How do you remove the door panel on a 1992 Pontiac Grand Prix?

Answer 1

First, unscrew the lock button cover if your door has a vertical button. Then look at the inside door handle and you will see two holes where screws hold the handle on. Remove these two screws. Then, if you have manual window cranks, you must remove the clip which holds it on. You do this by using either the tool specifically made for doing this, or by using some sort of a hook shaped tool. An O ring tool which is hook shaped will work. You have to use something to gently pry the handle away from the door panel so you can see the clip and use the tool on the correct side of it. One side of it is open and the other side is closed. You place the hook in the closed side of the clip and pull straight back along the door panel to remove the clip. Do not pull back towards yourself. Sometimes you must do the same thing to the handle which you pull to open the door, but not always. If you pull on the door opening handle and you can see a screw there, you don't have to remove the handle. But do take the screw out, and the plastic cover that it was holding down. Now, look along the edges of the door panel and remove any screws you find there. If there is carpet on the door panel, you need to look very carefully so as not to miss any screws. Then, using either the tool designed for this, or a thin wide tool, carefully pull on the edges of the door panel until you locate a plastic clip which holds the door panel to the door. You will find anywhere from 6 to 12 of them holdiong the pnel down. Pry each of them out of the hole they go into in the door. Be careful to avoid tearing the clip out of the panel. The door panel is backed with cardboard, and it tears easily. Once you have all of the above done, take the window crank and without the clip attached to it, place it back on its shaft and lower the window. Remove the handle. Then take the bottom of the door panel and pull out 6 or 8 inches. While pulling out on the panel, push up on it at the same time. You may need to pull the panel out a little bit more and you may also need to pull the panel towards the rear of the door at the same time. When you are ready to replace the panel, remember to pull out on the bottom of the panel as you push down on the top. Be sure to line it up with the vertical lock button, if your door has one. Go all around the edge of the door and give each clip a sharp rap to seat it in its hole. You might want to consider replaciong these clips, since they are almost always slightly damaged by removing them. They can be gotten at a dealer or at AutoZone and other parts dealers. To replace the door clips so they will retain the handles, just push the clip onto the handle until it clips itself onto the handle. When you push the handle onto its shaft, the clip will automatically slip into its groove, and lock the handle onto the shaft. That's all there is to it, but if you intend to repair something insidee the door, be very careful of sharp metal edges. You wouldn't believe some of the cuts I've seen people get on their arms while messing around inside a car door. One other thing you might want to try is to log on to Autozone.com and look for the button which gets you into the repair pages. Enter all the pertinent information about your car and see if they have a pictorial guide to pulling your door panel. If all of this seems to be a little too much, go to a local locksmith and ask them how much they will charge to pull your door panel. Most of them will do it for 20 to 40 dollars, and maybe less since yours is an easy panel to pull, unless your seat belt reel is built into your door. In that case expect to pay a little more.