i3man

Has anyone removed the interior suicide door panels? I'm taking my 8 to have a dent taken out and the guy will have to remove the interior panels and I was just wondering if there is anything I should tell him to beware of so he doesn't break anything?

I know someone mentioned that when you remove the front door panels you need to be careful because you could break a clip somewhere.

I'm thinking if it's not too much trouble I should remove the panels myself and probably save $100. The guy is charging me $150 and says it will take about 3 hours with most of the time spent removing and putting back the interior panels.

Also, once the panels are removed, is there direct access to the outer body panel? These guys have to be able to get to the outer body panel to pop the dent and I know sometimes they drill holes if they don't have access. I don't want this guy drilling any holes and would rather leave the dent if this is not going to be a pretty straight forward operation.

Being that the 8 is still relatively new, this guy says he has never worked on one before and that is probably the case with most repair guys.

Tamas

iTrader: (1)

Be very careful with those panels. It is very easy to break some tabs while removing them. If you don't know where and what kind of fasteners there are, you are guaranteed to break something.
I don't have my service manual CD with me here because I'm on a business trip but can give you the exact information you need in case you can wait until the weekend.

WHealy

Here's a pic of what the rear door looks like with the interior trim removed.

As I recall, removing the bezel around the opening mechanism was a sinch. But getting the cover off the pull handle was a little tougher. You have to remove it to get to a few screws that secure the handle and the middle of the trim. Otherwise the comment on the clips still holds.

Personally, I'd let them do it and take the risk if anything is damaged. JMO.

i3man

Thanks guys much appreciated.

WHealy is that the outer body panel that can be seen in the hole on the top? That is right about where my dent is.

Tamas I won't be taking the car in for repair until Saturday so I have until the weekend.

I'd much rather take the panels off myself and if I break something at least I'll know. I'm sure if the repair guy breaks a clip somewhere he won't say anything and just try and cover it up and put everything back.

I'll print that picture out and give it to the guy if I do decide to let him remove the panels himself.

beachdog

Aren't the rear doors aluminum? That'll make the dent removal just a little tougher. Be sure to tell the technician.

WHealy

i3man,

My dealer didn't stock the clips back in Dec. You might want to order 10 tomorrow. I think there are 1$ a piece or something like that. My memory is that there are 6 in that trim piece for some reason (just found a pic that I'll include here that i never posted). Just make sure you can get some as you are bound to break several. Around here, Mazda charges 10% extra to have it shiped overnight.

As for the hole and the body panel ... yea I think so. Take a look at this post for more pics.

i3man

I think it'd be cheaper for me to bust all 6 clips and buy new ones than to have the repair guy charge me labor for removing and reinstalling the door panel (and not knowing how many he busted himself.)