remove door panel/ door handle DIY
#1
07-14-2010 | 05:29 PM
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Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 310
From: huntsville alabama
remove door panel/ door handle DIY
alright, this isnt a great DIY, more like me telling you kinda how to get it off with some pretty good pictures. i couldnt find a DIY for this yesterday when i needed to get it off to paint the door handles, so i kinda winged it 
(keep in mind that this is how I did it, so there are probably better ways. If you know a better way than by all means chime in
)
first thing to do is roll down your window, just go ahead and do it now to make it easier on yourself
then you need to look at the handle and find the screw on the inside of the handle
By audiguru at 2010-07-14
unscrew it and the black plastic piece should come out, it will probably be pretty hard if this is the first time its been taken off. try to pull it out through the bottom
By audiguru at 2010-07-14
then there should be two screws underneath where the black piece was, be sure to take these off because they attach the door panel and door handle to the actual door.
one of mine is missing because like i said before i didnt know where the screws were or how to get to them.
By audiguru at 2010-07-14
By audiguru at 2010-07-14
ok, after that there are two screws on either side of the door that attach the door pannel to the door, those need to come off
By audiguru at 2010-07-14
By audiguru at 2010-07-14
then you can start to lift up on the door, be gentle, but it should come up pretty easy. there are clips on every side of the door, so the only way to get it off is by lifting straight up
this is about what the clips look like, at least 2 or 3 on each side
By audiguru at 2010-07-14
then as it comes off, let the lock pin slide through the whole on the top of the panel and it should be off
By audiguru at 2010-07-14
now comes the harder part where the photos get a little sketch
as you take it off you will see many wires and a ton of **** holding this panel on. you need to carefully detatch the wires but remember where they plugged into.
By audiguru at 2010-07-14
window control wires, these are organized where the yellow plug opens the rear passenger window, red is the rear driver side window, brown is the front passenger side window, and black is for driver side front window. there is also one in the middle for the wondow locks, it is also black but the plug is different than the others.
ok there is also one wire leading to the mirror controls and it is probably the easiest to take off but it also can completely come off, so be careful with this one. and i am sorry but i neglected to get any pics of this one
next is the door cable, you could actually do this one first and get it out of your way. it is the easiest part about this DIY. there is a white cable leading to your door opening handle. if you pull on it a little coming away from the panel then it should pop right out, then undo the hook and you are good with that part
By audiguru at 2010-07-14
you can also unplug the door lock relay, it is just a simple switch on the top of the door that needs to be unplugged
ok, next is the most annoying one, the speaker. if everything else is done then it is not so hard because you have more room to move around. there are a few ways to get around this. i just unscrewed the speaker from the panel and pulled out the two small wires. but it probably would have been easier to just leave it on and unplug the one main plug that is in the middle
By audiguru at 2010-07-14
the speaker
By audiguru at 2010-07-14
the big plug is in the middle, there are two smaller plugs on either side, and the actual speaker is held in by 3 orange screws.
ok, after this your door panel should come off if im not forgetting anything. the next part is getting the handle out of the panel. this is a much easier process. before just trying to rip it off, look on the back of the door panel where the handle attaches and find 3 or 4 screws. they hold the handle in from the other side. after you have removed all the screws you can find, look and you can see 2 clips, one on either side of the handle under the insulation. push those in a little start to wiggle it out
and thats about it
also keep in mind that this is on the driver side door panel, there are much less buttons on the passenger side and it is much easier
also, this is my first DIY, so i would appreciate any feedbakc/instructive criticism
(keep in mind that this is how I did it, so there are probably better ways. If you know a better way than by all means chime in
)first thing to do is roll down your window, just go ahead and do it now to make it easier on yourself
then you need to look at the handle and find the screw on the inside of the handle
By audiguru at 2010-07-14
unscrew it and the black plastic piece should come out, it will probably be pretty hard if this is the first time its been taken off. try to pull it out through the bottom
By audiguru at 2010-07-14
then there should be two screws underneath where the black piece was, be sure to take these off because they attach the door panel and door handle to the actual door.
one of mine is missing because like i said before i didnt know where the screws were or how to get to them.
By audiguru at 2010-07-14
By audiguru at 2010-07-14
ok, after that there are two screws on either side of the door that attach the door pannel to the door, those need to come off
By audiguru at 2010-07-14
By audiguru at 2010-07-14
then you can start to lift up on the door, be gentle, but it should come up pretty easy. there are clips on every side of the door, so the only way to get it off is by lifting straight up
this is about what the clips look like, at least 2 or 3 on each side
By audiguru at 2010-07-14
then as it comes off, let the lock pin slide through the whole on the top of the panel and it should be off
By audiguru at 2010-07-14
now comes the harder part where the photos get a little sketch
as you take it off you will see many wires and a ton of **** holding this panel on. you need to carefully detatch the wires but remember where they plugged into.
By audiguru at 2010-07-14
window control wires, these are organized where the yellow plug opens the rear passenger window, red is the rear driver side window, brown is the front passenger side window, and black is for driver side front window. there is also one in the middle for the wondow locks, it is also black but the plug is different than the others.
ok there is also one wire leading to the mirror controls and it is probably the easiest to take off but it also can completely come off, so be careful with this one. and i am sorry but i neglected to get any pics of this one
next is the door cable, you could actually do this one first and get it out of your way. it is the easiest part about this DIY. there is a white cable leading to your door opening handle. if you pull on it a little coming away from the panel then it should pop right out, then undo the hook and you are good with that part
By audiguru at 2010-07-14
you can also unplug the door lock relay, it is just a simple switch on the top of the door that needs to be unplugged
ok, next is the most annoying one, the speaker. if everything else is done then it is not so hard because you have more room to move around. there are a few ways to get around this. i just unscrewed the speaker from the panel and pulled out the two small wires. but it probably would have been easier to just leave it on and unplug the one main plug that is in the middle
By audiguru at 2010-07-14
the speaker
By audiguru at 2010-07-14
the big plug is in the middle, there are two smaller plugs on either side, and the actual speaker is held in by 3 orange screws.
ok, after this your door panel should come off if im not forgetting anything. the next part is getting the handle out of the panel. this is a much easier process. before just trying to rip it off, look on the back of the door panel where the handle attaches and find 3 or 4 screws. they hold the handle in from the other side. after you have removed all the screws you can find, look and you can see 2 clips, one on either side of the handle under the insulation. push those in a little start to wiggle it out
and thats about it
also keep in mind that this is on the driver side door panel, there are much less buttons on the passenger side and it is much easier
also, this is my first DIY, so i would appreciate any feedbakc/instructive criticism
#6
07-14-2010 | 11:58 PM
Administrator
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 11,670
From: Binghamton, NY
Very well-done. It will come in handy in the future for sure - there are posts every so often asking how to do this. Take the profanity out and PM a link to this DIY to an Admin (like member Jeff) and ask that it be included in the DIY section. It's worthy of inclusion.
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