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Today, we will be going over the door panel removal process covering all 1981-1986 Ford Mustangs. Removing your door panel is a crucial step for many different repairs on your Mustang. This can include servicing the window motor, door lock actuators, or part of a restoration.
Overall this one should take you around 20 mins per side. Follow along, and we will show you the step-by-step process on how these come off your Mustang.
- First, start by opening both of the doors on your Mustang.
- Now you can move to your mirror hole covers. Using a Phillips head screwdriver, remove the one screw holding this in place. Then you can lift and rotate this out of the way.
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- Next, you will want to locate the lock, window, and inner door handle trim bezels. All of these are held in place with a Phillips head screw. Remove each of these screws, and then carefully remove each of the bezels from the door panel.
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- For those of you that have manual windows, you will need to use a Phillips head screwdriver to remove the crank handle from the door.
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- Moving over to the inner door handle, locate the Phillips head screw on the upper portion and remove this from the panel.
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- You will need to remove both of the 10mm screws on the lower edge of the panel. Once you have these loose, you can remove the door handle from the door panel.
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- Staring on the door’s outer edge, you will want to locate the top door panel pushpin. Using a plastic trim tool, dislodge this pin and slowly work your way around the door to remove each of these pins holding the door in place.
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- Once these have all been removed, you can lift on the door panel to clear the lock rod and the inner door handle.
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- Pull the panel away from the door to gain access to the window and local switches. Make sure to carefully press in on the outer tabs to release these from the backing board. Once these are off, the door panel will be free to take off of the car.
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We hope that this article has helped you and you have a better understanding of how to remove your 1981-86 Fox Body Mustang door panels.
As always, make sure to keep it here with the real mustang Enthusiasts at LMR.com.
