I have a 2000 Buick la sabre custom with 106.000 miles on the clock. Both rear power window regulators have failed and are in need of repair. Any tips on removing the door panels without damaging the retaining clips.

Any other adive would be appreciated.

Revolver

Make sure any screws are off first (usually in the armrest area). Usually breaking the clips is not the issue, its breaking the housing on the panel the clips are snapped into. All of the clips install in a cross car direction ... in other words, disengaging them is done by pulling straight out from the door. On my 2001 Bonneville there are 2 clips in the armrest area. Once all the periphery clips were disengaged you have to lift up on the door panel to disengage if from those 2 clips.

Make sure you buy butyl tape to reseal the plastic watershield, or you will have water leaks ( Butyl Auto Glass Tape 1 8 x 1 4 Street Rod Hot Rod Rat Rod Custom | eBay ). When you install the new butyl tape make sure you follow the exact same path the old tape followed.

If you haven't purchased the new regulators yet, take a look at www/rockauto.com. If you do purchase from rockauto, search the forum for "rockauto discount code". It'* good for 5%.

just did this on the lesabre my inlaws bought, you need to take a few hidden screws out. there was a screw for the trim around the handle and it seemed like there was one or two toward the back somewhere and a bunch of those cristmas tree fasteners. best thing to do is go to the parts store or harbor freight and get one of the plastic door tool sets, start prying out at the bottom lightly and you will see where there may be fasteners still attached. i lay on a pad and look up in there from the bottom.

Given the age of your car, you'll probably damage the retaining clips as you pull them out. If you know what they look like, search your local auto parts store for replacements. You might get lucky and actually find some.

Also, as far as keeping retaining clips intact, I've had much better luck keeping them intact by using a dedicated trim removal tool. You may be able to find a cheap set at a hardware store like Harbor Freight.

They look something like this: