The passenger side door panel of my E36 is coming apart. All of the plastic mounting pieces are separating from the panel itself. A few years ago when this situation started to appear, I did a hasty repair with epoxy, but it has not held up well. I would like to completely remove them and re-glue with the proper adhesive. I'm assuming contact adhesive, perhaps Permatex or other would work. Any suggestions?
I'd check the E34 forum(s). This was quite a common problem on them and I believe that suggestions on fixes are posted there.
You want a high-strength, high-heat-resistant contact cement or the parts will simply separate again in summer heat. The heat resistance is key. Most consumer-grade adhesives cannot long withstand the high temperatures created inside a parked car (130F and up). The only professional-grade, easy-to-apply (brushable rather than spray-only) product I was able to get my hands on is Clear-Tite-HHR. It is marketed for bonding laminates such as Formica countertops and rated to about 250 F before the bond degrades. Caution: This is fearsomely nasty stuff. If you aren't comfortable or conscientious about the safety precautions required to work with toxic and highly flammable solvents, avoid it. Also, proper surface preparation is essential; the bond will fail if you do not remove all traces of old adhesive from the parts using elbow grease, abrasive pads/paper and a suitable solvent (xylene worked for me). The reward, however, is a panel repair that just withstood the hottest summer ever recorded in NJ, without coming apart. The driver did not fare as well since he did not think it worthwhile to repair the A/C.
Not worthwhile to fix the A/C??? That wouldn't play here in TX. Texas summer heat would boil him alive in his own vehicle until he got the AC fixed.
had the same problem with my ti when the window regulator started making noise, I used JB Quik, if you use the old glue as a template it makes it easy to position it
