The real story on cracked door panels?

[hdal]

I have a 97'Pont T/A,48,000 miles near new cond. No signs of cracking,dash pnl is mint as is compl interior. I've got the hots for the new 98'and up snarly ram-air f/e cars. Every one I've looked at have the notorious pnl cracks,usually both sides. Some claim to have had-em repaired only to have-em crack again.What gives? Diff vendors,body/door movement,Chinese materiel? Anybody have a REAL answer? Are after-market ones any good? It ain't no fun replacing those pnl's nor is the pwr wdo mtr............. Hdal

[zeeman]

I have a 99 firebird. And several sets of door panels. They crack sometimes. Just grab a set of earlier style panels,but ive seen those crack too. Dash panels are a whole nuther story. Ive had some that were no problem. Others as brittle as a soda cracker.

[farmington]

Makes me happier that I got a Z28. Lol. As far as window motors, the first one takes time, the second one is a snap.

[JoeliusZ28]

Think it also has something to do with the window regulator putting stress on the door which transfers to the panel. If youre worried about it id take the panels off and JB Weld a big reinforcement of some kind to the area that they crack.

Dash cracks are caused by cheap plastic being exposed to sun. Best thing you can do to prevent that is keep the car inside, tint your windshield to provide UV protection, and avoid touching it.

[Sbaileyls1ta]

Been a long time, but I remember reading something on LS1 tech about why they crack and a decent fix. It was pretty good. If I remember right, the cracks are cause by the plastic sucking, along with the staples on the back side for I believe that black piece along the top. It causes it to be less flexable, so when the suns warps it, it cracks because of the tension from the staples. Ill try to find the post.

[Sbaileyls1ta]

http://ls1tech.com/forums/appearance...or-panels.html

[hdal]

http://ls1tech.com/forums/appearance...or-panels.html

Wow,thanx for digging that up.Now I know what's going on. Hdal

[Sbaileyls1ta]

Nooo problemo!

[Atrus]

Think it also has something to do with the window regulator putting stress on the door which transfers to the panel. If youre worried about it id take the panels off and JB Weld a big reinforcement of some kind to the area that they crack.

Dash cracks are caused by cheap plastic being exposed to sun. Best thing you can do to prevent that is keep the car inside, tint your windshield to provide UV protection, and avoid touching it.

[MENTION=254]JoeliusZ28[/MENTION] - IIRC, you tinted your windshield, right? What %, and if you don't mind me asking, how much did it run? Was thinking of getting mine done, mostly to keep UV out while it's parked.

[JoeliusZ28]

[MENTION=3881]Atrus[/MENTION] - yes mine is tinted 50% and i kind of wish i had done 35% because from the inside i cant even tell anything is different. 50% is all you need for UV though i think it was around 100-120 done by [MENTION=373]SS4Matt[/MENTION] at detail express. Couple years ago though and i also had a bunch of interior pieces removed (dashpad, a pillars) to make it easier for him

[Atrus]

Cool, thanks - I am not worried about seeing it or not..I was considering going a lot lighter actually. If 50% isn't noticeable, then that'd be a good bet for me.

Yeah, I need the whole car done, so I'll probably be reaching out to Matt in the spring. I can remove A-Pillar trim easily enough...I'd be nervous to yank the dashpad though.

[JoeliusZ28]

I figured removing the dashpad was safer than trying to make him tint above it. But i was also installing some new tweets in the dashpad at the time too. Removing it is pretty easy you just have to make sure you distribute the force as best you can.... Get both hands underneath it.

[BlackJesus]

where do these crack? just bought a ws6 and drivers door panel is cracked in the upper rear and im curious if this is a common spot

[Sbaileyls1ta]

Yes, The the two fbodys I've had all the panels were cracked in the same exact spot.