Removing side skirts

[CulRidr]

Couldn't find anything anywhere on how to remove our sideskirts, after doing some research of course before someone flames me for not doing so.
I noticed there was a little rust yesterday on the bottom of the door, next to the edge of the skirt, and wanted to take them off to see how much damage there really is under there, so that I can remedy this problem before it becomes a big problem. I was looking at it and couldn't figure out how to take them off; I noticed the 2 screws in the front wheel wells which are easy to take out, but the white'ish clips on the bottom of them at the rear end had me confused. Does anyone know how to remove these so that i can put them back on later without them being loose? The last thing i want is to break one of those damn clips...who knows how much the stealership would ask for those...(boom07) (upbum)

 

[mhrebin]

i dont think the clips cost much. get em from onlinemazdaparts.com

i think they are a vendor specifically on this forum.

as for the skirts, correct me if im wrong anyone. but once you take out those screws isnt it a matter of just pulling them off. might take some force, as it prob takes force to put them on. try giving it a good tug.

its like door panels. your afraid to pull to hard but that is how it comes off.

GL.

 

[njaremka]

they just yank off, and you will probably destroy the white clips in the process

 

[CulRidr]

I'll wait for a couple of other people to chime in on this. I'd rather KNOW that I have to tug hard rather then pulling on something I shouldn't be pulling on. As for door panels...if you need to pull hard on them, there's something that isn't unclipped correctly; I know, I changed a door lock mechanism this spring...the most annoying part was the "oh s***" handles, and that stupid black gunk holding the plastic wrapping (eekdance)

i dont think the clips cost much. get em from onlinemazdaparts.com

i think they are a vendor specifically on this forum.

as for the skirts, correct me if im wrong anyone. but once you take out those screws isnt it a matter of just pulling them off. might take some force, as it prob takes force to put them on. try giving it a good tug.

its like door panels. your afraid to pull to hard but that is how it comes off.

GL.

 

[njaremka]

i just installed a set on my car - trust me, you grab it and pull (the side skirt)

 

[CulRidr]

Alright sounds good...
so you suggest that I order in those clips (how many are there?) before i take them off in the case that I break them? (what do you figure are the odds that I do break them?

i just installed a set on my car - trust me, you grab it and pull (the side skirt)

 

[njaremka]

they are stubborn little bastards, thats for sure. to replace them all, you will need:
( 10 ) KA80-51-RE5A
( 18 ) G18K-51-SJ3

you might wait to see if any break, and how many break before you order them. they aren't expensive unless you have to get them all.

 

[CulRidr]

Damn, that's a lot of little clips to undo...then again, you don't want that big piece to just be held on by a couple of them...that does however leave the opportunity of putting the skirt on even if a couple of them break. How do I recognize the "RE5A's" from the "SJ3's" if I need to order some?

they are stubborn little bastards, thats for sure. to replace them all, you will need:
( 10 ) KA80-51-RE5A
( 18 ) G18K-51-SJ3

you might wait to see if any break, and how many break before you order them. they aren't expensive unless you have to get them all.

 

[njaremka]

they are both roughly the same size and shape, the "RE5A"'s are a little thicker. mazda calls them the "big" clips, and the otehrs the "small" clips

 

[njaremka]

the RE5A's are the ones on the bottom, and the others are the ones on the sides

 

[CulRidr]

By "sides" you mean towards the outside of the car, or inside the wheel wells?

the RE5A's are the ones on the bottom, and the others are the ones on the sides

 

[njaremka]

down the side of the car - the two in the wheel well are different, and i don't know what the part number is for those. baggie at onlinemazdaparts.com can get you what you need even without the part numbers. just give him a call and tell him what you want.

 

[CulRidr]

The problem with a lot of US stores is that they won't use USPS...and if what they sell you is worth anything significant, you get ***** at the border because they won't spend the 5 secs it takes to fill out the international paperwork saying the stuff is american, and therefore covered under the NAFTA agreement which says you shouldn't pay duty...and even then, you STILL get ***** for brokerage... (upbum)

down the side of the car - the two in the wheel well are different, and i don't know what the part number is for those. baggie at onlinemazdaparts.com can get you what you need even without the part numbers. just give him a call and tell him what you want.

 

[CulRidr]

A final note, everything is finally installed so thank you for that. The only thing is that the clip number for the "big one" was different for the MP3...don't have the number with me right now, but I believe they ended up being the same price, just looked a little stronger to me.

Thanks again for all the help! (first)