how to remove door sills?

[Ziggens96]

alright guys...i bought a panel popper and i got the door sill out in about a minute without breaking ANYTHING. this is the way to do it, just like luke said. if you try it with a screwdriver, immense frustration will ensue.

[blueapplesoda]

muscle them straight up and out. i Broke the clips, but i didnt see any other way of getting the damn thing out. I did crack one of the sills though....so i guess, be careful?

[blueapplesoda]

what i wanna know is how the hell you get them back on

after reading this thread, I lol'd.







lemme go try it on my parts car and ill tell u.

[e304me]

what i wanna know is how the hell you get them back on

[SeanS]

that is cabrio-specific, but i truly appreciate the informative response. thank you, and also on behalf of cabrio owners who try this in the future, thank you.

Not a problem. Best of luck.

[Ziggens96]

I have a cabrio so I'm not sure if its the same or not but I'll explain anyway just in case...... my sills are fairly deep due to the extra support needed for the cabrio frame. There are 4 of those plastic tabs that you can pop off with a flat head screw driver then remove the "female" part out as well. the tricky part is where the seatbelt is attached and there is a plastic cover that has an arch shaped slot for the seatbelt metal attachment to move between useage position (forward) and when not in use (sprinh tension back). THAT plastic cover has 2 tabs as well that lock the sill in place, you need to pop the rear one first with force, then rotate it upwards, move the seatbelt metal thingy forward and pop the front tab of the cover next. You may break the middle/lower part of the cover under the arch slot so be careful. once that cover is off, then you should be able to slide the sill forward and out.

I hope this will help you or someone else in the future.

Sean

that is cabrio-specific, but i truly appreciate the informative response. thank you, and also on behalf of cabrio owners who try this in the future, thank you.

[dude8383]

dude i had the same problem as you...i just used a screwdriver and yanked them the fuck out...w/e leverage you can get is what you deal with lol. im sure the clips are gonna be dirt cheap so its not a big deal if break some.

[SeanS]

I have a cabrio so I'm not sure if its the same or not but I'll explain anyway just in case...... my sills are fairly deep due to the extra support needed for the cabrio frame. There are 4 of those plastic tabs that you can pop off with a flat head screw driver then remove the "female" part out as well. the tricky part is where the seatbelt is attached and there is a plastic cover that has an arch shaped slot for the seatbelt metal attachment to move between useage position (forward) and when not in use (sprinh tension back). THAT plastic cover has 2 tabs as well that lock the sill in place, you need to pop the rear one first with force, then rotate it upwards, move the seatbelt metal thingy forward and pop the front tab of the cover next. You may break the middle/lower part of the cover under the arch slot so be careful. once that cover is off, then you should be able to slide the sill forward and out.

I hope this will help you or someone else in the future.

Sean

[Van Westervelt]

4 out of 5 times they break at least a little. Just buy new ones. Old plastic is brittle.

[Rocla]

Daniel mentioned a tool called a "Panel Popper", basically a screwdriver handle on a small pry bar, but with a splayed end.

A.K.A. Snake tongue.

If it wont come off just with bare hand tha popper will be the way.

[optimusp517]

I broke mine when i tried. wasn't too durable

[StereoInstaller1]

OK, so the mounts for that sill are just a fucking bitch. All installers hate them, they wonder why I love this car. Daniel mentioned a tool called a "Panel Popper", basically a screwdriver handle on a small pry bar, but with a splayed end.

Mine say "SnapOn" and are about $25 each, I have 3 different styles.

Klein tools makes a good one, there are several cheapies on the market. I found http://www.autotoys.com/x/catalog/DO...UXE_p_683.html and that would do fine too. The only problem I can see is that I have no clue where to buy them, since I have a SnapOn dealer to waste my money on.

I heartily recommend you wait until you have the correct tool before even attempting to remove that evil sill.

So, now how to remove the damn thing? Slip the tool under the sill, slide it along the length until you find a mounting clip/stud/whateverthehellyoucallit. Pry firmly but gently under that clip then keep pulling with your fingers while attacking the next one...keep it going and you will be done.

Remember to also remove the seat belt slider (if coupe) or you will have a hard time making the seat belt move smoothly after you run the cables.

I also recommend you run 3 cables, so later upgrades are easier.

Luke

[DanielHStout]

You can use a panel popper or just a screwdriver to pry them loose. Its hard to get them off w/o breaking some clips.

[BDSax]

in the junk yard, 90% of the time if you pull off the door seal it will rip it out intact, it is really durrable

[browntown]

yeah i cant find the post, but I think it amounted to slide forward, and pull. I remember thinking I would break them. Got a junkyard near by? Try on one of those cars first.