How to Remove Jeep Doors: An Easy Step-by-Step Guide

At Ultimate Rides, we consider Jeep vehicles one of our specialties and among our favorite kinds to work on. One of the most attractive aspects of a Jeep is the ability to remove its doors and let you ride around in the open air. It’s an iconic look that thankfully is not too hard to accomplish at home. If you’ve been looking for a guide to show you how to remove Jeep doors, we have it covered for you. As far as we are concerned, driving around a Jeep Wrangler with the top down and the doors off is something everyone should experience at least once in their lifetime, so we’re happy to help you through the process.

Step 1: Prepare Door for Removal

The first thing you need to do to learn how to remove Jeep doors is to really get to know your Jeep. Most vehicles aren’t going to be exactly the same, so you’ve got to be prepared to run into problems without losing your cool. Your Jeep’s door may be connected to the rest of the vehicle with power cables, so you’ll want to disconnect those. Make sure your windows are rolled down first if you have power windows, as you’ll want to make sure you have easy access inside the vehicle during the process. If you have manual windows, you should still roll them down, but you’ll be able to do so before or after you remove power from the door.

You’ll also want to make sure your mirrors are folded completely in, as on Jeeps they are connected to the doors so they’ll be coming off as well. Don’t worry, though; you can reattach the mirrors once the doors have been taken off, and there are many mirror add-ons you can get for your vehicle. If you have the tools ready, you might as well just take off the mirrors here, but don’t put them too far away; you’ll be needing them again once the doors are removed. Next up, you’ll want to continue getting the door ready to be removed by loosening up the nuts at the bottom of each door using a ratchet or socket wrench. Every Jeep door should also included a small black safety strap. You’ll want to be sure to remove that as well.

Step 2: Removing the Door

Now comes the big stuff. The most important step of learning how to remove Jeep doors is, obviously, the actual process of removing them. When you’re ready, go ahead and use your tools to fully loosen those nuts we talked about earlier near the bottom of the door. Make sure to be as careful as possible not to chip off any of the paint on the door or the nuts themselves, as that can be quite noticeable if and when you decide to put the doors back on. It’s recommended that you begin by removing the bolts closest to the bottom and work your way up from there. Once all the bolts have been removed, simply get a good hold of the door and lift with all the force you can safely exert. It’s much easier to do this by putting your arm through the open window to get a good grip, and if you have an extra set of hands to spare, you might want to call them over to help.

You’ll want to make sure you are storing the doors in a safe place where they won’t be subject to any damage. When storing, lay the doors flat on the ground rather than standing up. You should make sure that the interior side of the door is on the ground and not the exterior, and you’ll want to keep them on something soft and maybe a little padded like a blanket. Now all that is left for you to do is to simply repeat the process for each door. While we’ve now shown you how to remove Jeep doors, there’s a little bit more you have to do. Before long, your Jeep will have that iconic look you’ve been after and you can hit the road for some adventure and excitement.

Step 3: Before Heading Out

First of all, once your doors are all removed, you’ll want to reattach your mirrors so you’ll have solid vision while you drive. Depending on your vehicle, you may need a mirror kit that includes some things like plates for you to attach the mirrors to and so on. If you do need a kit, they’ll likely include their own instructions that are specific to what you’re working with, but if you don’t need one it should be pretty clear where the side mirrors go. Once you have them in place, screw them back in and they’ll be all ready for your excursion!

If your Jeep contains a dome light and beeping that goes off when the doors are open, that’s something you are going to want to make sure you disable. The best way to do this is installing door clips that trick your vehicle into thinking the doors are closed, but if you would rather take a more direct route you can also just take out the fuse that corresponds to these features. It should be located near the E-brake pedal and have an easy to read label that says something like “Door Jam Defeat.”

Well, there you have it. We’ve explained the entire process on how to remove Jeep doors, and it wasn’t all that difficult! If you own a Jeep, we highly encourage you to try this out and see how it feels. You never know, it may be something you decide to stick with during the warmer months. If you’d like to find out what other services and modifications you can have done on your Jeep, we urge you to get in touch with us at Ultimate Rides so you can find out more today. Give us a call at 815-634-3900 for more information.