Focaljet - Ford Focus Forums - View Single Post - Glossy Pillar Install How-To<----

**LornesBored** · 03-22-2006, 03:08 PM

Hey guys, this is for anyone who owns a 2000-02 Focus ZX3! This is my first how-to! I, along with many others, have been hating the look and wanting to paint these pillars, not sure how they come off. But now that ive done it I can solve the problem for a lot of other jetters who want to take it off and get new ones!

Anyways, not all of us were blessed with glossy exterior trim, moreso for the 2001 models, we have no glossy traingles, no glossy pillars, no glossy mirrors, no body-coloured moulding, NOTHING!

what you will need:

Glossy Door Pillar Trim:
PART NUMBERS!
98AZ-6120555-CB
98AZ-6120554-CB,
Fingers,
Flathead Screwdriver,
Masking Tape / Shop Towel,
Time!

Glossy Pillar Trim usually costs around $65 (for the pair) however, you can get it form your local dealer or from www.fordparts.com, I got mine from SportCompactGuy, who had a wrecked SVTF. Lets get into it!

first of all, the stock pillar trim has to go, its dull plastic which has colour-faded over the 5 model years my car has been alive.

Here is a picture of the 2 glossy pillars I recieved in the mail yesterday:

a little bit dirty, but you get the point. Notice how their are hooks at the top as well as the bottom? those are what keep the pillars in place!

Now here is a picture of the (1) of the new pillars, and (1) of the old ones. The newer one is on the left:

as you can tell the newer one has a darker profile to it, even though its a semi-bad picture, it was taken at 11:30pm!

First of all, here is a picture of what the car looks like with the sloppily manufactured pillars:

Notice how the colour scheme seems a bit off? mainly because the flow of the ungly black doesnt flow into the tinted rear windows. This mod 100% fixes that.

Now, onto the installation:
This is a very un-labour-intensive mod, it takes about 5 minutes per side, moreso if you know what to do already, there is a clip holding in the top-side of the pillar, you will need to peel back the weather stripping on the top of the window to see it,pictured below:

This weather stripping is very fragile and can rip very easily. This clip has to come out for the pillar to be able to be released. You can avoid completely taking out the clip if you are able to wrestle it off of the hook where the pillar is attached to. I chose to grab my handy flat-head screwdriver and wriggle it off. Took a couple of seconds to get a decent angle but I got at it!

After you have this clip cleared of the top hook, you can wriggle and remove the pillar from the top half only, the bottom half will still be attached, make sure you protect the paint immedaitely around the pillar, they are made out of metal and will scratch the surface of your car very easily! this is where masking tape, or a shop rag will do wonders.

Also, at the bottom of the pillar, you must peel up that weather stripping as well, these ones are a tad bit harder to do without wrecking so dont rush it!

This is what you have to do to the bottom weather stripping:

to minimize paint scratches, I suggest lifting them straight out towards the rear of the car:

with the old one out, I suggest maybe cleaning the spot where it will attach, you can see in the photo above how dirty mine was! At any rate, now with the pillar out, you have to put the new one in. It is very straight forward just reverse what you just did!

here are the fantabulous results!

happy modding!
~Lorne

03-22-2006, 03:08 PM	#1
LornesBored [FJ] Special Ed. Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Victoria, BC, Canada Posts: 9,002	Glossy Pillar Install How-To<---- Hey guys, this is for anyone who owns a 2000-02 Focus ZX3! This is my first how-to! I, along with many others, have been hating the look and wanting to paint these pillars, not sure how they come off. But now that ive done it I can solve the problem for a lot of other jetters who want to take it off and get new ones! Anyways, not all of us were blessed with glossy exterior trim, moreso for the 2001 models, we have no glossy traingles, no glossy pillars, no glossy mirrors, no body-coloured moulding, NOTHING! what you will need: Glossy Door Pillar Trim: PART NUMBERS! 98AZ-6120555-CB 98AZ-6120554-CB, Fingers, Flathead Screwdriver, Masking Tape / Shop Towel, Time! Glossy Pillar Trim usually costs around $65 (for the pair) however, you can get it form your local dealer or from www.fordparts.com, I got mine from SportCompactGuy, who had a wrecked SVTF. Lets get into it! first of all, the stock pillar trim has to go, its dull plastic which has colour-faded over the 5 model years my car has been alive. Here is a picture of the 2 glossy pillars I recieved in the mail yesterday: a little bit dirty, but you get the point. Notice how their are hooks at the top as well as the bottom? those are what keep the pillars in place! Now here is a picture of the (1) of the new pillars, and (1) of the old ones. The newer one is on the left: as you can tell the newer one has a darker profile to it, even though its a semi-bad picture, it was taken at 11:30pm! First of all, here is a picture of what the car looks like with the sloppily manufactured pillars: Notice how the colour scheme seems a bit off? mainly because the flow of the ungly black doesnt flow into the tinted rear windows. This mod 100% fixes that. Now, onto the installation: This is a very un-labour-intensive mod, it takes about 5 minutes per side, moreso if you know what to do already, there is a clip holding in the top-side of the pillar, you will need to peel back the weather stripping on the top of the window to see it,pictured below: This weather stripping is very fragile and can rip very easily. This clip has to come out for the pillar to be able to be released. You can avoid completely taking out the clip if you are able to wrestle it off of the hook where the pillar is attached to. I chose to grab my handy flat-head screwdriver and wriggle it off. Took a couple of seconds to get a decent angle but I got at it! After you have this clip cleared of the top hook, you can wriggle and remove the pillar from the top half only, the bottom half will still be attached, make sure you protect the paint immedaitely around the pillar, they are made out of metal and will scratch the surface of your car very easily! this is where masking tape, or a shop rag will do wonders. Also, at the bottom of the pillar, you must peel up that weather stripping as well, these ones are a tad bit harder to do without wrecking so dont rush it! This is what you have to do to the bottom weather stripping: to minimize paint scratches, I suggest lifting them straight out towards the rear of the car: with the old one out, I suggest maybe cleaning the spot where it will attach, you can see in the photo above how dirty mine was! At any rate, now with the pillar out, you have to put the new one in. It is very straight forward just reverse what you just did! here are the fantabulous results! happy modding! ~Lorne __________________ Post whore turned super lurker...