944 door stay base replacement

fbgh2o · 08-05-2007, 08:40 PM

I recently acquired a 1986 944. Have wanted one since high school.

When I bought it, the driver's side door stay base was broken (the cylindrical portions cracked in the vertical plane and sheared off taking the pin with them). I have the replacement parts (base and desk pad and made my own pin due to lack of availability of this part), but when I went to remove the Torx screws that hold the old door stay base in place, they just spin. I assume that there are nuts that are tacked to the inside of the A-pillar that have come loose. Other than removing the fender, is there any way to access these nuts so that I can remove the old stay base?

Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.

944 boy · 08-05-2007, 11:56 PM

hehehe those arn't torx. Congrats on the car. For your problem, those are 12 points. Porsche did not use a single torx, instead many of these far rarer 12 points. They are called 12 point internal, cheesehead, or triple square. The tools are normally available in a 4 pack from local parts stores. you need the 6mm one for that particular job. 8mm for the CVs, 10 for the late cam pulley, and 12 for the flywheel if I remember correctly.

fbgh2o · 08-06-2007, 03:06 PM

Thanks for the note. I will acquire some and try again. Previous owner appears to have mangled them so it is hard to tell what they are.

Any idea how to get to the fasteners on the back side of the A pillar should my initial premise be correct?

944 boy · 08-06-2007, 11:35 PM

On my car they are welded nuts I believe. If yours have broken loose or are not captured, I can't think of where to access them off the top of my head.

fbgh2o · 08-07-2007, 05:37 PM

Thanks. That's was the outcome I presumed, but hoped would not be the case. Seems like a small project just became a big one

I am thinking of trying to remove the kick panel in the driver's footwell for access. Do you have any idea what lies behind the carpet? I am assuming there is some access, given the hood release and hatch release being positioned on this panel.

944 boy · 08-07-2007, 11:32 PM

There are a number of holes there, The one that has the wiring harness running through it is not a direct hole. I will look tomorrow as I have no carpet anymore.

fbgh2o · 08-08-2007, 02:17 PM

Many thanks for the help.

944 boy · 08-09-2007, 07:40 PM

sorry for the delayed responce. If you pull back the carpet just below the rear hatch releases button, there is a hole that wiring runs through. There is some limited access to what you want. I could not feel any holes higher up than the button. You should be able to get a screwdriver or looong pair of pliers up there to hold the nut just enought to undo the bolts. Hope this helps.

fbgh2o · 08-10-2007, 04:47 AM

Excellent, I will give it a try on the weekend to see what I can achieve.

fbgh2o · 08-16-2007, 08:36 PM

Well, I gave it a shot and will have to come up with a new strategy

I was able to access the bottom nut by following your suggestion through the opening for the hatch release wiring, but could not get to the top one. It appears that there is lateral brace in the A-pillar between the top and bottom of the stay. I suspect that accessing the top nut requires removing the dash or something equally complex. Once I figure how I will let you know.

Many thanks for all the help.

aj951 · 08-17-2007, 09:22 AM

I had the same problem and couldn't access the top bolt. I finally had to cut the triplesquare fastener with a drimmel tool and cutting wheel to get the door stay off. After removing the door stay, I installed a rivet nut in the hole where the welded nut was. If you do it this way, you can choose the type of fastener that you replace it with, like a 1/4-20 phillips head.

fbgh2o · 08-17-2007, 10:05 AM

Many thanks, that's a great idea. I was going to try to drill them out. What happened to the welded nut on the top fastner and the piece of fastener still attached. Does it rattle around in the A-pillar?

Also how did you attack the triple square fastener with the dremmel? I do not have enough slack to get behind the gasket?

aj951 · 08-17-2007, 01:43 PM

I didn't have enough slack to just cut the shaft either. It took three different cuts into the head of the triplesquare before I could push it through to get the door stay off. Cutting it this way cut into the doorstay but it was broken anyway. In hindsight I would drill the head.

When I pushed the welded nut and broken bolt through I did not hear it drop and it does not rattle in the piller. Like you, I suspected that it would and someday it might. The top hole seems to boxed in from behind with no access. I don't think you can get to it even with the front fender removed.

Before installing the rivet nut I had to drill the existing hole large enough to accommodate the rivet nut. The size of the hole will depend on the rivet nut that you choose. If you don't have a tool to install the rivet nut with, you can use a nut, bolt, and washer to install it. First, thread the nut far enough onto the bolt to accommodate the rivet nut on the end. Second, put the washer on behind the nut and then thread the rivet nut onto the bolt enough to engage all of the threads in the rivet nut. Third, install the assembly (rivet nut, washer, nut and bolt) into the drilled hole. Fourth, hold the end of the bolt with an appropriate tool (wrench, Allen head, Phillips screw driver) and keep the rivet nut flush against the piller while tightening the nut that you threaded on the bolt. As you tighten the nut, this will cinch the rivet nut from behind against the piller. Make sure that you don't let the bolt turn and you keep the rivet nut flush with the piller. Good Luck!

fbgh2o · 11-14-2007, 06:12 PM

aj951 thanks for the great instructions. It worked like a charm (and now I have rivet nut tool for my other projects). No rattle yet either

aj951 · 11-15-2007, 03:38 AM

Congratulations! I am glad it worked out well for you. Mine is holding up well too.

944skier · 944skier's Garage

I am having the exact same issue. Thanks for the thorough thread.

John Goodson · 10-18-2018, 10:08 AM

I had the same issue with my 968. Important point: If you use nutserts as a fix (good idea), do NOT use aluminum nutserts -- they will not hold up. They'll pull out and you can damage the door and fender when it swings too far open and the leading edge of the door encounters the fender. Be sure to use the steel version. Another good idea is to use stainless countersunk allen bolts as the fasteners; no rust issue.

944skier · 944skier's Garage

Anybody know the proper size bolt for this repair? I want to have all of my parts in hand before I cut out the existing (spinning) bolts. What I am really after is the properly sized rivot nut. Thanks in advance for the help.