New to DF but browsing around the threads, I knew that someone might have the answer. My apologies if the question is a repeat question.

My Dad died in late February and one of his wishes was that I have his 1997 Ram 1500 SLT 4x2 Club Cab, hence my member name. Since bringing it home, I have been spending hours bringing her back to as close to stock as I can, fixing and cleaning the needed items, making a list of options and items to buy. It is truly a labor of love. Even my wife has taken an interest in this project.

To my problem: I repaired the speakers in the doors. Getting the door panel off was easy as most of the clips were broken. Getting the panel on again is proving to be more difficult. The new clips seem to be very brittle and snap off before the panel is fully set. Swearing doesn't seem to help much, either.

Is there a trick to getting the clips to slide easier?

Thanks for the help!

 

Welcome to the site. I will move this thread to the second generation Ram section,
FF

 

I am sorry to hear about your father. When I replaced the speakers and tried putting the door panel back on I ended up buying new fasteners from this guy off eBay for like $3 for like 20 of them. Now the door stays on perfectly, your best bet is to throw away the old ones and buy new ones.

 

i'm reading that he already has new clips.
where did the new clips come from? could they be the wrong ones?

they should look like little yellow christmas trees.

 

Must have over looked that, but the clips that I bought were black and they work awesome.

 

i went to junk yard and got mine they were yellow but color shouldnt matter as long as they are same size and make sure they are slid all the way in place on the panel...

i found it easier to start with top and work down poppin the panel on


..BTW.. i got the clips when i got a door panel i am not that cheap ha ha ha

 

Yeah yeah... sure you did :P

 

ha ha ha okay maybe not.. ha ha just joking that would be funny tho

 

New NAPA clips (9 for 4.99). They are yellow, perfect size and seem to snap so easily when pushing them in.

Of course, there are 13 clips to a door (26 total) and the new clips are sold in packs of 9. Break 1 = OK. Break 2 = Back to NAPA.

Tried vaseline on one side and that was a little better but still broke 2.

Think I am running to Dodge dealer to see if he has softer clips, but I am sure they are not cheaper.

Thanks for the help, fellas!

 

Don't go the the dodge dealer, go to a body shop. They have all manner of clips, and are a hell of a lot cheaper.