Rear Door Panel Problem

[mikester]

I hope someone out there has a solution for this.
The interior for my wagon is in pretty nice shape but not showroom. When I was taking everything apart the upholstered top part of the rear door panels separated from the main lower panel. Both sides were repaired long before I bought the car. All of the plastic posts are broken, some are missing and whoever tried to fix it used some kind of adhesive to hold it all together. Maybe epoxy. Well it didnt hold.

I posted this question on FB last night. The only person to reply so far said to use flat head screws. Peel the vinyl back, drill holes, put in the screws and glue the vinyl back.
I was thinking of using plastic door panel clips, gluing them exactly where the original posts were located, attaching the uppers to the lowers and any post that stops the panel from fitting tight on the door gets cut off with a pair of snips.

There has to be someone out there thats fixed this problem. What did you do ??

 

[ssn696]

I just took a pair of rear door panels apart, and unlike the front door panels, GM chose plastic to save money, while the frotn ones were formed metal. I propose you find a pair of ratty coupe or wagon/sedan front door panels and strip the metal top piece out of them, then go with the flathead screw idea backed up by a flat washer and nut. That's my plan, but I have not executed it yet...

 

[Longroof79]

Mich,
I've have already encountered this problem. Many of the 4-dr rear door panels are commonly subject to this problem. I ended up using construction adhesive and multiple clamps to hold the piece while it's setting. Where the little mushroom heads were broken off, I put a dab of adhesive in those same spots. It seems to hold pretty well.
The construction adhesive I used is a Loctite. It's a ivory colored substance.
Unfortunately, I have no pics of the repair process.

Before gluing the pieces on, if you do choose to do it this way, just make sure the vinyl upholstery pieces are glued back in place. They also are prone to loosening.

Also, be careful with the top pieces. They can become very brittle and easily develop cracks.

 

[ssn696]

Mine are both cracked right in the middle of the panel, so that decided it for me...

 

[mikester]

Mich,
I've have already encountered this problem. Many of the 4-dr rear door panels are commonly subject to this problem. I ended up using construction adhesive and multiple clamps to hold the piece while it's setting. Where the little mushroom heads were broken off, I put a dab of adhesive in those same spots. It seems to hold pretty well.
The construction adhesive I used is a Loctite. It's a ivory colored substance.
Unfortunately, I have no pics of the repair process.

Before gluing the pieces on, if you do choose to do it this way, just make sure the vinyl upholstery pieces are glued back in place. They also are prone is loosening.

Also, be careful with the top pieces. They can become very brittle and easily develop cracks.

Thanks for reply Jack. That was my first thought. PL adhesive. Then my friend came over and offered up his advice. As far as the tops being brittle, one is already cracked and in two pieces but I think it was that way long before I bought the car.
I have to be REALLY careful when I take the old wipes off of them. I think Im going to use a small cutoff wheel on a Dremel tool to cut the staples instead of prying on them like I did with the fronts.

 

[ssn696]

I had a helluva time cutting the staples off. I used the cutoff wheel and tried not to cut the plastic too deeply - hard with the inside corner, but be very careful pulling on the staples - the aluminum of the wipers bends very easily.

 

[Longroof79]

Thanks for reply Jack. That was my first thought. PL adhesive. Then my friend came over and offered up his advice. As far as the tops being brittle, one is already cracked and in two pieces but I think it was that way long before I bought the car.
I have to be REALLY careful when I take the old wipes off of them. I think Im going to use a small cutoff wheel on a Dremel tool to cut the staples instead of prying on them like I did with the fronts.

Many rear door panel trim pieces that I've come across, were already cracked. I think they come from the factory that way. Yes, the PL adhesive is what I've used. That stuff dries like a rock. I've repaired from shoes to console lid, etc. with that stuff.
Those pieces are obviously poorly designed.

I've never replaced the inner sweeps. Mine were in nice, pliable condition.