I was going to post this in the how-to section after searching and not finding... but I am too new to post there.

I've googled it and only find door panel removal - Does the door panel need to be removed to remove the armrests? I'm sure I can figure it out, but before I tear apart a brand new truck, I figured I'd ask. I am covering them with leather.

Can anyone help?

 

they are molded as part of the door panel assembly

 

Are they different in Lariat or Platinum trim packages? I saw some for sale on ebay as "stand-alone" items...

 

they are, door panels are very specific these days.

you might be able to get them apart by melting the plastic welds and then re attaching but they aren't really meant to come apart

 

You may find some helpful info here. As mentioned above they are not made to be replaced and they are not sold individually by Ford, at least not when I was doing this upgrade. I did find some on eBay and that seller may have more. My post in the link below is #39.

https://www.f150forum.com/f118/stx-d...430808/index4/

Once you get the door panel off, you can cut out the melted post donuts (you'll see what I mean once you lay eyes on them) and then insert the new armrest. You can take a heat gun, which I didn't have, and melt the posts down. Or you can do what I did in my post, use screws and washers. A couple of reasonable options, if you can find the replacement armrests. Even on the Lariat at the time I did this, the rear armrests were made of the same hard plastic as the STX. Upper trim levels had (and I assume still have) matching front and rear armrests. Hope this helps

 

According to this they are plasti-welded on and require either plasti-welding back on or gluing. Yes you need to take the door panel off. I've got the removal instructions in pdf format if you want them, just pm me your email.
https://www.f150forum.com/f118/stx-d...pgrade-430808/

*we posted at same time...

 

OK - Great post. Here is my question... If you have to melt the posts to remove the armrest, you won't be able to reattach them, right? I ask, because I wanted to "reupholster" them with leather.

 

I did by doing what I did in post #39 of the above link. I used screws and washers to secure the posts in place. I think I trimmed the posts down so I could use screws and washers to secure them (no heat gun). When you are looking at the plastic welds, they look like donuts. Shave them off at their base to get the armrest free. Be careful regarding how thick the upholstery leather is because it will force the armrest to stand out more from the door, thus the posts will not be flush on the backside like they were when you removed them. I'm basing this off of my STX armrests. However, appropriate length screws should be able to compensate for that.

Or, you can go to eBay and type in "f150 door armrest 2015", sort by price, and scroll down to $69 and you'll start to see the offering from the same guy I got mine from. I would recommend this over a reupholster job, FWIW. With his, you should be able to use a heat gun to melt down the posts or you can shorten the posts and use hardware to secure them as I did in my post. I wish you well.

 

Thank you very much! I appreciate your time and really love this forum.

 

I've replaced them on my '17. Best bet is just to buy the ones you like on fleabay.
Then, once you get the inner door panel off, is take a 1/4" drill, and just drill the melted plastic thingys off, doesn't take much. Then, when reinstalling the new ones, use speednuts to fasten them. I can't recall the size, but I have a box full of them out in the barn. Remind me in case I forget, but I'll look on the box to get you the size tomorrow morning. Easy to do.