Gary95

OK, there have been many threads on door panel removals but they all manage to avoid details on the door panel clips. "Just pull on the panel to separate the clips from the door." Well, I've done this on all four doors once, when I replaced my door handles with chrome ones. The instructions neglect to tell you that in all likelihood just pulling on the panels will cause the cardboard sockets on the panels to tear. The rigid plastic clips are left sitting in the door. They're in so tight, you need pliers to pull them off along with a screw driver to depress the angle tab. Sure, I got the panels off, but now the clip sockets are weakened from the tearing.

After coming across this problem twice, I tried some alternatives on the other doors--pulling back the panel part-way and inserting a screw driver to push on the angle tab of the clip to help release it. But the accessibility is so tight, I found it to work only once. And I left a nice scrape on the inner door paint from my screw driver slipping by accident.

Does anyone have a trick to removing these clips in a better way? I'm thinking there must be a tool of some kind that would help, along with a special method. The only reason why I'm posting this, is that I'm planning to install some additional sound deadening material and will need to remove these panels once again.

Thanks ,
Gary

White96MaxSE

I think there is a door panel tool that is supposed to slide behind the wide flat head of the plastic clip and is shaped the right way to provide leverage needed to pop the clip out of the hole in the door panel.

I don't know where to buy it as I have always approached it the way you describe except instead of a screwdriver I took a paint scraper and notched it and then applied duct tape all over it to try to prevent scraping paint from the door.

If there are tools or better ways that someone that works on cars for a living might be willing to inform us with, I would also like to know the answer.

I've had all four panels off before because I rubber and vinyl treated all rubber and windows tracks, etc. to preserve the parts inside the doors.

I will be going in for sound deadening and speaker installation soon myself. Its all in the planning stage.

White96MaxSE

redmaxpa007

iTrader: (21)

you want the easy solution??




















got buy more clips from the dealership..

that is what i did..

Ravq

I think he was referring to the fact that now the backs of his cardboard door panel have tears where the clips go and now do not fit snugly. And yes the do make a tool to remove these clips. Try www.jcwhitney.com I'm not sure if they'll have it listed on the site but I remember seeing it in their catalog.

Gary95

Ah, yes... "panel tool". I think I've seen this listed somewhere in a manual some time ago. I'll bet you can buy it from a Nissan parts dealer. Hopefully they don't charge a lot for it. Thanks for reminding me!

I just went to JCWhitney and they have it:
http://www.jcwhitney.com/item.jhtml?ITEMID=2506
It's called a door upholstery remover. For only $7, you can't go wrong. Now I have to find a few more things to order, because shipping for less than $50 is $8. Shipping more than the cost of the item--Ugg!

~Gary

ptatohed

iTrader: (12)

Are we talking about the same thing here?! Door panels on a 4th gen Maxima? Hmmm, I have always just pulled. Ball-in-socket. They go right back.

Gary95

I guess you're just lucky. My ball-in-socket clips are too stubborn to separate when pulling on the door panel. Maybe when my ride gets to the point where it looks even half as good as yours, the karma will help make everything work as it should.

I really like what you've done with your Maxima. With the kind of work you've put into it, this is a car that you'll probably keep until the day when only hybrid cars are legal.

ptatohed

iTrader: (12)

LOL, LOL.

Thanks for the compliments Gary. I appreciate that. Have a great day.