Due to our aging cars, heat, and the poor durability of plastic used in our door panel inserts, and most of all abusive passengers that mash the power window/lock switch and yank on the handle to close the door, every plastic stand off finally shit the bed a month ago. Due to the rarity of black interior parts I wanted to work with what I had.

I attempted a bandaid repair job a year ago with a heavy application of JB Weld on the stand offs but it did not last long.

With a Lowes trip I bought:

- 6-32 x 2" Machine screws, washers, & nuts.
- Red Loctite (by all means overkill but they had nothing else)
- 1/8" drill bit for my Dremel.

A cutoff tool is also needed to trim the excess threads after installation.

This definitely is a visible modification from the inside of the car but as of now it is not objectionable. If one were so inclined he could paint the screw heads and washers black to blend in better with the black plastic trim.

I would recommend some form of securing the nuts as speaker and road vibrations will easily back these out. Keep in mind the nuts are not torqued down on surface such as metal - cranking too hard will just crack the plastic eliminating the effort you have just applied. Apply some loctite and snug the nuts. An alternative is to double nut the assembly but I did not want to dick around with small wrenches.

http://zero-signal.org/az2gnt/doorpanel1.jp g
http://zero-signal.org/az2gnt/doorpanel2.jp g
http://zero-signal.org/az2gnt/doorpanel3.jp g
http://zero-signal.org/az2gnt/doorpanel4.jp g

This is a great way to fix it, I did something very similar to mine a while ago.

Especially the black switch/handle panels, as they are kinda rare and 90 a piece from the dealer last time I checked.

I understand the reason and thought that went into all this, and it's great in its own right... but I don't believe the black plastic is all that rare, and can be found for a reasonable price on craigslist/ebay. While I'm on my 3rd 2GNT Eclipse as a daily driver and haven't had any problems myself, I did replace my sister's Sebring/Avenger inserts (same exact ones) without issue.

The most expensive replacement part I've ever bought was new OEM Sunroof panels from Mitsu Graveyard @ $140, ouch!

- J

Originally posted by teklein
This is a great way to fix it, I did something very similar to mine a while ago. Especially the black switch/handle panels, as they are kinda rare and 90 a piece from the dealer last time I checked.

yeesh, let me check next time you need some. I still get body shop rates :7

I need to replace my drivers side switch panel, it's cracked in 2. I may just JB weld it together since it's going to become black anyways. I never feel bad about painting gray panels.

Try to find another one for the low and try to save the time and cash for the repair that may break again.

That's a very functional method, but couldn't you have come up with a more aesthetically appealing repair? The switch wasn't too bad, but the whole thing bolted to the door panel seems like a bit much. well, just my 2 cents