Stereo & Electronics - Does the plastic speaker trim on the door panel come off?

The entire piece, from the grilles for the 6.5s and tweets all the way to where it goes to the end of the doors, I have a gameplan, and I am wondering if itll come off without much hassle, My car is in storage, otherwise id study it, just wondered if somebody had already done it! thanks

It is available as a separate part but it doesn't come off easily. You have to remove the door panel first and then remove the pocket piece.

You have to remove the door panels to change out the speakers?! o_0

Ugh.

taking the door panel off is not a problem in the least, i've only owned the car a couple months and have already done it like 3 times lol. The question was if that piece came off, and can be put back on relatively easy. ??

If taking the door panel off is easy enough then removing the pocket is no more difficult. Just release the tabs/clips from the back side of the door panel.

cool i just hadnt looked into it and my car isnt here, there are tabs though that will release it and allow me to re-attach it?

Hmm ok, well what's all involved with taking off the door panel? I have to fix the window track anyhow.

I know how to do it on a Camaro - just did it this past weekend to replace my door speakers. Wasn't as hard as I was lead to believe. But, if it's a Bird, I don't know for sure if its the same. As far as removing the speaker covers, I would answer no, not without removing the door panels. My covers had four tabs on them, one on each side and top and bottom. The side tabs would have popped right out, but the top and bottom tabs would not have and I would have screwed something up for sure.
Three large screws and two small screws, and the whole door panel comes off. You gotta play with the door handle some to get that small section off, keeping an eye on the door locking piece, then lift up the panel slightly and its in your hands. Makes getting to your speakers (and just about everything else as far as that is concerned) a snap.

to me it sounds like the original question is on removing the entire map pocket / speaker pod piece, not just the grill.

in that case, it's not as easy. Well, removing is very easy, but reattachment is not. It's plastic welded on in several spots. Drilling or cutting those out is not too bad, but you need access to a plastic welder for polypropolyne plastic to re-weld it, or, use several very small sheet metal screws, short enough to not break through to the surface of the plastic.

theres mike, i was waiting for his input, that is no fun, i dont have access to a plastic welder, no biggie, ill just do what i want to do with it still on the door panel, figured itd just be easier to take it off!

Yeah. You have to remove the front door panels to take out the speakers. The speakers themselves are bigger than the grille so you can't just pop off the grill.

Here's the big thing:

The door plastic panel has L-shaped hooks molded into the door panel itself they

-----] kind of look like this. There is a tool {handle}------{ tip shaped like this , available anywhere looks like a screw driver handle and a { tip to catch the
------] ...... and push it upwards. The hook is sitting in a square punchout hole in the door itself. Push up the end of the L and that part of the door comes loose. Like four along the bottom, one up by the door handle and one at the other end of the door panel about the same height as the handle one.

Lift the panel as you are unhooking these ---] L hooks and the door panel comes right off.

Prior to this you would of course have taken the door arm rest off (four big phillips head screws) the door inside handle bezel (one screw then rotate it off) the lock button is a U shaped plastic piece that clips on to the lock rod, (to reinstall just push it onto the rod until is snaps.). you would have already pulled the plug in connectors for the window and mirror switches. Easy, no retaining clip or anything.

The main thing is once it is apart you can do it in half the time next time around. JUST DON'T yank the door panel STRAIGHT outwards you'll break off your ----] L clips which are molded into the panel cannot be replaced. Also on reinstall the plastic sheet moisture barrier is going to try to block your square cutouts where the L hooks are supposed to go, and the holes for the big phillips screws won't line up. Make a slash in the plastic where your phillips are going if needed.

good luck

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one more sorry attempt to show you what I am describing. The vertical * row is the door panel the ----] is the L hook on the inside face of the vertical panel ,goes into a square hole in the door itself.

You can also use a black zip tie (softer plastic I think) and a soldering iron to plastic-weld. The mexicans I used to work with, who did the body work, do that. You'd be surprised how strong it is and good it looks.

i know how to remove the door panel, that is not a problem at all, already done it a few times..... ill probably buy a new set of panels to attempt this project, dont wanna f*** up the current panels in the process