Removing sidesills/skirts

[JeffTheViperMan]

Hi everyone,

I really need some help. I need to remove the sideskirt on my 2000 Viper GTS so that I can get to the exhaust tubing and primarily the O2 sensor, which is literally pointing into the front, outside corner of the skirt, behind the front tires. I can barely even see it from under the car, through the "portal window" in the frame.

I took a quick look and saw the few bolts in front, and 5 or so bolts underneath. But of course it disappears beneath the door sills, and I'm not sure what's required to get them off, or if I have to rip apart half of the interior.

I have limited tools here in Ohio (everything is in PA) and very little time for experimentation. I also really, REALLY don't want to break something, or scratch something, or ruin something...

So if anyone is willing to type up a little explanation of exactly what to do and any "specialty" tools I might need, I would greatly appreciate it. I have plenty of sockets, ratchets, screwdrivers, etc. I don't expect you to tell me socket sizes - just what needs to come out.

I also noticed that there appear to be some rivets or even spot welds at the rear end of the side-skirt. Are these going to give me trouble? They're definitely factory - painted over in body color - so not something the previous owner did.

Thanks - I greatly appreciate any assistance.

Jeff

 

[dave6666]

Very easy to get off. There are some sheet metal screws underneath. Should be 4 of them I think. Take those out. Right behind the front tire there should be 2 more on top covered by the hood. Take those out. Open the door and you'll see some black plastic snap in cover plugs in the black door sill area. Those plugs are like 1" in diameter. Carefully pry out with a small screwdriver or Popsicle stick that's been sharpened to a chisel end. Then remove the screws inside the exposed holes. The one by the door hinge is a little tricky to get at but don't forget it. I didn't re-use that hole by the way. PITA.

I think all the screws are like 5/16 hex head. You might need a 1/4" drive ratchet and socket for the one on top near the door hinge. The PITA one.

Once all the screws are out simply pull the shield off and prepare to get rained on by years of road debris! The rivets you see in the rear wheel wells do not need tampering with.

 

[93Cobra]

Yeah, its pretty straight forward and easy. It took me about 10 min to take off each side.

 

[ViperTony]

Jeff, look here for a detailed writeup with pics showing where the screws are on the side sills: http://forums.viperclub.org/illustrated-upgrades/606918-corsa-3-cat-back-installation-ken-hahn.html

 

[triblk6spd]

Very easy to get off. There are some sheet metal screws underneath. Should be 4 of them I think. Take those out. Right behind the front tire there should be 2 more on top covered by the hood. Take those out. Open the door and you'll see some black plastic snap in cover plugs in the black door sill area. Those plugs are like 1" in diameter. Carefully pry out with a small screwdriver or Popsicle stick that's been sharpened to a chisel end. Then remove the screws inside the exposed holes. The one by the door hinge is a little tricky to get at but don't forget it. I didn't re-use that hole by the way. PITA.

I think all the screws are like 5/16 hex head. You might need a 1/4" drive ratchet and socket for the one on top near the door hinge. The PITA one.

Once all the screws are out simply pull the shield off and prepare to get rained on by years of road debris! The rivets you see in the rear wheel wells do not need tampering with.

What he said. I used a tiny amount of Copper silicone on the under sill screws on the reinstall to keep them in place.

 

[eucharistos]

what they said on the removal - i used 2 credit cards to lift the plastic caps off (look at the 1st 1 you get off and see how it holds)

clean sills before replacing to avoid a terrible gritty sound and DO NOT over tighten the screws, i also used some silicone to hold screws in



from corsa:

There is a total of ten (10) screws to remove for each side.
There are four (4) small black round covers that are in the door sills covering the four (4) sheet metal
screws holding each side cover in place. Use a screw driver to remove the round covers. There are
two (2) screws that can be accessed by lifting the hood and four (4) more screws under the cover

 

[JeffTheViperMan]

Very easy to get off. There are some sheet metal screws underneath. Should be 4 of them I think. Take those out. Right behind the front tire there should be 2 more on top covered by the hood. Take those out. Open the door and you'll see some black plastic snap in cover plugs in the black door sill area. Those plugs are like 1" in diameter. Carefully pry out with a small screwdriver or Popsicle stick that's been sharpened to a chisel end. Then remove the screws inside the exposed holes. The one by the door hinge is a little tricky to get at but don't forget it. I didn't re-use that hole by the way. PITA.

This post has been printed...

Jeff, look here for a detailed writeup with pics showing where the screws are on the side sills: http://forums.viperclub.org/illustrated-upgrades/606918-corsa-3-cat-back-installation-ken-hahn.html

I'm not a VCA member yet... I'd gladly pay the membership, but I have to keep buying VIPER PARTS... Let me get this thing fixed and I have any money left, I'll sign up!!

Thanks all.

Jeff

 

[ViperTony]

I'm not a VCA member yet... I'd gladly pay the membership, but I have to keep buying VIPER PARTS... Let me get this thing fixed and I have any money left, I'll sign up!!

Jeff, here's a visual:

 

[JeffTheViperMan]

Ah - much appreciated. I have a feeler gauge with me, actually - so that'll help!! My only concern is on the driver's side beneath the hood - the previous owner added a master electrical cut-off switch and I think he used one of those bolts (actually, pretty positive of that.) So I might have to remove that, which just means working around activated electrical circuits. I can't jack up the rear of the car to disconnect the battery because I already have both front corners off the ground - car could get pretty unstable. But, I'll figure it out!!

Thanks again.