Advice for getting rear door panel back ON

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drag sgt

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Okay, this is a really dumb problem to have, but I've spent too much time failing at this task and I'm mentally broken. I'm doing some interior rehab on the Suburban, starting with the door panels: replacing interior door handles, scrubbing and cleaning the panel, replacing all the retainer clips, broken/worn switches, doing plastic repair, basically giving it "the works" as part of my spring cleaning.

Now the issue: I've got a nice clean panel with brand new hardware, and I can't get the damned panel to hang properly again over the top lip of the door. I tried several times and altering approches: window up, window down, various angles of approach, trying to coerce the top to drop down with a rubber mallet. All this just resulted in the loss of seeral clips which snapped as I continuously fuddled around unsuccessfully to accomplish this routine action.

To top it off last night, the final straw occurred when I tried to flex the top lip of the panel out a little bit, which resulted in a large crack on the backside. Now I'll start my weekend--still on door panel 1 of 4--plastic welding the inside of the panel to repair my own damage.

This has had to happen to somebody else out there. I've been around these trucks half my life and have never encountered something that should be this easy, turn into something seemingly impossible to accomplish.
 

JOHNGAAA1

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Do it with the window down. Put the rear top edge over the metal edge of the door and rotate it down to the front. Then pull the panel down and make sure the holes line up behind it before you tap in the pin clips. Just take your time and do not force it.
 

454cid

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I don't recall specifically from when I did it, but you sort of hang it on the top edge, and then make sure all the pins line up, and then start seating the panel/pins. It wasn't hard at all.

Is it possible that your new pins are not correct?

Window down for sure.
 

drag sgt

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Do it with the window down. Put the rear top edge over the metal edge of the door and rotate it down to the front. Then pull the panel down and make sure the holes line up behind it before you tap in the pin clips. Just take your time and do not force it.

Okay, well when I go back at it this weekend, I'll do window-down, and try to swing it on rear-first.

I don't recall specifically from when I did it, but you sort of hang it on the top edge, and then make sure all the pins line up, and then start seating the panel/pins. It wasn't hard at all.

Is it possible that your new pins are not correct?

Window down for sure.

Yeah, just casually hanging on the top, pulling down, and pushing in the clips has 100% been my experience in the past. Right now I can't even get it to hang. This is the rear-passenger door so I don't know if they tend to be a bit trickier than the fronts.
 

HotWheelsBurban

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They are a little trickier because they aren't as big. My experience, from changing out my Burb's inside door handles last year, is pretty much what the others are saying. Best if the window is down, but on my driver's side second door, it doesn't go but halfway down. Required a little more coercing, but I got it back on. You do have to take your time lining up the pins that hold it on, cause they like to jump out of the slots in the panel. I think I ended up breaking a clip on each door before I was done though.
Another trick on the door panels,that I saw on YouTube, is to take the panel and swing it 90°( a quarter turn) so the end sits on the ground, and then you don't have to disconnect the harness from the window and lock switches. All I was doing on my Burb was the door handles; the other stuff in the doors works ( except for that one window).
 

Erik the Awful

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What year? I had the passenger door panel off my '89 Stepside this afternoon to install a repaired/repainted arm rest. I had to drop the rear of the panel over the lip first so I could swivel the part that covers the backside of the mirror into place and not break the plastic clip that holds it on.
 

454cid

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...I can't get the damned panel to hang properly again over the top lip of the door. I tried several times and altering approches: window up, window down, various angles of approach, trying to coerce the top to drop down with a rubber mallet. All this just resulted in the loss of seeral clips which snapped as I continuously fuddled around unsuccessfully to accomplish this routine action.

I'd double check you have things reassembled on the door correctly. Also, did you change out screws or clips or something that might be interfering with the top edge of the panel? I did not remove any window trim/edging/seals/whatever when I did my truck, but I'd assume screws were used.

What about something further down the panel..... lock/rod/handle/wiring? Again, I don't recall how it all fits together, but look for any place where something might hang up.
 

drag sgt

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Got back at it again this morning, and managed to get it in! I went with the window down, and instead of trying to hang it straight like the front doors, I tipped it in front-edge first at about a 60 degree angle or more--basically as steep as I could get it .

Once I managed to get that corner, I maneuvered myself around to the outside of the door so I could more easily see if the lip was properly hanging or catching, and began working the rest in. I still had to do a little coercion whenever it got stuck but eventually got it all hanging. A few taps with my palm got it the rest of the way down so I could clip things in. One door down, 3 to go. If the weather cooperates, hopefully I can finish the other back panel today.
 

454cid

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Got back at it again this morning, and managed to get it in! I went with the window down, and instead of trying to hang it straight like the front doors, I tipped it in front-edge first at about a 60 degree angle or more--basically as steep as I could get it .

Once I managed to get that corner, I maneuvered myself around to the outside of the door so I could more easily see if the lip was properly hanging or catching, and began working the rest in. I still had to do a little coercion whenever it got stuck but eventually got it all hanging. A few taps with my palm got it the rest of the way down so I could clip things in. One door down, 3 to go. If the weather cooperates, hopefully I can finish the other back panel today.

Great, glad to here it. I don't have back doors on my truck.
 
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