interior - passenger door

[Brentm]

86 hatch

My passengers side door panel is falling off, the door handle has 2 screws, top and far right side, the middle screw is messed, the little thing that holds it to the metal in the door is destroyed. how do I fix this? can I buy new clip things?

Second problem, then whole vinyl panel on the inside of the door is coming off, thers no screw (That I can see) just these weird little plug things that fit into holes in the metal on the door (but they dont lock in), how do I go about re attaching the panel to the metal. You cant even pull on the handle, because the whole door panel feels like its going to come off in your hand.

I will post some pictures if anybody wants to take a look at my problem.

[895spdforfree]

if i were in your shoes i would go to a local pickn pull and see if i got lucky with a new door panel, instead of buying new things for somethin thats fallin apart anyways

thats me though

[Brentm]

I think its time to bust out the duct tape and just supertape the back of the panel to the metal. (being in Canada, its the only logical thing to do)

[jonrichert]

i have access to a hatch parts car, its got a maroon interior, if you let me know what you need i can get you some parts dirt cheap.

[treadhead 1952]

Don't trip, like895spd4free says go to the local junkyard and wander about until you find one that has a good door panel on it. Take the screws out of the pull handle first and work your way in removing parts as you go. The plastic inserts that the screws go into to secure them to the metal are easily replaceable using a pair of pliers on the inside of the door to remove them. They just snap in place. Lot's of "weekend Warriors" get happy with their power tools when they don't need to.

If the hardboard(medium Density Fiberboard, the official name) of your door panel is damaged and won't hold the plastic pegs that hold it to the door, you will have to get a replacement panel (junkyard). The plastic pegs are found in the hardware section of the H.E.L.P. racks or generic replacement items. Since GM uses the same thing to hold their door panels on you got a easy time there. Once you have the door stripped down to do all this replacement/repair work, do yourself a favor and replace the big sheet of plastic that originally sealed the door. It is usually the first casualty of Amatuer Trim Mechanics. If you don't have any sticky putty, the stuff they used ariginally is called Dum Dum and comes in a big coil wrapped with paper in between the coils, you can duct tape it in place so that it covers all the holes that are present in the door metal inner panel before you put it back together. You'd be amazed at what that can do for making the inside a lot more quiet and seal it up so when you slam the doors and the windows are up you canactually feel a pressure difference, that's sealed!

If you don't get that feeling then it's time to think about new weather strips in the doors and such. Since these cars oare 20+ yaers old now the little stuff is going to start being problematic and need attention from time to time. Unless you have an Uncle who is a real wrench then you need to get familiar with your car. The factory service manual and updates that they have a link to here someplace can really help you there. Most car dealerships use fresh off the street first time employees in the bodyshop to do trim work so you gotta figure it ain't rocket science.