Sidesill removal

[V10SpeedLuvr]

I'm gonna get one of my sidesills repainted and would like to remove it and just take it to the body guy without taking the whole car. I thought I remembered a thread on how to remove them, but can't find it now. Can someone list the instructions on removing one (driver side if it matters) Thanx!

 

[kcobean]

It's a piece of cake. It's actually described really well in the Corsa 3" exhaust install "how-to" located here:

http://www.viperclub.org/instructions/CorsaInstall.html

Step 2, specifically.

 

[Neil - UK]

easy job if the screws havent rusted/corroded in, carefully remove the plastic covers on the top of the sill to get to about x6 screws i recall, underneath
there are no plastic covers but again about 4 screws to remove.

Put a blanket or something on the floor just incase you drop the sill, its easier if you get friend to help slowly yank it off its bound to be tight even with the screws removed if it hasnt been removed recently

 

[0260in3]

My recommendation is to make sure you have a friend to help you, especially upon reinstalling. The side sill can be a bit awkward and it doesn't take much for one end to put a scratch on the side of your car while your trying to put the other end in place.

 

[ViperJoe]

Hardest thing....those plastic caps. I used a feeler guage and a sheet of paper to protect the black paint to get those persnickity clips on the caps

 

[SidewinderGTS]

My recommendation is to make sure you have a friend to help you, especially upon reinstalling. The side sill can be a bit awkward and it doesn't take much for one end to put a scratch on the side of your car while your trying to put the other end in place.

I second that.

 

[NOTV8]

And not to over "tightened" it when you put it back... guessed what I did ...

 

[ViperTony]

The only difficult part was not scratching anything. Taking off those plastic tabs on top of the inner door panel to access the screws is fun if you don't have one of those plastic cap remover thingy. Aside from that, they were easy to remove and put back on, very light and its a one person job. I took the liberty of washing and waxing them while I had them off. Amazing the amount of sand and small rocks that get up in there.

 

[viperstoo]

Another "device" to use to remove the plastic plugs is a door handle removal tool (from the old days) that slides under the plug nicely and squeezes the tabs allowing the plug to be removed. No damage to the plug or tabs so they can be reused. I also put three strips of masking tape around the plug before sliding the tool under the plug - one strip each side and one on the side that I pushed the tool from. Worked great. Not scratches and no damaged plugs. Sorry that I don't have any pictures but it is pretty straight forward.