[Locksmith]

Door panel and lock removal DIY. Warning! image heavy

This is done on my '05 with power windows and locks. I'm pretty sure they're all set up this way but the SC might be different.

Remove the 2 screw covers and the speaker grille.

Remove the 6 phillips screws. One under the armrest, two on the door handle and three on the speaker.

cont...

 

[Locksmith]

Push forward on the door handle to release, disconnect the door handle linkage and the power connector. Yes I'm wearing gloves... it's freaking cold today. You see how much I go through for you guys.

Remove the two trim pieces (top front and rear). The front one is removed by pulling at the top and lifting off.

The rear one is, sometimes, not so easy. It is supposed to be pried off from the bottom corner but it uses a metal snap-in that can be pretty tight. Once that clip is loose it lifts off to the front.

If it's too tight and you're worried about scratching/breaking it there is another method in the beginning of my Door lock problem thread.

At this point it should look like this.

All around the outside of the panel are plastic snaps that hold the panel onto the door, mine has eight. You could use a door panel tool but they're not that tight, just grab the panel and pull towards you. Once they are loose lift up on the panel to remove.

cont...

 

[Locksmith]

With the door panel loose, AFTER YOU ROLL UP THE WINDOW!, unplug the power connectors.

Sometimes those clips will stay in the door. If they did, remove them and put them back on the panel

At this point it should look like this.

If you're removing your panel for some other reason, have fun, knock your self out. If you're doing it to fix your lock the rest is for you.

Remove the plug that's holding the sheet of plastic stuff and peel it off enough to work inside.

Remove the tape covering this hole.

Through that very hole you should be able to see the top of the c-clip that keeps the lock in place. With a mirror you can see the bottom.

 

[Locksmith]

Now comes the fun part. Somebody somewhere probably makes a tool for this but I sure as hell don't have one. I used a long flat tip screw driver to push down from the top to give me room to hook it from the bottom and pull down. It's tricky cause you can't see what you're doing but it is possible. Once the c-clip goes flying you'll probably need a magnet on a stick to find it at the bottom of the door.

Disconnect the door lock linkage and push the lock from the outside-in.

GOTO door lock problem & come back when you're done.

To make life easier on yourself you'll want to put the c-clip back in before you install the lock. Remove the two 10mm bolts that hold the door handle and whatever that metal bracket is called.

The door handle should now be loose and you can put the c-clip back in.

cont...

 

[Locksmith]

Replace the handle, metal thingie and bolt it down. It is now ready for the lock to be snapped back in. After it's fixed of course.

As you can see this was done on the drivers side, in order to do this on the passenger side follow these simple instructions.

1. Save all pictures to your computer
2. Open them in your photo editing program, such as photoshop.
3. Flip images horizontally.
4. Save images and refer back here for text.
:wink:

Good luck
Pierre

 

[ramblerdan]

Nice work, locksmith! Very helpful.

 

[carloso]

thats no joke!
i dont see you you took all those pics
good job.
i bought some sound deadner i cant think of what its called and i cant seam to get up the nearve to put it on monstly cause i dont look fwd to removing the door panels

 

[wastedonanime]

Very nice DIY. The door panels are not that bad. It's getting them back on that's a real pain (with any car). Just the part sliding the piece into the window slot... other than that, nice and easy. Keep in mind for 03-06 owners who are removing the rear door panels that you have to get a 14mm socket wrench to remove the bolt holding on the seatbelt before you try to remove the lower door panel. It comes off fairly easy, but its long - 3-4" if I remember correctly.

 

[stocazzo]

Wow nice work!

That's nice to know because I want to get some dynamat.

 

[demasih.]

good pictures man, doors are always one of those things people cower from but all it is is patience patience and feel

 

[pgrebus]

c-clip removal

For the life of me, I couldn't get this off with the method described. Eventually, I MacGuyvered a solution - I used a sturdy piece of string with a loop on one end, hooked it over one of the C ends using a piece of wire, and pulled. It worked like a charm, and the c-clip was attached to the string, so didn't go flying.

Pete

 

[The Digital Element]

If you guys can handle this task, you're up for changing your lock actuator and/or window regulator. You will save yourself a pretty penny. This is the only tricky part.
Linton

 

[Locksmith]

For the life of me, I couldn't get this off with the method described. Eventually, I MacGuyvered a solution - I used a sturdy piece of string with a loop on one end, hooked it over one of the C ends using a piece of wire, and pulled. It worked like a charm, and the c-clip was attached to the string, so didn't go flying.

Pete

That's brilliant!

 

[Twilightzero]

Awesome work! I'm too tired to coherently comment right now but I'll give it a closer look tomorrow.

BTW do you have a set of these for the suicide doors?



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[King of Canada]

I did this last year to paint the little covers where the window button is (ok, and to get the quarter out that fell into my door and sounded like a mchine gun).

 

[Rock E Top]

I completed this operation this past weekend. Great directions here, but taking the door handle and lock cylinder out was not necessary.

Thanks for the pics! One thing though, my sheet metal is SILVER!!!!!! Woohoo! They are slicker through the air!

 

[Robel]

Thanks bro very good the specification of everythings

 

[Island E]

This is going to come in handy when I do my passenger door lock switch tomorrow.

 

[Eww-an E]

Very informative thread.Thanks for sharing.

 

[PiperEvans]

Well detailed procedure. This is a very good thread.