2008 C6 Coupe

I have a question about installing door trim panels after replacing door speakers (rear speakers were a "piece of cake" by comparison).

Several posts mention that re-installing the panels is easy. However, I had some problem getting all three of the metal tabs to align correctly at the top of the door (windows were down).

Am I missing something or just "challenged" by simple things? Previous posts made it sound like the tabs simply dropped into place. Mine did not simply drop into place. I know lots of you have done this before so are there any tips you can offer?

Also, the panel retainers had a great fit and required some effort with the correct panel removing tools. I notice the retainers and grommets don't hold as strongly the second time around. Should the retainers and/or grommets be replaced when the panels are re-installed? I assume there is some wear/damage when they are removed and don't want vibration problems down the road.

Thanks for any help you can provide. Waiting for responses before attempting the second door so help if you can!

 

It's definitely a pain to get the panel back on, but it's one of those things that once you get it the light bulb comes on and the next one goes on much easier. Two things I found useful when putting the panels back on were to angle the bottom of the panel away from the door and to squeeze the top of the panel hard towards the outside as you're getting the tabs to "drop" into that slot. BEFORE you push in on the panel make sure all the pins are aligned to the grommets. It's very easy to snap off a pin if it's not already sitting in the start of the hole in the grommet.

I have had my doors panels off 3 times and the pins & grommets seem to hold as tight now as they did originally. If you're not getting the tabs hooked over properly it could be what is making it seem like the pins aren't as tight. However they are not infinite use and it may be you need to swap them out. They're not terribly expensive and any of the forum parts vendors could help you out. I've used Gene Cully (gmpartshouse.com) a bunch of times for GM parts and he's always been quick & reliable.

 

Komoman,

As usual, thanks for the information. Hopefully, the light bulb will work this time!

 

In addition to what TheKokoman said, I usually try to work from either left to right or vice-versa. Trying to get all three tabs to align at once doesn't (at least in my experience) work very well. I've found that once you figure out the technique to getting the door panel back on the first time it gets a lot easier each time after that.

As for the white plastic clips, I had a variety of things happen to mine. Most of them seemed to hold fine after reinstalling the door panel but with some of the other ones (both the male and female) they didn't hold onto each other like they did originally, resulting in an annoying squeak while driving.

 

OK, I gotta ask.. why is it everyone tends to say Koko instead of Komo??

No slight intended Chris, just a thing repeated I'm curious about.

OK, so we use way more Haas than Komo machines at this point, but the name has already stuck.

 

If this helps shed any light on the subject, I think it's some sort of optical illusion thing similar to what happens when people see "the" repeated at the end and beginning of a paragraph. Most people (including myself) tend to only see one "the".

Or then again, maybe not...

 

thesubfloor,

Thanks for the reply!