something I could never do if the rocker panel was still on the car.
So I totally understand why many say they are too short.

Placed the clips in the holes, hammered the center pin down gently, and fitted the moulding (PITA, but it does clip on).
I re-used as many of the original studs and nuts as I could, ending up only using three plastic clips.

All in all this was an easy job, and if I should ever do the other side it will take me about 30 minutes.

See pics

what i did was use the original clips and set a washer under each
side of the clip then set the center pin and weatherstrip
glued it on the inside then the clip stands up high enuff to grap the
molding seta block of oak directly to the side of the clip whrn i tapped the rubber moulding on
its worked perfectly

I learned a trick from an old BMW bodyshop guy. He would stick a 009 o-ring between the clip and the rocker (or door in the case of belt molding). This would allow it to stick out just enough to catch but also seal around the entrance.

+10 on removing the rocker cover for this job, does a couple of things, you can straighten out the cover which they invariably need and you can scrape the rust of the back side (which there invariably is). If you're putting the new strips on there it only makes sense to re-paint the rockers and make everything look pretty- also the new rubber seals that go between the paint and the rocker cover are available and gives a "finished" look to everything below the door.

Just to add what worked for me in this informative thread; I installed the trim with the OEM clips, but modifed them to allow easy removal. Pulled the pin out, ground the 4 hooks off and tapped an M6 thread into the plastic. Works like a dream and it gives you a easy bolt-on-bolt-off solution, where hopefully the clips don't burst into pieces the next time I want to get hte moulding of to clean between it and the steel carrier.

eriknetherlands said:

Just to add what worked for me in this informative thread; I installed the trim with the OEM clips, but modifed them to allow easy removal. Pulled the pin out, ground the 4 hooks off and tapped an M6 thread into the plastic. Works like a dream and it gives you a easy bolt-on-bolt-off solution, where hopefully the clips don't burst into pieces the next time I want to get hte moulding of to clean between it and the steel carrier.

Click to expand...

I have just fitted the plastic and steel trim to the rocker (sill) cover. I could not work out how these were meant to be fitted. From the postings there seemed to be a few ways for the clips to be used. Some have the rectangular side on the inside of the cover and the circular bit through the hole and into the trim and others the other way around. I looked at the dimensions and thought that the rectangular part clips into the trim and then pressure on that trim would insert the circular apart through the hole in the cover, and then expand it when the post was drive through by the same pressure. This seemed logical, but impossible. I also thought that with the potential localised power needed, there was a high chance of damage to the ss part of the trim.

So - I was delighted with Erik's solution and tried this with rubber washers on the m6 bolts on the inside. It worked really well and the trim is solid and secure.

Brilliant advice.

In order to no start a new thread - are the mouldings still available somewhere new? Cannot find them on WN for instance...

These mouldings have been nla for some time from the dealer.

Walloth today does sell a repro set. I'm not sure how accurate they are, as the bmw parts have a distinct left and right, and the pics on the W&N website dont allow me to judge if these are L and R, or 2x same part.


The W&N repro parts seems to be non-handed as they say.
Also, these look to be solid cast polyurethane with nuts embedded in it.

They use metric screws from behind, just as my solution in post# 14

eriknetherlands said:

These mouldings have been nla for some time from the dealer.

Walloth today does sell a repro set. I'm not sure how accurate they are, as the bmw parts have a distinct left and right, and the pics on the W&N website dont allow me to judge if these are L and R, or 2x same part.

Set of sill trim line left and right side including fasteners for all models and years of production you need 1 for 1 car

Set of sill trim line left and right side including fasteners for all models and years of production you need 1 for 1 car

www.wallothnesch.com

The W&N repro parts seems to be non-handed as they say.
Also, these look to be solid cast polyurethane with nuts embedded in it.

They use metric screws from behind, just as my solution in post# 14

Click to expand...

Better than nothing

eriknetherlands said:

Just to add what worked for me in this informative thread; I installed the trim with the OEM clips, but modifed them to allow easy removal. Pulled the pin out, ground the 4 hooks off and tapped an M6 thread into the plastic. Works like a dream and it gives you a easy bolt-on-bolt-off solution, where hopefully the clips don't burst into pieces the next time I want to get hte moulding of to clean between it and the steel carrier.

Click to expand...

dear Erik,

i am going to try this way:



i will buy the bolts, and it will be nice to know the length, you mentioned M6 x ??

i would say around 20mm ?

can you help, please ?

is there a need for a washer ?



regards



j

Just elaborating this a bit based on observations,

I would say that the excellent idea of using bolts would be aproximately an M6x10 or 12mm, no more

If I use this pic,…




i would say that the plastic white support is 7mm thick, plus the 2mm gap on one side and the extra 2mm free at the botom
now add 1,5mm sheet metal plus 1mm washer, it gives you something like 13,5mm

M6x12 is standard, M6x10 too

my guess, @eriknetherlands you agree?