how do i remove door panels from 1997 tacoma?

how do i remove the interior door panels from a 1997 tacoma reg cab without power windows?

 

It should be two screws for the door handle/arm rest then you have to pry off the manual window crank. After that you should just be able to pry off the panel from the door. It's held on with many plastic clips between the panel and the door and they just pop out.

 

This.

The rag technique works. Use care when popping the panel off--at this age, the plastic clips can be brittle.

It's also a good time to clean out the nasty crud that might have collected inside the armrest. I found old french fries inside mine when I went to clean it after I first bought mine last year. Pulling the armrest off is the only way to get it completely clean.

 

ok..i'll try that..reason i want to take them off is i just got the truck[had an 88 toyota pickup that died]and there is a very annoying rattle coming from inside the passenger side and on the drivers side the lock sometimes won't open with the key and the door lock gets stuck down and even with a pair of vice grips won't pull up...jeez

 

There is a 10MM bolt that keeps the window frame tight. It's on the very back of the door somewhere 3/4's of the way up.
Try that before ripping the door apart.

 

ok thanks..i'll try that first..my goodness..wasn't expecting this many responses this quickly..thanks guys and gals!

 

Welcome to TW

 

Good to know for when I find a donor tacoma to swap in power windows/doors plus door panel.

 

Adding reference here - you also need to remove the bolt for the interior door handle, which then slides forward to remove. If you have power windows and locks, the control panel needs to be removed to unplug - must be pried up in front, then slid forward (if you pry up the back you will break the clip). The triangular trim piece behind the mirror mount holds the separate top section of trim down, and must be pried out on top, then slid up (the bottom has a clip that will also break if pried). Then the bottom edge of the top trim strip must be pried away from the rest, to release and slide up and out. From there, it's just snap-in retainers. If you had some of the panel come off the retainers, it will look like you might have to slide the whole panel to get it off the retainers, but this won't work. The keyed shape of the holes for the retainers is just for installing the individual retainers in the panel before installation.

 

Replying to an 11 year old thread. That might be a new record!
Nothing wrong with it though. Info is always appreciated

 

Hah, I figure there might be a new wave of folks picking these up as classic restoration projects. Otherwise at least I am likely to want to fuss with something and wish I had written these things down in a place that is easy to find.