Removing the Front Door Stainless Strip

I damaged the driver's side stainless today and will either get it straightened or find one in a scrap yard. Problem is, I can get the all the clips free except the front one. There is a plastic trim clip held by a 1/2" hex acorn nut. I cannot get a wrench on the hex because the door hinge is in the way.

Any suggestions?

I noticed there is a notch in the folded over bottom edge of the stainless trim near the front. It looks like you could slide the stainless forward enough to disengage the plastic trim clip to remove the stainless. Is this the procedure to remove the stainless from the front doors?

You must remove the nut. The clip is held in by flanges that are bent to lock it place. A socket with a universal and extension should work. I believe you can get, it without the universal. I use an 11mm socket, a 12mm seems too big, but the 1/2 inch may work (I think the 1/2 inch is the same size as the 12mm).

Darn! I was hoping there is another way. A 1/2” socket fits on the nearby acorn nuts, but I’ve not been able to get onto the front one holding the stainless trim clip. Oh well, I’ll try again.

Thank you.

If it is a 93+ door, you may be able to remove the stop pins and open the door wider.

It's a '95. Thanks for the suggestions.

We got it off last night, finally. It's a 7/16" hex Acorn nut. We used a 1/4" drive socket with only a ratchet, no extension.

Now, I'm wondering how we're going to put it back together--that front stud is really buried behind the door hinge! Will report how it was done after we get to it!

On another note, my plastic window guides on the passenger door broke last week, so I pulled off the inner door panel and put the Dorman round ones in place. For those of you who have done this, have you wondered why the access holes in the inner door panel are located where the areas needing repair are NOT? Getting a C clamp or pliers on the window mechanism to pinch the balls into the guides is a real challenge. How in the world does a glass company replace the side windows when necessary?

Dick, we've got money on you, we know you can do it!

Tom

A sometimes you must use an open end or box end wrench, and go little by little.

Depending on where the mechanism is stopped, the parts are easier to access. Sometimes you must move it an inch at a time, until you can get to the parts. The front and back of a given regulator may have different positions for easier access.

"Depending on where the mechanism is stopped, the parts are easier to access. Sometimes you must move it an inch at a time, until you can get to the parts. The front and back of a given regulator may have different positions for easier access."

I've done front and rear door windows on three RMW's. Trust me, there is no good position for access to the window slider channels. Some of them were replaced easily with access enough to use a C-clamp to install the ball into the plastic. Others require just the right position to allow a pliers of Vise-Grips to squeeze the ball into the plastic. A job that should take 10 minutes takes me over an hour before I get the two sliders installed.

My average is about a half hour per door. I usually use an assortment of pliers and channel locks. The C clamps are way to cumbersome, and the vice grips are too bulky. If you place the regulator in certain positions, it is easier to access the joints.

No one said this should be a 10 minute job, so taking a half hour to an hour is not unexpected. Once you have put the rollers in, it should be a once and done job as well.

Got 'r done! The front stud nut was not so difficult to install as it was to remove the old one. We're back to a den-free door trim strip.

Thank you.