[cannonball1]

Hi Guys,
I bought the car last year and drove it to Phx From Seattle. Ended up leaving it parked at a friend's and going to drive it back to Seattle in a week or so but it needs a couple minor (I hope) fixes first:

1. The wiper stalk doesn't do a thing to control the wipers. I have to unplug them from the relay? against the firewall to turn them on or off, which is a little inconvenient in Washington weather. Previous owner said he replaced the part on the firewall and it "only needs a $70 part for the stalk" ?? hmm...

2. All the doors locked/unlocked properly when I parked it, but now the right rear won't do either. The other three still work and that one looks like it moves very slightly, but that's it. The door panel is already loose at the top, so the next question is-how can I remove it, and are replacement clips available when it goes back on.

Hopefully, this is DIY stuff, but if not, I'm going to have to find someone in Phx. area to fix. Any help would be appreciated-trying to get it back in the next week.

 

[Thom_7]

The wiper issue sounds to me like it could just be the stalk; if the wipers work and can be turned on and off from the relay box, then the problem obviously likes elsewhere. Although it could be anywhere from the stalk into the wiring to the box, so who knows.

The door issue is likely vacuum related. If the other doors work and you're seeing a little movement on the one that isn't functional, then it's likely a loose vacuum hose or your vacuum lock mechanism went bad. Either way its not a big deal.

As for whether or not this is DIY stuff... I don't know. I wouldn't try to diagnose/repair the wiper issue on my own, because it could require disassembly of the dash, and for someone inexperienced with the car may only lead to more problems. I believe that removing the door panel is a few hours work, and yes there are replacement clips available at the dealer, but again, this comes down to your comfort level. There's no magic to removing the door panel on one of these cars, but it's not the easiest job in the world either. Search the forum for 'door panel removal' and you should be able to find something.

 

[Brett San Diego]

The one big trick to door panel removal is the two hidden clips behind the wood panel that holds the headrest button. You must remove this wood panel to get to a screw behind it. Insert a skinny, rounded-edged tool at the bottom of the straight edge of the panel and slide upward to rotate the clips out of the way. Pic is worth a thousand words on this. You can probably find a pic somewhere. I used a popsicle stick that I had rounded the edges of. You want to be careful not to damage the wood or the leather/vinyl. These clips can be really stiff if the door panel has never been removed.

The other hidden screw is in the armrest under the little plastic cover in the "finger well."

The rest is one or two more screws, popping clips carefully, disconnecting electrical connectors, etc. Sometimes a 3-handed job.

Brett