I've been thinking about changing out the door speakers in my dad's '01 F-150 Supercrew lariat, but i'm not sure how to remove the door panels. is there any certain tools i need? thanks

 

Welcome to the forum

Only a phillips screw driver. There are a couple of screws to remove. I think one is under the cover behind the inside door latch handle, and there may be one under the window control panel after you pop it out. You have to remove the piece of trim that goes up along the rear of the door glass to make room to slide the panel straight up I believe.
Do not try to pop the panel straight out, it doesn't use push in clips. It has 1" or so tabs that slide down into slots in thew door, so slide it straight up and then pull it out or you will break the tabs off.

 

Ya I had a couple screws and then just lift it straight up.Did not have to remove any trim up by the glass. just the door handle trim and the window switch trim. And I think there was 2 screws at the bottom of the door.

 

I just replaced the door speakers in my truck. You need a couple of sockets (I forget what the sizes were), a 6" extension, and a small flathead screwdriver. Use the screwdriver to pop off the little black cover near the door handle, and unscrew the bolt holding it on. Dont take the bolt all the way out, but just enough for the handle to come off. Pop off the covers on the front and rear of the door, and you will see two push pins. Use the screwdriver to pop these out (push the middle in and pull then out...be VERY CAREFUL! I broke two of mine). Now, just lift up on the door panel and it will pop off. The other socket is used to remove the speaker.

It took me 20 minutes to completely do both sides...very easy

 

IIRC it is a 10mm bolt.