How to Install Doors in Trucks

If the doors on your pickup truck are damaged, you need to install new ones. Each model of truck will require a door of different size and shape, so make sure you get the right door. You will also need at least two people to remove and install either a regular door or a tailgate. In the case of a regular door, have a professional take care of it if at all possible.

Instructions

Removing a Door

1

Open the original door. Brace it with at least jack stands underneath the door and an assistant ready to hold onto it when it is disconnected.

2

Check for any wiring that runs from the truck into the door. If there is any, you need to remove the door's inner trim panel so you can get to the wires. Disconnect the truck's negative battery cable first as a precaution.

3

Remove the trim panel if needed by prying off all smaller trim panels with a trim stick, unscrewing the mounting screws and lifting the panel off its clips. You'll also need to remove the window crank; rub a cloth between the crank and the panel to disengage the crank's clip.

4

Unplug any electrical connectors that are within the door and carefully pull the wires out through whatever access holes they are routed through.

5

Disconnect the door from the car body. If the hinges are bolted in place, mark their locations with a scribe and remove their bolts. If they are welded on, drive out the hinge pins with a punch and hammer.

6

Carefully remove the door and set it aside with your assistant's help.

Installing a Door

7

Install the hinges to the new door--if they are to be bolted on--using the scribe marks from the old door as a guide. If the hinges are welded on, the door halves of the hinges need to already be in place. They should only be welded on by a professional.

8

Position the new door by either lining up the hinges on the door with the scribe marks on the frame or lining up the hinge pin holes for all parts on the hinges. Balance the door on the jack stands while your assistant holds it in place.

9

Connect the hinges. If they need to be bolted on, line up the hinges with the scribe marks on the door frame and fasten the bolts. If they need hinge pins, drive the hinge pins into the holes with the punch and hammer. Connect the upper hinge first.

10

Route any wiring into the door through the appropriate access holes and connect it to the necessary electrical connectors. Attach the door trim panel to the new door in reverse order of its removal.

Installing a Tailgate

11

Open the tailgate and detach its retaining cables by lifting the spring retainer off the pin.

12

Lower the gate until the right-hand hinge pin's flat side lines up with the opening in the hinge socket on the gate. Lift the socket off the hinge and have your assistant support the weight while you pull the left-side hinge pin out of the socket in the truck body.

13

Install the new tailgate by inserting the left-side hinge pin into the body's hinge socket. Line up the tailgate's right-side hinge socket with the pin on the body and use the hole in the socket to attach it to the pin.

14

Connect the tailgate's retaining cables to their pins on the body.