The FAMOUS Door Panel Cracks
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 8
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From: ON, Canada
The FAMOUS Door Panel Cracks Has Anyone figured out how to fix this problem? And if so, could you post pics? Why does it happen on so many Firebirds and Trans Ams?
Thanks
Thanks
Last edited by Bobby_B; Apr 7, 2013 at 08:09 PM.
I would assume they are just made out of shitty plastic..lol. Mine has a small crack in the driver's side door at the top...would like to stop it before it gets bigger.
Also, https://ls1tech.com/forums/pontiac-f...uote-pics.html
Also, https://ls1tech.com/forums/pontiac-f...uote-pics.html
I used a 2 part epoxy for plastic and reinforced mine from the backside with a thick/durable piece of plastic epoxied to the door panel. I heated the reinforcement plastic and shaped it to match the door then epoxied it to the door panel. I had some large clamps and an aersol can fit the inside contour of the door panel very well to hold it all together while the epoxy cured. Has held up great for the last 4 years that way. Crack has not spread and I have had the door panel off this spring to replace the window motor and everything was still holding tight. The crack is hardly noticeable.
Here is what mine looks like now after doing the stated previous work 4 years ago. No, it is not perfect, but I have thought about covering them now in leather or a similar material.
Wow, the flash made the fading on top look worse than it does with the naked eye..lol
Driver's side
Pass. Side
Wow, the flash made the fading on top look worse than it does with the naked eye..lol
Driver's side
Pass. Side
Last edited by Blu99T/A; Apr 21, 2012 at 11:02 PM.
It is from the preload that putting the window all the way down causes. Watch the door panel next time you roll the window all the way down to the stop. Crappy design. I am going to have to tackle this after I finish the repaint, new top, turbo kit, probably never.
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Last week my window fell in lol. After getting a new felt stabilizer thing that is what causes the cracks. The window is so big and the motor is so powerful that it pulls those stabilizers beyond their bolt holes and it flexes the metal where they are attached at. That is why the panels are all cracked. GM fail of a design on that part. The whole window setup is stupid in general. I would guess putting foam or some sort of padding over the felt stabilizers might somewhat help.
TECH Fanatic
Joined: Jun 2011
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From: dayton, ohio
High Performance Pontiac believes there are too many staples on the inside of the panel and that causes pressure on the panel which eventually cracks it. Pull out the back 3 or 4 staples and replace them with bolts.
It's a design/manufacturing issue. To relate it at all between the engine used is a fallacy. The Camaro/Firebird V6/1LE Formula panels do not crack. It is only the TA panels that crack. Also, I have seen whole LT1s with peeling clear coat and cracked dash covers and interior panels. They are not immune/better.
I pulled the last few staples on my door trim, epoxied the crack because It pulled itself back together, and used very thin wire to replace the staples.
Looks great and didn't cost but like 5 bucks for the epoxy
Looks great and didn't cost but like 5 bucks for the epoxy
It's a design/manufacturing issue. To relate it at all between the engine used is a fallacy. The Camaro/Firebird V6/1LE Formula panels do not crack. It is only the TA panels that crack. Also, I have seen whole LT1s with peeling clear coat and cracked dash covers and interior panels. They are not immune/better.
Well yeah, the clearcoat can peal on anything. The LS1 cars do have major issues with the clear coat on the sail panels though, even GM admitted it and had a recall I believe. My buddy's '00 SS had peeling clear coat at 11,000 miles on a car thats been garaged it's entire life. How are the TA interior panels any different from base firebirds? Mine look exactly like every other 4th gen firebird Ive ever seen...
TA's were only available with the Monsoon speaker system, which has tweeters. The base model Firebirds have only a four speaker system, with no tweeters. Therefore GM made separate door panels that did not have tweeter pods (otherwise people would contact GM and be like "wtf, why isn't my tweeter working?") for the base models with 4 speaker sound systems. I have also seen those same door panels also used on 1LE Formulas. The V6/1LE panels do not have an issue with cracking as the TA panels do.
Teching In
Joined: Sep 2011
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First off, it's not a clearcoat issue. It has been thoroughly documented on this site as an issue with the adhesive used to attach the sail panels when GM made a change in the glue choice sometime around 1998. The glue turns into a liquid and eats through the SMC/fiberglass. There was no recall placed, only a TSB, and some people fought like hell to get their cars fixed for free/cheap since it was only a TSB. The only solution is to replace the entire roof skin and use a non-aggressive adhesive like windshield adhesive.
TA's were only available with the Monsoon speaker system, which has tweeters. The base model Firebirds have only a four speaker system, with no tweeters. Therefore GM made separate door panels that did not have tweeter pods (otherwise people would contact GM and be like "wtf, why isn't my tweeter working?") for the base models with 4 speaker sound systems. I have also seen those same door panels also used on 1LE Formulas. The V6/1LE panels do not have an issue with cracking as the TA panels do.
TA's were only available with the Monsoon speaker system, which has tweeters. The base model Firebirds have only a four speaker system, with no tweeters. Therefore GM made separate door panels that did not have tweeter pods (otherwise people would contact GM and be like "wtf, why isn't my tweeter working?") for the base models with 4 speaker sound systems. I have also seen those same door panels also used on 1LE Formulas. The V6/1LE panels do not have an issue with cracking as the TA panels do.
Re-read what I typed. BASE MODEL Firebirds have the base speaker system, not the Monsoon system. The Monsoon system was an OPTION and therefore it did not come on BASE models.
Joined: Nov 2001
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From: Schiller Park, ILL Member: #317
This is absolutely NOT a clear coat issue. There is a thread sticky at the top of this section that explains everything in excessive detail.
The change appears to have been made in May of 1998. 4th gens built in or after 05/98 are subject to the condition. There is no official GM confirmation on that, as they issued the TSB for *only* '99-'02 cars, but it seems that the change was actually phased in a bit eariler than GM Corporate may have realized. Those of us that have investigated this over the years have discovered several examples of cars built in May '98 or later that also have the condition, just like the '99+ cars. I don't have enough data on April '98 cars to say for sure whether or not they are affected, but after 9 years of research I've never seen a 4th gen built in 03/98 or earlier ever have this problem. All 4th gens built in or after 05/98 through the end of '02 production are definitely at risk though.
Just an FYI.
Last edited by RPM WS6; Apr 23, 2012 at 11:38 PM.
FWIW my 98 was made in June, stored outdoors all the time, and it never had a spot of trouble with the sail panel. I may have just lucked out and they had enough of the old glue left.
No sign of any problems on my current 99 yet but I suspect it is only a matter of time
No sign of any problems on my current 99 yet but I suspect it is only a matter of time