door panel

[joseph222]

Can someone give me a few basic steps or pointers for removing the door panels - anything to be cautious of? I would hate to break a few unreplaceable parts. I've searched the forums but found nothing. My car is a 75 914 2.0.

I need to access the door latch mechanisms. My driver's exterior door handle works very well, however the interior handle requires pulling strongly all the way and just at the last bit releases the door. Also, the key slot barely turns and now no longer unlocks the door. Am I correct in assuming I will need to cleanup and lube everything, plus possibly install a new plastic thing from PP?

I do not have a manual (am ordering one), so I searched for the tech article on door latch removal by PP but found nothing. Is this article no longer available? Thanks.
Joseph

[Bleyseng]

Remove cover off latch
Remove 2 hex bolts that hold the armrest on and the 3 bottoms screws.
Pop the window winder cover off and remove screw, take off winder.
Insert a flat screwdriver carefully under the edge of the door panel to pop the snaps all around except the top.
Lift up to get panel hooks out of slots.
Geoff

[Kevin Powers]

also remove black plastic insert on inside door release. take out srew and remove the chrome surround. 2 1" putty knives on either side of the plastic pop ins minimize damage to the backing when prying off the int panel. replace moisture barrier before reassem. on the ext handle there is small allen screw on the inside of the door cavity, lube it, it's a groaner. lube the little nut on back/outside of the handle/door prior to loosening and be careful. if you break the little potmetal stud you are screwed with a capital S.

kevin

[Zeke]

OH, Noooooo.........., not with a capital S......!!!!!!!!!!

[joseph222]

EXACTLY the information I needed!
Thank you so much.
Joseph

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Note that the later cars did not have an insert for the interior door handle surround. On those, you just pull the door-opening lever (as if opening the door from inside the car) and you should be able to find the screw.

One hint: Do not mix up the window crank screw and the door handle surround screw. The window winder one is just a tiny bit longer, and will just barely interfere with the handle's ability to open far enough to open the door.

Hmm, that brings something to mind! Before you tear into the door panel, try removing the screw in the door handle surround. If the door opens easily, then you need a shorter screw for the surround.

Oh, and there is a tech article about removing the outer door handle, which has pretty much all the info mentioned above.

--DD