MWright936
10-07-2008, 06:55 PM
I just finished removing and reinstalling my driver's side door panel on my truck. It took me forever to figure everything out, so I thought I would share my new found knowledge. Unfortunately, I was here by myself, so I didn't have enough hands to take pictures of the progress. I just took one picture and labeled the items I'm describing. Hopefully that will be enough. I have power windows, locks, and mirrors, so I'm not sure how it would be different for the models with manual controls.
Note: The first 7 steps do not have to be performed in any particular order.
http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/mm273/MWright936/DoorPanelInstructionPhoto.jpg
1. Remove the triangular shaped panel behind the side-view mirror (A). It is held in place by two clips, so just gently pull it back, work your fingers under the panel, and pull firmly. Be careful not to break it.
2. Pry off the door lock cover (B) with a flathead screw driver or other flat object then remove the screw behind it.
3. Remove the plastic plug in the middle of the hinge side of the panel (C). These can be a pain. I had a cheap, plastic putty knife that I cut a groove out of the middle to make a pry tool. It worked well. If you don't have a puller for these, just work around it slowly pulling it out.
4. Remove the screw hiding behind the door pull/arm rest on the left side (D). I used a 7mm bit driver, but I think a 9/32" will work too.
5. Remove the cap in the middle of the latch side of the panel (E) to reveal a torx head screw and remove that(used a T20 size bit).
6. Pry off the trim piece around the door handle (F). It comes off fairly easily.
7. Remove the screw in the middle of the bottom of the panel (G). This is another 7mm screw and holds in the storage container (H), which can now be removed (just pull it out).
8. Being careful of the wires attached to the panel, lift and pull it slightly away from the door. Remove the wire and bulb from the light in the bottom corner of the panel (I). When I did this , I pulled at an angle and the bulb popped off of the end of the plug. It was a pain to fish back out of the light housing, so pull lightly and straight out and the bulb should come with it.
9. Now you have a choice. You can reach behind the door panel under the power door, window, and mirror control panel (J) and unplug the wires blindly. This may or may not be possible if you haven't seen how they're plugged in to begin with because some of them are tricky to release. The other option is to get down and look on the under side of the control panel (on the back side of the door panel) and remove the screw (another 7mm) that holds it in place. You can then pull the control panel out from the door panel (it is still held in place by a clip on the bottom side) and look at the wires to unplug them.
After all of that, your door panel should now be free. Now you can replace your speaker or whatever it is you needed to do. It sure was a pain the first time, but now that I've done it once, it won't take nearly as long the next time. The reason I went into detail with the power door, window, and mirror control panel is because I read in my Haynes manual that it was held in place by two clips and pulls right out. I found out the hard way, there was a freakin screw on one side! I ended up tearing it out. Whoops. I didn't damage things that badly though, and I can still replace the screw.
I hope this will help someone!
***Note: My truck came with tweeters in the front doors, which also had a plug that had to be removed before the door panel was free.
Note: The first 7 steps do not have to be performed in any particular order.
http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/mm273/MWright936/DoorPanelInstructionPhoto.jpg
1. Remove the triangular shaped panel behind the side-view mirror (A). It is held in place by two clips, so just gently pull it back, work your fingers under the panel, and pull firmly. Be careful not to break it.
2. Pry off the door lock cover (B) with a flathead screw driver or other flat object then remove the screw behind it.
3. Remove the plastic plug in the middle of the hinge side of the panel (C). These can be a pain. I had a cheap, plastic putty knife that I cut a groove out of the middle to make a pry tool. It worked well. If you don't have a puller for these, just work around it slowly pulling it out.
4. Remove the screw hiding behind the door pull/arm rest on the left side (D). I used a 7mm bit driver, but I think a 9/32" will work too.
5. Remove the cap in the middle of the latch side of the panel (E) to reveal a torx head screw and remove that(used a T20 size bit).
6. Pry off the trim piece around the door handle (F). It comes off fairly easily.
7. Remove the screw in the middle of the bottom of the panel (G). This is another 7mm screw and holds in the storage container (H), which can now be removed (just pull it out).
8. Being careful of the wires attached to the panel, lift and pull it slightly away from the door. Remove the wire and bulb from the light in the bottom corner of the panel (I). When I did this , I pulled at an angle and the bulb popped off of the end of the plug. It was a pain to fish back out of the light housing, so pull lightly and straight out and the bulb should come with it.
9. Now you have a choice. You can reach behind the door panel under the power door, window, and mirror control panel (J) and unplug the wires blindly. This may or may not be possible if you haven't seen how they're plugged in to begin with because some of them are tricky to release. The other option is to get down and look on the under side of the control panel (on the back side of the door panel) and remove the screw (another 7mm) that holds it in place. You can then pull the control panel out from the door panel (it is still held in place by a clip on the bottom side) and look at the wires to unplug them.
After all of that, your door panel should now be free. Now you can replace your speaker or whatever it is you needed to do. It sure was a pain the first time, but now that I've done it once, it won't take nearly as long the next time. The reason I went into detail with the power door, window, and mirror control panel is because I read in my Haynes manual that it was held in place by two clips and pulls right out. I found out the hard way, there was a freakin screw on one side! I ended up tearing it out. Whoops. I didn't damage things that badly though, and I can still replace the screw.
I hope this will help someone!
***Note: My truck came with tweeters in the front doors, which also had a plug that had to be removed before the door panel was free.