96 sedan loose door panels

[buffman]

Originally Posted by '97ventureowner

That's probably why the clips are so cheap at the dealer,(under .50 each).

the xmas trees as I call them are dirt cheap, but I was refering to the retaining clip that they fit into on the door panel istelf. Hard to buy replacements when the clips come molded as part of the panel

[Kgilljr]

After reading all the comments, I took a good look at my '96 wagon door panels. As described, the clip area on the panels was broken away and would not retain the clip. So, I drilled and screwed the upper corners of the lower part of the panels to the door frame. Wow!! What a difference. It's so quiet I had to turn down the radio. I can even hear the turn signals and the mechanical fan running. Thanks!

[94Roadywagon]

My 94 Roady wagon had broken clip holders on the inside of the door panels. I took off the door panels and used JB weld to glue back the pieces that I found broken off. I used JB weld to glue some metal pieces I shaped from sheet metal to fabricate the broken clip holders that had large chunks missing from them. The JB weld works good. Make sure to apply to a clean area. Let it dry for a day or so with the panel out of the car. Mine is holding for over a year now.

[ilgoldstein]

It a shame you didn't photograph the fix. Hindsight is always 20/20.

[Rudy888]

Courtesy of 97ventureowner: http://www.impalassforum.com/tech/interior/windowfix/

He went to some trouble to locate the page for me as I have some broken regulator slides. With the part #'s, I was able to go to GMDirect and order the parts. As soon as they get here I'll be pulling door panels on my 92 RM and replacing some slides.

I really appreciate the detective work as I was stumped.

[robbie_NH]

I initiated this thread. Here's what I finally did last weekend.

I had my local mechanic pull off the driver's door panel to fix the window regulator (the oval-shaped plastic track guide broke in half, the new round-shaped roller is GM #9666748) because the window lowered crooked. He left the door panel off. Note there are six white barbs that attach the driver's door panel to the door frame - 2 front, 2 bottom, 2 rear. Be sure to use a removal tool (available at auto parts) to pry under each barb to pull the panel away from the door frame. Not using the tool will probably break the barb's mount in the door panel.

I repaired the panel crack forward of the armrest by gluing some 1/16" thick styrene (from hobby shop) over the area secured with Gorilla Glue. Be sure to clamp it after gluing because the glue foams up and expands. A drop of this glue goes a long way. I also used the glue to bind a couple broken attachment points of the map pocket to the door panel. Watch the glue as it expands to catch any excess that shows. Note that water activates this glue.

The wood/chrome/backing trim assembly on the door I repaired as follows; it is not necessary to remove the door panel for this. The problem seems to be that the tabs coming out the back of the wood-grained piece go through the chrome piece and backing piece into the panel's padding. These tabs break due to stress. First, remove the door latch/speaker/lock button panel (single screw and a couple connectors) and the door pull strap by peeling back each end and removing the large philips-head screw. Next, separate the trim pieces from the door panel. With a drill press, counter-sink five equally spaced holes into the top and into the bottom backing strips then place the backing into its recess in the padding (can use the wood-grained strip to align) and secure with flat-head screws. Next, twist off flush the tabs from the back of the wood-grained pieces, except leave one or two if possible that have the barbed ends on them to use for alignment. Take 3M 1/2" wide double-sided grey tape (3M #03609NA) to secure the chrome piece to the backing using 2" or longer strips at the very ends and 1" or longer between every tab or hole. Do the same with the wood-grain strips to affix to the chrome piece. This tape does raise the height of the trim a little, but this is the same tape used to secure the exterior rubber rub strips to the chrome panels so it should hold these in place permanently.