I've been asked to help a friend change her driver's door on a 93
Cutlass Ciera. I've generally only worked on Toyotas, which at first
glance seem a lot more straightforward. Please could anybody tell me
the procedure for removal and replacement of the driver's side door.
Would appreciate any and all advice. Thank you.

"RedEye" <attewell@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1154329942.853654.62980@i42g2000cwa.googlegro ups.com...
> I've been asked to help a friend change her driver's door on a 93
> Cutlass Ciera. I've generally only worked on Toyotas, which at first
> glance seem a lot more straightforward. Please could anybody tell me
> the procedure for removal and replacement of the driver's side door.
> Would appreciate any and all advice. Thank you.
>

More information please, with regard to what you see as complex.

You should be able to knock off the retainer clips, and then drift out the
hinge pins. The door will then simply come right off.

You'll want to replace the brass bushings when putting the new door on so
pay attention to how they go on before removing the old door. They are
commonly available at most automotive aftermarket stores.

The coil spring in there will give you some anxious moments and may even
give rise to some new words in your vocabulary. I generally place it in a
vise and compress it completely. Then I wrap a coat hanger through the
center of it and around the coils to keep them compressed. Try to keep it
evenly wrapped so that the coil does not uncompress on one side when you
remove it from the vise. You can then insert it into the mounts and you
will likely have to give it a pry with a large screw driver or the likes to
get it partially seated. That is the part that usually gives you some
trouble. Once you've got it seated, or what appears to be seated enough,
cut the coat hanger to release the spring. Swearing during this process is
not considered a sin or a lapse in social grace.

--

-Mike-
mmarlowREMOVE@alltel.net

Thanks Mike. I guess the complexity is that I'm not clear on how the
retainer clips knock off. I've never worked on a GM and at the risk of
sounding daft, I'm going to ask anyway: How do you remove the retainer
clips?"

Also, thanks for the vocabulary tip - I really don't like the look of
that spring!


Mike Marlow wrote:
> "RedEye" <attewell@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:1154329942.853654.62980@i42g2000cwa.googlegro ups.com...
> > I've been asked to help a friend change her driver's door on a 93
> > Cutlass Ciera. I've generally only worked on Toyotas, which at first
> > glance seem a lot more straightforward. Please could anybody tell me
> > the procedure for removal and replacement of the driver's side door.
> > Would appreciate any and all advice. Thank you.
> >
>
> More information please, with regard to what you see as complex.
>
> You should be able to knock off the retainer clips, and then drift out the
> hinge pins. The door will then simply come right off.
>
> You'll want to replace the brass bushings when putting the new door on so
> pay attention to how they go on before removing the old door. They are
> commonly available at most automotive aftermarket stores.
>
> The coil spring in there will give you some anxious moments and may even
> give rise to some new words in your vocabulary. I generally place it in a
> vise and compress it completely. Then I wrap a coat hanger through the
> center of it and around the coils to keep them compressed. Try to keep it
> evenly wrapped so that the coil does not uncompress on one side when you
> remove it from the vise. You can then insert it into the mounts and you
> will likely have to give it a pry with a large screw driver or the likes to
> get it partially seated. That is the part that usually gives you some
> trouble. Once you've got it seated, or what appears to be seated enough,
> cut the coat hanger to release the spring. Swearing during this process is
> not considered a sin or a lapse in social grace.
>
> --
>
> -Mike-
> mmarlowREMOVE@alltel.net

"RedEye" <attewell@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1154377648.676874.96060@s13g2000cwa.googlegro ups.com...

> Thanks Mike. I guess the complexity is that I'm not clear on how the
> retainer clips knock off. I've never worked on a GM and at the risk of
> sounding daft, I'm going to ask anyway: How do you remove the retainer
> clips?"
>

They usually pop off pretty easily just by prying the off with a big
screwdriver. They are pretty light weight retainers and you can probably
get on them with a pair of side cutters if you want and just tear them
apart. You'll need a pretty long punch to drift the pins out after you
remove the retainers. And... a BFH.

> Also, thanks for the vocabulary tip - I really don't like the look of
> that spring!
>

You're gonna love that part!

--

-Mike-
mmarlowREMOVE@alltel.net