How to Take Jeep Doors Off

Preparing the Doors to be Removed

Fold the side mirrors in. The side mirrors on your Jeep are attached to the door and are designed to be folded in flat. Press the mirror in toward the door and adjust it so the mirror itself rests flat against the door. Folding the mirrors in will prevent them from being damaged when you store the doors. To fold the mirrors, simply press them in toward the door.

Roll down the window. You will need to be able to pull the door up and off of the vehicle, and being able to reach through the open window will make that much easier. Storing the door with the window inside the body will also protect it from being broken by accident. Turn the window crank counter-clockwise to lower the window. It is possible to remove the doors if your windows won't go down.

Remove the black safety strap on the door. There is a black safety strap connected to each door designed to prevent the door from opening too far. To disconnect the strap, simply unhook it from the body of Jeep. The other end will stay connected to the door itself. The safety strap usually keeps the door from opening up into the body of the Jeep.

Unplug the wiring pigtail. If your Jeep came equipped with power windows and door locks, there will be a group of wires bunched in black cloth going from the door to where they connect beneath the dashboard. Press the release on the plastic wire pigtail and pull it backward to disconnect the wiring. If your Jeep does not have power windows or door locks, you can skip this step. Be careful not to break the plastic clip that holds the wiring pigtail in place.

Locate the two bolts holding the door on the vehicle. On the outside of the vehicle, there are two bolts that hold each door in place. Close the door without latching it so you can adjust how open you keep the door to best access the nuts holding the bolts in place. The bolts can be found where the door meets the body of the vehicle. The bolts themselves serve as a part of the door hinge.

Removing the Doors

Remove the nuts on the bottom of each bolt. At the bottom of each of the two bolts that hold each door on the vehicle, there are nuts that must be removed in order to take the doors off of your Jeep. Use a 13 millimeter socket and wrench to remove these nuts. Use a six point socket rather than a twelve point socket to minimize how much the nut can move inside the socket. Turn the nuts counter-clockwise to loosen them.

Be careful with the paint on the door hardware. The nuts are painted to match the body of the Jeep, so be very careful not to damage the paint as you unscrew them. Damaging the paint will not only stand out, but could lead to rusting. Scraped or scratched off paint can be repaired using automotive touch up paint. Using a six point socket will reduce the chances of damaging the paint on the nuts.

Lift the door straight up to disconnect it. With the nuts removed, reach through the open window to gain a good grip on the door handles on both the inside and outside. Pull the door straight up to pull the bolts that are attached to the door out of the brackets that hold them in place. If you can't roll down the window, grip the outside edges of either side of the door to pull it up. Be careful not to pinch your fingers in the gap between the door and the body before removing it.

Lay a blanket on the floor. You will need to store the doors someplace safe. For the time being, lay a blanket or soft material on the floor. If you intend to leave the doors off of your Jeep for an extended period of time, you can wrap the blanket around them to serve as extra protection. For the time being, the blanket will protect the door's surfaces from abrasion.

Place the door interior side down on the blanket. Set each door down on the blanket with the painted external surface facing up. You may also lean the door up against a vertical surface, but be sure to place the blanket beneath the door's edge to avoid chipping the paint. It is recommended that you hang a blanket over the doors as well if you store them standing up. Be sure to place the doors someplace where they will not be disturbed or knocked over.

Repeat the process on the other door. Once you have the first door removed and set aside, repeat the entire process on the other side to remove the remaining door. Store both doors someplace safe and out of the way. Make sure to keep the nuts you remove from the door hardware someplace safe for when you choose to reinstall the doors.

Disabling the Door Alarm and Door Light

Disconnect the battery. Before starting any electrical project, no matter the size, you should always disconnect the battery. Use the appropriate sized wrench to loosen the nut holding the black cable on the negative terminal on the battery. Tuck the cable to the side of the battery to prevent it from coming into contact with the negative terminal. You do not need to disconnect the positive cable.

Locate the interior fuse box. The fuse box in the interior of a Jeep Wrangler is located near the emergency brake. Once you find it, remove the cover over the fuse box by pulling it backward toward yourself. If you have trouble finding the fuse box, refer to your vehicle's owner's manual for directions. Set the fuse box cover someplace safe to ensure it doesn't get damaged.

Find the fuse labeled “Door Jam Defeat.” Look on the underside of the fuse box cover for a diagram of the fuses inside the box. If there isn't one there, check inside the Jeep's owner's manual. Once you find the diagram, look for the fuse labeled “Door Jam Defeat.” If you do not have an owner's manual, you can look it up on the automaker's website.

Remove the fuse. Use fuse clips or a pair of needle nose pliers to remove the “Door Jam Defeat” fuse from the fuse box. With this fuse removed, the dome light and the door ajar alarm will both stay off when you reconnect the battery. Place the fuse someplace safe to ensure you can put it back in once you reinstall the doors.

Reconnect the battery. With the fuse removed, reconnect the black cable to the negative terminal on the battery and use the same wrench to tighten the nut securing it again. Be sure the cable has a solid metal on metal connection before closing the hood. With the battery reconnected, start the Jeep and ensure the door ajar alarm doesn't sound. The dome light should remain off until you return the fuse.