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Shadowline Window Trim Replacement

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One of the things that I never really liked about the car was the relatively thick chrome trim around the windows. "Shadowline" is BMW's name for the optional black trim that is offered on later model year cars. You can guess what comes next. ; )

This really isn't that difficult of a job, and I think it greatly improves the look of the car. Total cost was approximately $250 (discounted) for the window trim only.

Luckily for me, someone else had done this before and was good enough to provide me with an excellent set of directions and a comprehensive list of all of the various parts involved. The following directions for replacing the trim are courtesy of Tyrone Davoodian. (Thanks Tyrone!) I've modified them slightly based on my experience.

I really should call this a semi-Shadowline replacement, since the instructions here apply only to replacement of the window trim and not to the body side molding or bumper trim. I chose to replace the window trim and leave the thin line of chrome along the body side molding. I think it breaks up the car and gives it a nice line along the length of the body, making it look longer versus taller. I also used the standard flat-finished Shadowline trim versus the high gloss version since it accomplished what I wanted to do, required replacement of fewer parts, and was substantially less expensive.

A comprehensive list of all available Shadowline options and part numbers is included at the bottom of this page.

Before and after pics to come. I'll also link to instructions for replacement of the interior trim pieces and for the body side molding and bumper inserts when they are available.

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Instructions for Shadowline Window Trim Installation

Budget about two to three hours for this job. The first two doors (front and rear) will take longer. Once you understand how it all goes together and get the hang of things, the remaining doors will go much faster.

Parts and Tools

For the replacement of the exterior window trim only using the flat-finished trim, you'll need the following parts:

Shadowline Parts for E39 BMW Window Trim Replacement
	Part				Part Number
	Window Trim:
	Upper window covering front left				51 32 8 185 269
	Upper window covering front right				51 32 8 185 270
	Upper window covering rear left				51 34 8 185 271
	Upper window covering rear right				51 34 8 185 272
	Lower window covering front left				51 21 8 159 257
	Lower window covering front right				51 21 8 159 258
	Lower window covering rear left				51 22 8 159 103
	Lower window covering rear right				51 22 8 159 104
	Weatherstripping:
	Weatherstripping front left				51 21 8 159 235
	Weatherstripping front right				51 21 8 159 236
	Weatherstripping rear left				51 22 8 159 021
	Weatherstripping rear right				51 22 8 159 022

 

Tools needed are:

• medium-sized, thin-bladed standard screwdriver
• plastic putty knife or similar tool
• small- to medium-sized set of pliers
• masking tape (blue easy-release for less residue)
• Gummipflege (82 14 9 407 015) or similar lube
• cleaning cloth
• Windex or similar product
• paintbrush or similar small, soft-bristled brush
• touch-up paint
• soft rubber-faced mallet or equivalent

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Preparation

First, lay out all your parts and make sure that you ordered and were shipped the correct pieces. Put each piece next to its respective location on the car to be sure. This also helps you to sort out what are, at least at first, some very similar looking pieces. Also, Tyrone tells me that in his case some of the bags had the correct label, but the wrong part inside. Apparently, he didn't realize this until he was well into it, and had to drive around with the half-and-half look until the correct parts arrived. ; ) A unique look to be sure, but not quite what he was going for I don't think. Again, luckily for us he did this first... check yours before you start.

Other than as necessary, keep the trim in the plastic bag that it comes in until needed so that it doesn't get scratched. You'll have lots of old and new pieces laying around by the time you're into this and it's easy to see how it could be damaged. Also, don't leave the new pieces laying on the ground around the car. It's too easy to get involved in what your doing and accidentally step on them while moving around the doors.

If you understand how it goes together, you can inset the weatherstripping into the trim that will go at the bottom of the windows in advance so that it's ready to go when you get to that step.

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Removal of Old Trim

The first step in removing the existing trim is to remove the lower horizontal chrome pieces at the base of each window.

Place a wide strip of masking tape on the door along the edge of the trim. You can tuck a little of it under the chrome as you're applying it for extra security. Next, take a small screwdriver or putty knife and slip it under the edge of the trim using a cloth and the tape under it for extra protection.

Beginning at the rear edge of the window, pry up gently and continue to work toward the front of the door until the trim is loose enough to lift off by hand. I used the putty knife as a buffer between the body of the car and the screwdriver to pry between it and the trim to start, and then once it was up a little, pried just with the putty knife until it could be lifted by hand.

After you've removed the first lower trim piece, you'll see how the new weatherstripping fits into the corresponding new trim piece. You can use this for reference later when you insert the weather stripping into the trim.

Use a soft-bristled brush to clean away the dust that will be on the window and on the edge of the door where it was under the trim. Wipe things down with Windex or similar product and to touch up any small scratches and/or nicks that you may have made when removing the piece.

Once that's done, it's time to remove the upper chrome window surround.

With the door closed, you will see a rubber seal right on top of the chrome trim, and one right below it.

Top and bottom door seals.

Open the door and look at the top edge of the door. There is a little round black plastic button that secures the end of the upper rubber door seal. The button is a straight push-type retainer which can be pried up easily with the tip of a screwdriver.

Attachment point for door seal.

Once the button is removed, lift the edge of the door seal and pull it up and away from the door. The seal will come off of the door relatively easily. Take time to notice how the edge of the seal fits into the channel on the door as it's removed. Pull from the rear of the door all the way to the mirror. There's no need to take it all the way off - just leave it dangling at the mirror end. The bottom seal attaches behind the trim, and you'll gradually pull that away from the trim as you remove it.

Once the door seal is out of the way, you'll see how the trim is attached to the door. There are a dozen or more small clips that attach to a lip on the top of the door and hold the trim in place.

There are two approaches to removal.

If you don't care about the old trim and you're feeling like you need a workout, you can try to simply pull the trim away from the clips and the door. This is not an easy task. I tried this at first and quickly decided that there must be a better way. If you choose this approach, wear gloves and make sure that you don't hit yourself in the face or scratch the car as the trim comes loose.

The easier way I think is to do this in two steps - first remove the trim, and then remove the clips.

Trim strip showing attachment points for clips.

The trim has a series square holes along its length. The clips have two tabs that come up through each of these holes and fold back over the edge of the trim to hold it in place.

Clips which hold trim to body.

The clips can be sacrificed since the new trim comes with new clips installed. Using a small set of pliers, you can squeeze the tabs up and toward one another so that they are in a position where they no longer hold the trim and can slip through the square hole. You may need a small screwdriver to lift the edges a little and get them started so that you can squeeze them back.

Once the tabs are out of the way, the trim can be lifted up and clear of each of the clips. It will come off easily.

Once the trim is off, the clips can be removed. To do so, slip the tip of the screwdriver into the center of the clips and, using a twisting/lifting motion with the tip of the screwdriver, kind of twist the clips off of the lip on the door. Once you get the hang of the right motion, it goes pretty fast. Use some care when doing this so that you don't scratch the paint under the clips with the screwdiver.

The best approach that I found after doing the first door was to go down the length of the trim and squeeze all of the tabs on the clips together, lift the trim away, then go down the line and remove the clips.

After removing the trim, again take time to wipe clean the top of the door that was under the it and to touch up any scratches or nicks. They won't show, but they may leave a place for rust to form in the future.

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Installation of New Trim

At last you can start putting your beautiful new Shadowline pieces onto the door, and watch it all come together.

Beginning with the upper window surround, put the Shadowline trim on in the reverse order that you took the chrome trim off. Make sure to align it perfectly on the door. It's best to do one side of the car at a time so that you can look to the opposite side for reference. Also, the marks left in the paint where the clips were will be guidelines for aligning the new piece. It just snaps right in. Push hard until it clicks in place. Once it's on, push the lower rubber seal back into the new trim. It's also a channel groove and you'll need to make sure that the inside edge slips into the groove.

Next, do the top.

Once that's done, you can install the horizontal piece at the base of the window. If you've not already inserted the weatherstripping into the trim, take a look at the chrome piece that you took off and notice how the weatherstripping is aligned inside the trim.

Proper alignment of weather stripping and lower trim strip.

You want to put your new weatherstripping into the Shadowline piece just like that before you attempt to install it on the door. Test fit the parts on the door while they're apart just to make sure.

Here is where you will need Gummipflege or similar lube. After figuring out how the two pieces align, you will need to apply liberal amounts of the lube onto the weatherstripping to get it into the trim. Push very hard so that the weatherstripping goes in completely. It will make a faint click when it's completely in.

The step above was the hardest part for me - sliding the rubber weatherstripping into the length of the lower trim. The best advice I can give you is to take your time, get the entire length of the weatherstripping slick with the lube, and keep things moving in a slow steady motion once you get it started. It's easy to get it 80% of the way there, but on a few pieces, the last 20% was almost impossible. There must be an easier way to do this that I'm missing. If you figure it out, let me know and I'll include it here.

Two things that make this job easier.

After the weatherstripping is in place on the lower trim piece, it's ready to be put onto the car.

I had no difficulty putting the new pieces back on, but Tyrone apparently did and suggests applying Gummipflege to the door itself. You'll have to angle the piece to get it behind the plate that attaches the wing mirror. Look at the opposite door to see how everything is aligned before pressing the trim all the way down. When the door is closed, it should align perfectly with the adjacent door as shown in the picture.

Proper alignment of upper trim piece.

If you make a mistake, you can pull the piece up again and realign it. It won't be as hard to take off as it was the first time. One thing that I found helpful for precisely aligning the trim on the door was to tap either end lightly with a rubber-faced mallet to get it just right.

When properly aligned, push the trim piece down as much as you can. This takes some force. I seated it as much as I could by hand, and then followed with a light taps with the rubber-faced mallet and a small rubber block to seat it completely.

That's it!! Three more doors to go!

More of Tyrone's pictures are available here: http://home.socal.rr.com/tyrone/Shadowline/

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Shadowline Parts, Variants, and Options

Below is a complete list of all of the various Shadowline parts, variants, and options, courtesy of Tyrone.

Complete List of Shadowline Parts and Options for E39 BMW
	Area of Car/Part				Part Number
	Bumper:
	Front bumper molding left				51 11 8 159 351
	Front bumper molding right				51 11 8 159 352
	Front bumper molding center (US license plate bracket)				51 11 8 174 849
	Front bumper molding center (Euro license plate bracket)				51 11 8 159 357
	Front bumper molding center (no license plate bracket)				51 11 8 174 850
	Rear bumper molding left				51 12 8 159 377
	Rear bumper molding center				51 12 8 159 376
	Rear bumper molding right				51 12 8 159 378
	Rear bumper molding left (PDC)				51 12 8 205 249
	Rear bumper molding center (PDC)				51 12 8 205 246
	Rear bumper molding right (PDC)				51 12 8 205 250
	Fender and door:
	Fender molding left				51 13 8 159 293
	Fender molding right				51 13 8 159 294
	Door molding front left				51 13 8 159 295
	Door molding front right				51 13 8 159 296
	Door molding front left (M Logo)				51 13 2 695 681
	Door molding front right (M Logo)				51 13 2 695 682
	Door molding rear left				51 13 8 159 297
	Door molding rear right				51 13 8 159 298
	Window:
	Upper window covering front left				51 32 8 185 269
	Upper window covering front right				51 32 8 185 270
	Upper window covering rear left				51 34 8 185 271
	Upper window covering rear right				51 34 8 185 272
	Lower window covering front left				51 21 8 159 257
	Lower window covering front right				51 21 8 159 258
	Lower window covering rear left				51 22 8 159 103
	Lower window covering rear right				51 22 8 159 104
	Optional high-gloss window:
	Upper window covering front left				51 32 2 427 409
	Upper window covering front right				51 32 2 427 410
	Upper window covering rear left				51 34 2 427 411
	Upper window covering rear right				51 34 2 427 412
	Lower window covering front left				51 21 2 427 415
	Lower window covering front right				51 21 2 427 416
	Lower window covering rear left				51 22 2 427 417
	Lower window covering rear right				51 22 2 427 418
	Weatherstripping:
	Weatherstripping front left				51 21 8 159 235
	Weatherstripping front right				51 21 8 159 236
	Weatherstripping rear left				51 22 8 159 021
	Weatherstripping rear right				51 22 8 159 022
	Interior:
	Interior molding front left				51 21 8 159 819
	Interior molding front right				51 21 8 159 820
	Interior molding front left (Double glazing)				51 21 8 203 895
	Interior molding front right (Double glazing)				51 21 8 203 896
	Interior molding rear left				51 22 8 159 821
	Interior molding rear right				51 22 8 159 822
	Interior molding rear left (Double glazing)				51 22 8 203 897
	Interior molding rear right (Double glazing)				51 22 8 203 898
	Interior molding rear left (Shades)				51 22 8 193 197
	Interior molding rear right (Shades)				51 22 8 193 198
	Interior molding rear left (Double glazing, shades)				51 22 8 203 095
	Interior molding rear right (Double glazing, shades)				51 22 8 203 096
	Interior molding rear left 2 (Shades)				51 22 8 218 797
	Interior molding rear right 2 (Shades)				51 22 8 218 798
	Interior molding rear left 2 (Double glazing, shades)				51 22 8 218 803
	Interior molding rear right 2 (Double glazing, shades)				51 22 8 218 804
	Optional high-gloss interior pieces:
	Interior molding front left				51 21 2 694 035
	Interior molding front right				51 21 2 694 036
	Interior molding front left (Double glazing)				51 21 2 694 039
	Interior molding front right (Double glazing)				51 21 2 694 040
	Interior molding rear left				51 22 2 694 037
	Interior molding rear right				51 22 2 694 038
	Interior molding rear left (Double glazing)				51 22 2 694 041
	Interior molding rear right (Double glazing)				51 22 2 694 042
	Interior molding rear left (Shades)				51 22 2 694 047
	Interior molding rear right (Shades)				51 22 2 694 048
	Interior molding rear left (Double glazing, shades)				51 22 2 694 049
	Interior molding rear right (Double glazing, shades)				51 22 2 694 050
	Interior molding rear left 2 (Shades)				51 22 2 694 043
	Interior molding rear right 2 (Shades)				51 22 2 694 044
	Interior molding rear left 2 (Double glazing, shades)				51 22 2 694 045
	Interior molding rear right 2 (Double glazing, shades)				51 22 2 694 046
	Also needed for high-gloss:
	B-Pillar molding front left				51 32 7 890 087
	B-Pillar molding front right				51 32 7 890 088
	B-Pillar molding rear left				51 34 7 890 089
	B-Pillar molding rear right				51 34 7 890 090
	Rear window guide cover left				51 34 7 890 091
	Rear window guide cover right				51 34 7 890 092

Notes:

High-gloss trim is that which is available on the M5, and standard on US-spec 2001-on 540i Sport versions.

See the parentheses for part variants. For example, if you have park distance control (PDC), double-glazed windows, and/or rear side window shades, be sure to select the proper parts.

If you see something that you don't have in the parentheses, don't buy that part! You don't need it.