Delica Canada | Mitsubishi Van Club

I have to operate this weekend.

Not having a functional sliding door (lock stuck) is unacceptable, so I have to crack it open and have a look.

This is scary, as almost all my searches have yeilded only horror stories about ripping, tearing and breaking the fragile plastic rivets and trim panels, and no info about where are the best places to start prying or even what part to remove first.

I have no idea how to operate on trim, I have no idea what the plastic rivets look like, or how many hold a peice in place.

Also, since the door is stuck closed, I'm not even sure I can get a tool in place to even start prying.

The only thing I do know is that not being able to open the side door has been the worst experience of our new Deli, as we are restricted to two passengers and cannot even properly "show off" our new buggy to those who are interested. (and there are quite a few)

I don't want to botch this job, and I'm scared of doing permanent damage, but I gotta do it.

Please send any well wishes and support (and especially any helpful information or tips) our way as we undertake this difficult repair.

JJ & H

Check out this post my husband put up when we removed the window trim on our sliding door this past weekend to repair the falling out window. It has pictures to show you what the trim/door looks like on the inside, so you will have an idea of what is in there. You remove the window trim first, then the lower trim.

http://www.delica.ca/forum/sliding-door ... -9097.html

Beware - some of the plastic tabs broke off on the window trim piece becasue they are old and brittle. We managed to crazy glue them back on and get the trim back in place. But I wouldn't want to have to remove it again...

Good luck!

The best way to remove the plastic holders is with a large flat screwdriver with a V carved in the blade. This will allow the blade to force the plug up on both sides. If you do break any youcan get more at lordco.

You need to use one of these: It's easier than grinding a notch out of a really big screwdriver.

I don't envy you one bit, having to take off the door trim on an older car! It don't sound like fun at all!

its not so much the clips will break but more they will pull out of the panel and stay in the door, if water has been near the interior panel it'll do this to you, I got some 8mm custom wood and made new ones up, even reused the old material on the door (although luckily for me it is factory vinyl).

Princess auto sells panel/upholstery removal kits for like $10. You get a handful of tools, all basically for prying but in different shapes, for this kind of job. They are made of a sturdy plastic and work quite well compared to my previous makeshift tool. Key is that you can grab the plastic clip and pry that without tearing the panel.

Hi folk,

The link to pictures in this post is not valid.

Can anyone point me to a manual picture (The one I have doesn't seem to show the sliding door) of the door and how to get the trim off with the minimum risk of breaking stuff.
I have taken trim off many times before and know that I may get luck and all the clips just pop out or I may not get so lucky and end up with a broken panel. Knowing where to start and where the clips are is always a huge help.

I will tackle replacing the brake calipers first in the hope that someone can post some help.

-Dennis
Nanaimo, BC