can someone please give me an answer to this.how do i get these off.I tried a couple things I was told here and they wont come off.I dont want to break them.please no guesses,I have heard all of them.I have managed to strip the whole interior without a problem until i got to these things.its the piece your arm would rest on when the windows down.it looks simple,and i know it probably is but its got me stumped.

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~mike~
1 superclean 86IROC-Z

 

Removal of the door panel is necessary. Once the panel is off, you'll see that the 'arm rest' you describle is held in place by plastic studs which pass through the door panel itself and which are fastened from the inside.

JamesC

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if the studs pass threw the door panel itself how would i remove the panel first?and if the panel is removed first and the studs pass threw it as you say wouldnt the top panel/trim then just lift off?

 

and im not trying to be a smart **s,Im just missing something.thanks for your help.

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~mike~
1 superclean 86IROC-Z

 

The black trim at the top of the door panel comes of with the door panel. Make sure you Have the window all the way down. Then disconent the door panel for the door( it still will be concected to the black trim just kind of flipping there). I start from the back of the door pushing outward on the black trim and pulling up at the same time and working forward as it comes loose. take your time and don't pull to much on the cardboard part of the door panel or it will break off from the black trim.

 

once this is done, if you want to remove the trim piece from the pannel, there are little speed nuts on the back side, they're kind of a pain, but a pair of pliers should be able to get them off. Be careful though, they tend to break easy. Good Luck
almost forgot, if the little studs do break, don't sweat it, you can use an epoxy to hold the pannel and trim piece together when you put it back on.

[This message has been edited by 86ZRICHIE (edited January 10, 2001).]

 

thats a clear answer,thanks.

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~mike~
1 superclean 86IROC-Z

 

Sorry my answer wasn't clear enough last week, it's pretty hard to explain in text, kinda hard to understand too, huh?

If you'll send me your e-mail I'll send you some pics that may make it clearer.

My e-mail is roadpiper@hotmail.com

 

Those speed nuts have a strange indented hex pattern. There must ba a tool to remove it properly, but I haven't investigated it yet. I was going to swap mine with another from a spare door the because the melted studs holdinf on the plastic treim piece that runs along the glass had come loose at the front. Instead I just used hot melt glue gun to re-attach it.

 

well,I got them off,and there wasnt any nuts to remove,this is on a 92 rs,i havnt got to my iroc yet.They just popped in plastic slots on the back.Maybe theres a few differant ways GM did it.What were they thinkin when they came up with this crap.I am determined when i put it back together to make it easier to remove the next time.There has to be a way.thanks for your help

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~mike~
1 superclean 86IROC-Z

 

yeah, i'd say a lot of things GM does don't make much sense. on the speednuts, i doubt there's a tool short of a huge alan wrench, what they did was take a normal speed nut and put it on upside down. Retarded eh? Oh well, I bet those imports, a.k.a. weed wackers with wheels, make even less sense.

 

The nuts everuone's talking about should be holding the black, upper door panel to the cardboard door panel itself.
But GM has been known to change horses midstream.

As for removing them, the easiest way I've found (without breaking them), is to squeeze them in with needle nose pliers, just dig the pliers in the cardboard a little,catch the outside of the nut,( the part that would contact whatever they were tightening to if they weren't upside down) & squeeze them till they open a bit, this will trash the speednut, just get more at the hardware.
The studs break pretty easy, this is the best way I've found to get the nuts off without breaking the studs.

 

yeh,I think there is about four differant ways they mounted them.anyway thanks for all your help.I know it will take me twice aslong to get them back on without rattles and breaking stuff.I plan on somehow making it one piece (the door trim and panel) so it just clips in and lifts off.I dont know?

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~mike~
1 superclean 86IROC-Z

 

There's only one way they mounted them. You guys must be talking about different parts of the car... ie he's talking about how the black top trim of the door panel keys into the door, and some people are talking about how the trim attaches to the panel. GM used the exact same trim from 82-92. I've had the door panels off 3 91's, an 87 and an 83, I guarentee they're all the same. It attaches to the door with a few clips molded on the back edge, they're removed by pushing in and up with the window down. The trim is attached to the door panel with plastic pegs molded on the trim that protrude thru the door panel where tin speednuts are screwed down to hold them tight.

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Drew
The lone Thirdgenner of the Apocalypse
predatorman@hotmail.com
My Website
87 Iroc
91 Formula 14.3@98mph
91 RS Convertible
91 Firebird V6
92 S10
98 Grand Am GT

 

yeh,and I have both a 86 iroc and a 92 rs sitting in my driveway right now and they are not the same.thats very clear.I know some people think gm did everything by the book on every car,well they didnt.there are facts you think you might know,but the truth is only gm knows.alls im gonna say.

 

and to think gm used the same fasteners on every car for 11 years is crazy.

 

Prove it. Lets see some pictures of the vastly different parts. If you have something different then its aftermarket.

------------------
Drew
The lone Thirdgenner of the Apocalypse
predatorman@hotmail.com
My Website
87 Iroc
91 Formula 14.3@98mph
91 RS Convertible
91 Firebird V6
92 S10
98 Grand Am GT

 

ALRIGHT,I went out and looked at it and the trim is the same but the fasteners are not the same,for one they arent even the same color fastener.thanks to all.anyway has anyone mounted them back on using a differant way?

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~mike~
1 superclean 86IROC-Z

 

The fasteners might vary a little... by size and color mostly, but they're the same basic generic speednut that GM uses for various uses.

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Drew
The lone Thirdgenner of the Apocalypse
predatorman@hotmail.com
My Website
87 Iroc
91 Formula 14.3@98mph
91 RS Convertible
91 Firebird V6
92 S10
98 Grand Am GT

 

prove it to who,you dont pay me to prove things,anyway I got all the help I needed from someone who doesnt know it all.the fasteners are differant.

 

LOL I've been around these cars since 95. In that time I've had the interiors completely disassembled out of 5 cars. I also swapped the door trim between my 83 and 87. On everyone of these cars the trim and the fasteners were the same. If you want me to believe that you're not confused all you have to do is post a simple picture of the fasteners.

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Drew
The lone Thirdgenner of the Apocalypse
predatorman@hotmail.com
My Website
87 Iroc
91 Formula 14.3@98mph
91 RS Convertible
91 Firebird V6
92 S10
98 Grand Am GT

 

Okay,I came on here to ask for help and then im told that im not looking at what im looking at?I will send you the pics if you want but it will be when I get around to taken them.Since 95 you have been around these cars ,well I grew up with them and still dont claim to know it all. Just a note,when I post a question on this board now I rarely look at moderater responses or anyone with over 2.000 post because thier responses are always "its this way or no way"or "no gm never did that or put that there".so sure footed in thier answers.Just because someone has over 1,000 post on here and have worked on these cars since "95" doesnt mean anything.I think the most help comes from people who are here o help each other ,not make themselves look smarter.If these were the same fasteners I would not come on here and say they are differant.why would I be doing that.maybe it has been apart(the 92)and someone did change them,im not throwing out that idea either. but I wouldnt now for a fact that they are not factory so im not going to say they are,I will leave that up to the 5,000 post 12 year experienced moderaters and people with way too muc time on thier hands.Im not the only one who feels this away,look at the post and responses on the old boards and look at the new.either alot of people are gone or they just sit back and read,because they are not posting or responding.

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~mike~
1 superclean 86IROC-Z

 

Believe whatever you want. Besides that I never said I know everythign, cause I don't. But I do know my personal experiances and I know enough to make logical conclusions from what I've seen. If GM did something different than I want to know about it. Thats why I said to prove me wrong. If I'm wrong I'd like to know cause I don't like to spread inaccurate info. The biggest problem with these boards is that the majority of the people posting don't know what they're talking about. When people post things they can't back up it adds to the confusion. Thats why I say back up your statements. You don't give any background to back that up except to say "they're different".

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Drew
The lone Thirdgenner of the Apocalypse
predatorman@hotmail.com
My Website
87 Iroc
91 Formula 14.3@98mph
91 RS Convertible
91 Firebird V6
92 S10
98 Grand Am GT

 

okay drew im lying is that good enough for you.I do have a camera and I said I would send you a pic.what if i didnt own a camera like 100,s of other people on here(if there is still 100 on here).Then you would say I cant show a pic so I cant prove it,like I said you dont pay me to prove things.If someone wants to listen to what im saying then fine.but if you or anyone else knows differant thats fine too.Anyway I noticed you didnt reply to hep,because that was already done and I had thanked the people who helped,1 with pics and then you came in.If your this sMart you shouldve or couldve helped me out at the start instead of waiting until you had a chance to maybe prove someone wrong.Now I think enough has been said,not to mention this topic was over before you got here,and please if you must respond one more time and I will let you have the last word,because everytime you reply I get e-mail notification and its getting old.I have said I could be wrong,they couldve been changed,and that is it.I have no reason to lie,and the only thing confusing is that there are atleast 5 people who responded,and only one to cause so much headache.and still I do thank you for your input.

 

I can appreciate that, and I'm sorry you mistook my post as something negative. I didn't answer your question earlier because it had been addressed by the time I'd seen it. FWIW I answered the same basic question you asked over a year ago in a similar thread.

------------------
Drew
The lone Thirdgenner of the Apocalypse
predatorman@hotmail.com
My Website
87 Iroc
91 Formula 14.3@98mph
91 RS Convertible
91 Firebird V6
92 S10
98 Grand Am GT