How to re-attach Cayman door panels?

As you all know, there is a plethora of articles and videos showing how to REMOVE the Cayman 's door panel. I followed them to the letter and the panels came off rather easily. But now I can't get them back on the door! And I can't find one article or video that tells how best to reinstall the panel. Most just say "reverse the process." All the screw holes are lining up, and I can hear some of the pins going back into place. But many pins won't go back into the door hole and the ones that do come out easily. What am I doing wrong? I did read that the pins on the panel can be damaged. I'm thinking this might be the problem. But how do I know which are bad and which are still good. Plus, is it absolutely necessary all the pins go back in place. I'm thinking if I broke one or two per panel, the panel still should hold tight once the other pins are in place, right or am I talking out of my butt? If I need to buy more pins should I just pay retail and get them from the dealer or is there a cheap place online that ships them out quickly? Many thanks for any advice or guidance... Here's what all the pins look like. I removed one to see if I could just push just it into the hole in the door. It won't stay put. What the heck am I doing wrong?

So I have not had my Cayman door panels off, but I've run across similar pins before. Not sure what you're doing wrong. That pin looks OK to me. 1a/1b on the diagram are one part, 2a/2b the other. You need to wedge your fingers between 1a and 2a to get part 1b tightly against 2b, then wiggle 2b into the hole pushing ONLY on part 2a (not 1a!). Once you have fully seated 2b in the hole by pushing on 2a, keep pushing on 2a so it doesn't sneak out, and push 1a home. There should be a hidden shoulder on part 1 that will force the fingers on 2b to open and hold tight. Or at least that's what I remember from prior cars. Good luck.

Thanks! I'll give it a try and post my results!

Your photo clearly shows the fastener in what I'll call its locked (i.e. installed) position. You'll need to unlock the fastener prior to reinstalling the door panel. One way to do so is to use two plastic door panel pry tools against each other, to spread 1a & 2a until 2b & 1b meet. There's a ramp on part 1 that spreads the "petals" on part 2 until the assembly locks in position as shown. I hope you find this explanation useful. Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

I was only able to "unlock" one of the fasteners by hand. I think I have a couple pry tools, so I'll give that a try next . Thanks for all the suggestions!

hey there black987 - this post has some pics of the clips brand new - they're usually designed for a one time use and usually a few will break/become unusable every time you remove the panel. http://www.planet-9.com/987-cayman-...cayman-and-boxster-chat/74179-987-window-regulator-replacement.html#post1486849 you can get spares via pelican parts or other vendors or buy a big bag from eBay or Aliexpress...

These are intended to be one time use clips. Next time don't cheap out and buy new clips. lol

Good to know. I've re-attached many (non- Porsche ) clips over the years without issue, but it seems the Porsche ones are a little different, an indication being the apparent difficulty in getting them fully retracted.