Rear Door Panels

[MaxMar]

How do you take off those stinkin rear door panels? They are a BITCH. I am trying to paint the interior a shinier black cause it was starting to look kind of dull and tired and my old 95 MAX SE deserves to shine as best she can. I can't even take off the Door Estucheon that goes under the door handle, I tried and I broke one and still didn't take it out. The front ones were a breeze, so what's the deal with the back ones? Can any one out there help me...PLEASE? Any suggestions on how to remove the other interior trim Stuff? I need all the help I can get. Does any one know if the interior ceiling can be changed out from cloth to vinyl or leather? Ok I should stop now cause I'm even confused

[mad max 98]

i did the same thing too , try opening the handle before pulling that thing ur talking about be rough but dont break it

[yvfed1]

Greetings!

I recall asking the same very question a while ago on this very forum to no avail...therefore fell compelled to offer some advice.

I removed all the door panels many times (for soundproofing).
The trick is to remember that enchelon is actually locks in place. The way I do it is this:
Take a medium size flat screwdriver (cover the blade with masking tape) and insert it carefully betweent the top of the handle and the door panel. Press it and move it sidevise untill you see how the enchelon sits in place - watch for small latch which is locking it. Once you see it, take the SECOND screwdriver, small one with about 2-3mm blade, and press on the latch - this thing will get out right on. Just take your time.
As for the ceiling - assuning you're referring to a headliner- the answer is yes, you can re-cover it. Please keep in mind though it's difficult to remove/reinstall it. You'll need bend it to remove from the car (once you've disconnected all the hardware). Mine 98 SE has a sunroof which makes it even less pleasant. Once out of car, you'll be able to determent how to re-cover it. It WILL be laborious and time consuming; OEM has thin covering precisely glued to the headliner; to cover it with anything thickier will be tricky, to say the least if attempted, consider that glueing anything thick MIGHT and WILL deform it. Perhaps, once out of car, you could take to a speciality place - there's some advertise thier services on the NET; search for "headliner".

PS Once you've removed panels/ceiling, it's the best time to get some soundproofing stick (literally) in! Even one layer on the ceiling of the car and cheetmetal of the doors makes a BIG difference!
Hope it helps,
Eugene