F22

I've seen a lot of threads on this, including repair on the broken ribs. Allow me to add my take on this problem. My 95' had both door panels loose on the top, since I purchased it six months or so ago. I finally decided to fix it last weekend. I didn't have a computer available, so I had to use the 'direct observation' or head scratching way of figuring it out. The ribs weren't broken either, so no problem there.

The biggest problem is the design. The outer edge of the door panel is supposed to hook over the inner edge of the door. It is held in place by a half dozen plastic fasterners.
Those plastic (and pliable) fasteners along the bottom are the only thing holding the door panel in place. But the biggest problem, that I saw was the weather stripping on either end at the top of the door.

This is a huge 3/4 inch thick foam rubber on each end that pushes the door panel upwards against those little fasteners on the bottom! No wonder the door panel can't seat at the top. Now to remove the door panel. The right tool really helps and I used a Lisle Door Upholstery Remover, with the fork shape and wide face. It is thin and doesn't damage the fasteners or the door panels. Well worth the $10-$12 on a $600 door panel. They pop right out.

So I eyeballed the weather stripping right where the door panel sat on both the front end of the door and the back end of the door and marked it. Then I took a sharp, short knife and carved just about all of it, leaving only a 1/4 inch for cushioning the door panel against the top of the door.

Now the door panel sits with a lot less resistance than before, but it would still easily pop out. I figured out, what many others had figured out and eyed the large and unused 'tab' that stuck out the back side of the structure of the inner door itself, about half way down. Why, a screw could go there and hold it down in place, easily. Got a wide head black sheet metal screw and while pushing the door down with one hand and putting the knee to the door panel and pushing it inward, I drilled a small hole through the back of the door panel and through the tab.

Then I put in the screw and by golly, it worked and you couldn't tell it wasn't factory. No more ugly gap, loose panel, nor funny looks when a passenger got in. No rattles either and I did it to the drivers side, without having to remove the door panel at all. Just bend it back real nice like, cut the foam away, leaving just a little for 'cush' and put the screw in. The biggest detractor from my Corvette's appearance is now gone.

Vette Jockey

Did you take any pictures?

Hondo48

Nice reporting! You've saved allot of time and frustration for anyone that runs into this problem.

ch@0s

F22

Here it is. It's crude, but you can see how thick the weatherstripping end is on top of the door! It is huge! Then look at the gap that the door panel has to push that rubber down, to mate with the door itself. No wonder it has trouble seating! Don't cut it all away, because that's where it attaches! Leave a little meat on there just because. AND ONLY CUT UNDERNEATH WHERE THE DOOR PANEL MATES TO THE RUBBER!

Then, you can see the 'Tab' on the end of the door. The one in the pic has a screw hole already, but mine didn't. It is fiberglass, so it drills really easily

F22

$8.50 at Amazon or about $10-$12 at Auto Parts Store


OR....

$500 to $600 at Ecklers (new door panel, or living with damaged one on your car....

F22

Final footnote. I removed the passenger side completely, but I was able to get away with not removing the drivers side at all. Just gently pull the door panel back to cut the weatherstrip underneath on both the front and the back of the door. Then drill and apply screw to tab at back of door and door panel for a permanent fix!

YOU DON'T HAVE TO REMOVE THE DOOR PANEL TO FIX THIS! YAAY!

fc_soldier

Nice work!!! My passenger is doing this Ill give it a try.

Vette Jockey

Great write up and an excellent picture! Thanks

Railroadman

Both door panels are giving me problems but I'm going to take them off to see if the ribs are OK or not. If the ribs are all right I'll give your method a try. Thank you, and you'll probably get a PM with some question or other once I get into it!

F22

Thank You for the Kudos. Don't remove the door panels! Roll down the windows. Get a flashlight and a mirror. You can gently pry the top of the panel a good inch or more! There's no connection to anything except the inner door latch halfway down and the bottom fasteners. You can easily look at the ribs without having to remove the panel and it won't damage anything, as it has a lot of flex to it. Both mine were the same way and I fixed the second one without removing it.

Heck, you can even see the door tab without removing the door panel (it was that loose). Mark it with a washable marker and then drill and put in the screw).

j-vette

joesgulfstream

I did the same thing to my 95 in April with the screws I used 1'' washer head self cutting painted them black to match interior did not cut the weather stripping ,I got the idea here on the fourm about 6 months ago.

Railroadman

One problem I will have to solve at some point - when I took the panels off a year or so ago I took the screw out from the plastic backing by the door handle. There must have been a nut or clip behind there because something dropped and now there is nothing to put a screw back into. So on the passenger side the whole assembly flops around, the light, the lock slide, etc.

At some point I'll haul out the FSM and see what I have to do. And the darn intake manifold still did not replace its own gaskets yet so maybe I'll have to do it myself

darkstallion_69

the last owner put a screw in that tab and its stripped so it doesnt hold...SUCKS! Both my door panels are separated up top and only being held by the first rib. im going to give this a try tomorrow. thanks.

pianoguy

I think that if you put a screw in the end of the panel, you'll want to use one of these in the slot on the door:

http://www.parts123.com/parts123/yb....5Z5Z50000050F#

F22

Great link! We own an early and a late C4 (87' and 95'). The door tab on the 95 doesn't have a slot at all! The early C4's had the slot and the screw anchors in the tab. The early C4's also used the slot-and-anchors across the bottom of the door panel, with metal screws going through the carpeting, while the late C4's went to the plastic-punch-it-in or as some call it "Xmas Tree" fasteners and others call them "Plastic Door Retainers".

romankrzy

Get some extras, they tend to dry up or lose tension and they don't hold in the slot so when you do reassembly they fall out. I just ordered a dozen. I'm thinking of putting a little dab of glue on the new ones as they go in but worried it might eat the plastic.

Donne Trav

Why was the Lisle Door tool needed if you didn't have to remove the
panel. I'm not understanding your procedure fully. Sorry. Thanks

F22

I removed the passenger door so that I could find the root cause of the problem. Once I did that, I found that I could repair the driver door side without removing it at all, as the panel has enough flex, so that you may pull it back and cut the excess foam underneath. Also, you can sight the door tab as well, so that you can drill and install a screw on the side of the door panel itself. Hope this clears things up!